6th Grade
Sixth Grade
History: Mr. McDonough
Our major goal this year is to master the standards set forth in the Oakland Diocese Sixth Grade Social Studies Guidelines. These guidelines focus on the following student skills:
Ancient History:
· Comprehension skills
· Analysis and processing of the subject matter in order to understand the relationship between ideas and how they connect the past and present
· Synthesis of subject matter
· Note taking
Scope:
From the early man to the birth of the Roman Empire
Texts
My World Interactive
My World Interactive
Skills:
· A strong emphasis will be placed on analysis and synthesis of the material so that the student is able to understand the relationship between ideas and how they connect the past and present
Grading:
The grading policy is based on a total point system where each assignment is worth a certain number of points based on the degree of difficulty and importance. The grade at the end of the quarter is based on the percentage of points earned versus the total points possible.
Grades are available each week for a student to review.
Videos that would be beneficial to watch:
- Walking with Cavemen- Discovery Channel
- Birth of Civilization – National Geographic
- Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome and Greece
- Athens and Sparta
- Alexander the Great
- The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
6th Grade History - The Ancient world
If you are able to read any books, watch any documentaries (History or Discovery Channel) or listen to any podcasts relating the following subjects, it would benefit your overall understanding of the material we will cover next year.
Unit 1: Early Humans
1. Investigating the Past
In this Experiential Exercise, students examine art and artifacts to learn how social scientists reconstruct the lives of early hominids.
2. Early Hominids
Students engage in a Visual Discovery activity to learn about early hominids. They analyze images containing clues that paleoanthropologists use to study how these various hominids lived and then hypothesize about the capabilities of the hominids.
3. From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers
Students complete a Writing for Understanding activity to understand what life was like during the Neolithic Age. Students work in pairs to read about how life changed for people as they moved from hunting and gathering to farming. Students use the information to create a comic book highlighting those changes.
4. The Rise of the Sumerian City-States
In a Response Group activity, students learn about and respond to key problems faced by ancient Mesopotamians to understand how Neolithic farming villages evolved into complex Sumerian city-states.
5. Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization?
In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students analyze artifacts from ancient Sumer to determine if ancient Sumer was a civilization.
6. Exploring Four Empires of Mesopotamia
Students learn about four empires that ruled Mesopotamia from approximately 2300 to 539 B.C.E. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, they create "mechanical dioramas" that illustrate the major achievements of Akkadia, Babylon, Assyria, and Neo-Babylonian Empires.
Unit 2: Ancient Egypt and the Near East
7. Geography and the Early Settlement of Egypt, Kush, and Canaan
In this Experiential Exercise, students use their bodies to re-create the physical geography of ancient Egypt, Kush, and Canaan to understand how environmental factors in each region affected human settlement.
8. The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs
In a Writing for Understanding activity, students board a felucca--an Egyptian sailing boat--and "tour" selected sites along the Nile River. They view slides of monuments at these sites, read about the pharaohs who constructed them, and disembark to "visit" the monuments and learn even more. Finally, students write letters describing what they learned on their tour.
9. Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
Students learn what life was like for five social classes in ancient Egypt. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, they read about the ancient Egyptian social pyramid. They then work in groups to create interactive dramatizations that bring to life typical scenes from daily life in ancient Egypt. Finally, students compare social classes in ancient Egypt to groups in contemporary society.
10. The Kingdom of Kush
Students learn about Egypt's rival to the south, the kingdom of Kush. In a Visual Discovery activity, they analyze images of important events and leaders from four periods in the history of Kush.
11. The Ancient Hebrews and the Origins of Judaism
Students complete a Writing for Understanding activity to learn about key figures in the history of the ancient Hebrews and the development of Judaism.
12. The Struggle to Preserve Judaism
Students learn about the central beliefs of Judaism and how they are maintained during the Diaspora. In an Experiential Exercise, a small group of students are dispersed around the classroom. They must figure out ways to maintain and pass along important information to other students who come in their areas.
Unit 3: Ancient India
13. Geography and the Early Settlement of India
In this Response Group activity, students learn how the geography of the Indian subcontinent influenced the placement of early settlements in India.
14. Unlocking the Secrets of Mohenjodaro
Students assume the role of archeologists to explore the site of Mohenjodaro, an ancient city in the Indus-Sarasvati region. In an Experiential Exercise,students "excavate" the site by visiting eight research stations.
15. Learning About Hindu Beliefs
In this Social Studies Skill Builder, students pretend to be Indian artists and create mandalas representing five core Hindu beliefs. Working in pairs, students match readings and images to symbols representing five basic Hindu beliefs.
16. The Story of Buddhism
In this lesson, students learn about the life of Siddhartha Gautama and the emergence of Buddhism in India. In a Visual Discovery activity, they analyze, discuss, and read about five images that relate to the story of the Buddha's enlightenment.
17. Buddhism and the First Unification of India
This Social Studies Skill Builder challenges students to interpret one of nine excerpts from Mauryan king Ashoka's edicts to learn how his leadership promoted unity in India.
18. The Achievements of the Gupta Empire
In this Writing for Understanding activity, students assume the role of writers in ancient India to create books commemorating the achievements of the Gupta Empire during the period known as India's Golden Age.
19. Geography and the Early Settlement of China
In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students read about and create a relief map of China's five important geographic regions.
20. The Shang Dynasty
In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students "excavate" a Shang tomb to learn about the government, social structure, religion, writing, art, and technology of this civilization.
21. Three Chinese Philosophies
Students participate in an Experiential Exercise in which they learn about Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and Legalism and how these philosophies influenced the history of China.
22. The First Emperor of China
In a Visual Discovery activity, students examine images of and read about the emperor's political and cultural unification of China, his efforts to protect China's northern boundaries with the Great Wall, his dispute with Confucian scholars, and his death and burial.
23. The Han Dynasty
In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students visit seven stations where they read and learn about practices, discoveries, and inventions in the fields of warfare, government, agriculture, industry, art, medicine, and science.
24. The Silk Road
Students learn about the Silk Road during the rule of the Han dynasty. In an Experiential Exercise, students travel along a simulated Silk Road, playing the roles of ancient traders.
Unit 5: Ancient Greece
25. Geography and the Early Settlement of Greece
In this Experiential Exercise, students first choose settlement sites in a simulated landscape of ancient Greece to understand the influence of geography on settlement and culture.
26. The Rise of Democracy
In this Experiential Exercise, students use the principles of four forms of government--monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy--to select a song to play for the class.
27. Life in Two City-States: Athens and Sparta
Students work in groups of four in a Problem Solving Groupwork activity to create a metope--the decorated square on the frieze of a Greek temple--that illustrates one aspect of life in either Athens or Sparta.
28. Fighting the Persian Wars
In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images and use visual details and written information to create a scene for a short play that might include the background of each battle, key personalities, and the results of each battle.
29. The Golden Age of Athens
In this Writing for Understanding activity, students take a "walking tour" of Athens during the fifth century B.C.E., a period known as the Golden Age of Athens. Students create an illustrated scrapbook describing what they have learned.
30. Alexander the Great and His Empire
In a Response Group activity, students read about the ambitions of two Macedonian kings: Philip II's plan to conquer the Greek city-states and his son Alexander's plans to conquer and unite the diverse peoples of a huge empire. They then speculate about the chances for success of each plan.
31. The Legacy of Ancient Greece
In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students match descriptions of modern arts, government, entertainment, and scientific beliefs and practices with images showing the Greek achievements that made these modern aspects of our lives possible.
Unit 6: Ancient Rome
32. Geography and the Early Development of Rome
In a Visual Discovery activity, students examine an artistic rendition of Roman life and identify Etruscan and Greek influences depicted in the image. Finally, students dramatize the influences they discovered in the images.
33. The Rise of the Roman Republic
In an Experiential Exercise, students assume the roles of plebeians and patricians and negotiate how to work together to complete a mosaic project.
34. From Republic to Empire
In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students create columns to commemorate four key periods of growth of the Roman Empire. They then examine each other's columns, read about the related periods of growth, and write political commentary about the expansion during each period.
35. Daily Life in the Roman Empire
In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students read about eight aspects of ancient Roman life--such as food and drink and education--and explore how a teenager might have experienced them.
36. The Origins and Spread of Christianity
In a Visual Discovery activity, students match Biblical passages with artwork depicting one of five key events in the development of Christianity, such as the birth of Jesus. They then read about the event, draw connections between key phrases in the passage and details in the artwork, and record notes.
37. The Legacy of Rome in the Modern World
Students participate in a Response Group activity, in which they read and play a game to discover more about an aspect of Roman culture such as art, engineering, or language.
Suggested videos:
Walking with Cavemen- Discovery Channel
- Birth of Civilization – National Geographic
- Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome and Greece
- Athens and Sparta
- Alexander the Great
- The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World