6th Grade
Social Studies

Geography and Ancient Civilizations

❶

Mesopotamia

❷

Ancient Egypt

❸

Ancient China

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Understand and explain historical context using maps (GEO 6–7.2)

  • Construct maps to represent and explain the pattern of cultural and environmental characteristics in our world. (GEO 6–7.1)

  • Analyze the factors for the growth of civilization in the Fertile Crescent (GEO 6–7.4)

  • Explain how a civilization’s arts, architecture, music, and literature reflect its culture and history (HIST 6–8.1)

  • Describe how civilizations used technology to manipulate the environment (GEO 6–7.9)

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, (GEO 6-7.2)

  • and changes in their environmental characteristics

  • Analyze G.R.A.P.E.S.* to understand and evaluate Ancient Egypt (CIV 6–7.2, GEO 6–7.7)

  • Compare and contrast achievements and contributions of a range of past and present civilizations (CIV 6-7.2)

  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies (RH.6-8.4)

  • Describe how civilizations used technology to manipulate the environment (GEO 6-7.9)

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Examine geographical factors that help explain historical events or contemporary issues (GEO 6–7.6)

  • Analyze G.R.A.P.E.S.* to understand and evaluate Ancient China (CIV 6–7.2)

  • Analyze how specific individuals and their ideas and beliefs influenced world history (CIV 6–7.1)

  • Use critical reading skills to assess an author’s purpose and point of view (INQ 6–8.2)

❹

Ancient Greece

❺

Ancient Rome

❻

Artifacts Inquiry Project

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and changes in their environmental characteristics (GEO 6–7.2)

  • Analyze G.R.A.P.E.S.* to understand and evaluate Ancient Greece (CIV 6–7.2, GEO 6–7.7)

  • Compare and contrast the roles of citizens in different forms of government (CIV 6–7.1)

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Analyze G.R.A.P.E.S.* to understand and evaluate Ancient Rome

  • Compare and contrast achievements and contributions of a range of past and present civilizations

  • Use questions about historically significant people or events to explain the impact on a region

Skills and Student Outcomes

  • Engage in the inquiry process through making a claim, collecting evidence, and communicating conclusions

  • Take informed action by sharing information with an authentic audience

Core Texts and Resources

World Studies: The Ancient World (Prentice Hall, 2008)


Supplemental Texts:

  • Junior Scholastic: The Current Events Magazine (bi-monthly series)

  • Newsela Social Studies digital learning platform

  • Kids Discover online and print magazines

  • The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World (Jane Bingham ed., 1995; People, Peter Spier)

  • Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Shilpa Mehta-Jones, 2005)

  • If I Were A Kid in Ancient Times Series (Egypt, China, Greece, Rome) (Cricket Books, 2006)

  • Ancient China, Ancient Rome—Eyewitness Books Series (Simon James, 1990)

  • Gifts from the Gods (Lise Lung-Larsen, 2011)

  • The Odyssey, Homer (Retold by Geraldine McCaughrean, 1993)

  • How Would You Survive as an Ancient Egyptian, Greek/Roman Series (Anita Ganeri, 1995)