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. Grade 7 students will study the development of ancient and classical civilizations and physical geography of Asia, Oceania, and Europe. (Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework, June 2018).
7.1 On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate Central and South Asia. On a topographic map of Central and South Asia locate important physical features of the region.
7.2 On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location and relative location; use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.
7.3 Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.
7.4 Explain the ways in which early Indian and Central Asian societies interacted with East African, Western Asian, and European societies (e.g., by conquest, trade, colonization, diffusion of religion, language, and culture).
7.5 Describe important economic, political, and religious developments in Indian and Central Asian history and evaluate the ways in which they conform to or differ from developments in societies in other regions of the world.
7.6 On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate East Asia. Locate important physical features and other characteristics of the region.
7.7 On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location and relative location; use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.
7.8 Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.
7.9 Describe the topography and climate of eastern Asia, including the importance of mountain ranges and deserts, and explain how geography influenced the development of Chinese complex societies.
7.10 Describe important economic, political, and religious developments in early Chinese history and evaluate the ways in which they are similar to or different from the characteristics of societies in other regions of the world.
7.11 Trace the spread of Buddhism from India in the 4th century BCE to China, Korea, and Japan, and its development in Japan from the 6th through the 13th century CE; explain significant cultural contributions of ancient Japan (e.g., Buddhist philosophy, art, calligraphy, and temple and landscape architecture).
7.12 Describe the impact of encounters, such as through trade, religion, and conquest, among the ancient civilizations of China, Japan, and Korea.
7.13 On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate the Indian Ocean, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, the major Pacific Islands, the Pacific Ocean, and the Coral Sea. Locate important physical features and characteristics of the region.
7.14 On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location and relative location; use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.
7.15 Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.
7.16 Identify and describe the major social features of the indigenous peoples in Australia (the Aborigines) and New Zealand (the Maoris). Describe archaeological evidence, such as rock paintings, from the region and explain what it indicates about early Aboriginal and Maori cultures.
7.17 On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate Europe. Locate important physical features. Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.
7.18 On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.
7.19 Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.
7.20 Identify what time zones are, when and how the precise measurement of longitude was scientifically and historically determined, the function and location of the International Date Line, and the function of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, and give examples of differences in time in countries in different parts of the world.
7.21 On a historical map of the Mediterranean area, locate Greece and trace the extent of its influence from c. 1200 to 300 BCE.
7.22 Explain how the geographical location of ancient Athens and other city-states such as Corinth and Sparta contributed to their role in maritime trade, colonies in the Mediterranean, and the expansion of their cultural influence.
7.23 Explain the democratic political concepts developed in ancient Greece.
7.24 Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, including the status and role of women and enslaved people in the two city-states.
7.25 Analyze the causes, and consequences of the Persian Wars between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire (490-480 BCE), the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta (431-404 BCE), and the conquests of Alexander the Great in Asia (c.336-331BCE).
7.26 Give examples of Greek gods and goddesses, heroes, and events; explain the persistence of terms from Greek and Roman mythology in modern English and other European languages (e.g., Pandora’s box, a Herculean task, the wrath of Achilles, Amazon, Olympics, marathon, narcissism).
7.27 Identify the major accomplishments of the ancient Greeks by researching and reporting on one of the following:
7.28 Locate Rome on a map, trace the expansion of the Roman Empire to 500 CE and explain how Rome’s location contributed to its political power in the Mediterranean and beyond.
7.29 Describe the rise of the Roman Republic, its government, including separation of powers, rule of law, representative government, and the notion of civic duty.
7.30 Describe the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire and explain the reasons for the growth and long life of the Roman Empire.
7.31 Describe the characteristics of the system of classes and slavery under the Romans.
7.32 Explain how inner forces (e.g., the rise of autonomous military powers, political corruption, and economic and political instability) and external forces (shrinking trade, invasions from northern tribes) led to the disintegration of the Roman Empire.
7.33 Describe the contribution of the Romans to architecture, engineering, and technology (e.g., roads, bridges, arenas, baths, aqueducts, central heating, plumbing, and sanitation).
7.34 Explain the spread and influence of the Roman alphabet and the Latin language, and the role of Latin and Greek in scientific and academic vocabulary today.
7.35 Describe how scientific, philosophical, and aesthetic ideas diffused throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa as a result of trade, migration, conquest, and colonization.