Grade 6
World Geography and Ancient Civilizations I
Overview: Grades 6 and 7 form a two-year sequence in which students study regions of the world by examining physical geography, nations in the region today, and selected ancient and classical societies before 1000 CE. Regions for grade 6 are: Western Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East; Sub-Saharan Africa; and Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Students investigate guiding questions such as “How does geography affect how societies develop and interact?” and “How have human societies differed from one another across time and regions?” Additional supporting questions appear under each topic. The questions are included to stimulate teachers’ and students’ own questions for discussion and research.
Source: Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for HIstory and Social Studies (2018)
Unit Folders
BPS History Recommendations
Instructional Minutes : At minimum students should have Social Studies 5 x 50 min per week.
To begin the year, please explore the resources for an Identity and Community unit helping classrooms explore the question "What is the identity of my community, and how do I fit into it?".
Human Origins, the Neolithic, and Paleolithic Eras
What do the social sciences contribute to our understanding of the world?
How did life on Earth begin and why did humans form complex societies?
Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa
How did ideas spread across ancient societies in this region?
Sub-Saharan Africa
How did long-distance trade influence the development of early Sub-Saharan African states and societies?
Central America, the Caribbean Islands, and South America
What are the most important contributions of ancient societies in the Americas to the modern world?
Place-Based Learning: Using the City as a Classroom
Click here to check out more options for Place-Based Learning!
Click here to learn more about the importance of incorporating place-based learning into your instruction!
Course Overview
Grade 6 Course Overview + Scope and SequenceInvestigating History Curriculum Guidebook
Investigating History Curriculum GuidebookBPS Pacing Calendar
History/Social Science Pacing Guides Grades 3-8/High SchoolField Trip Suggestions
6th Grade -- Standards-Aligned Place-Based Learning OpportunitiesAdditional Recommended Resources
"Engaging resources to help make global education an integral part of every student's classroom experience." (E/M/H)
Explore the complete digital collections across all of the Smithsonian Institutions. Items include images, texts, artifacts, etc.
Geography lesson plans and collections of digitized maps that can be zoomed down to the paper grain! (E/M/H)
"Engage your students with the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to illustrate themes and concepts in any discipline." (E/M/H)
Primary sources, including art, photographs, and documents from libraries and archives across the US, including the National Archives. (E/M/H)
Resources for the Reading Like A Historian curriculum that teaches students "how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading." (E/M/H)
Instructional Strategies
Textbook (TCI) Alignment to Grade 6 Standards
HSS 2018 Standards to TCI Books Alignment Crosswalk Grade 62018 Standards Crosswalk
H/SS Content Standards Crosswalk Grade 6 (FINAL)