• Social Studies 

    Learning about the past can be so exciting because we get to learn why the way our world is today!

    In addition to understanding our standards and outcomes, we will have three main goals this year. While these will not be specific lessons, they will be embedded in our lessons throughout this year. If students can look at sources, think critically, and learn about the successes and failures of past civilizations, not only will it help them in this class, it will help them on the path to becoming productive citizens.

    1. Learn How to Think, Not What to Think
    2. Learn About the Past to Learn From the Past. Using the word association GRAPES to apply our learning of each civilization. 
    3. Write a response to an essay using the CER State Claim, use Evidence to support your thoughts, and apply Reasoning to the evidence with a connection to our world today. 

    The content focus will be viewed through geographic and historical lenses. Sixth-grade students will understand selected societies' cultural, religious, economic, and political systems in the Eastern Hemisphere. Regions in the Eastern Hemisphere include the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia (east, south, and southeast), and Oceania.

    Think Analytically

    ● Posing and framing questions

    ● Gathering a variety of evidence

    ● Recognizing continuity and detecting change over time

    ● Utilizing chronology to examine cause-and-effect relationships

    ● Drawing and combining reasonable inferences from a variety of sources to build an understanding of complex questions

    Read Critically

    ● Examining, interpreting, and contextualizing primary sources, focusing on the author, purpose, and audience of each source

    ● Identifying and comparing historical, geographic, economic, and political science interpretations from a wide variety of secondary sources

    ● Utilizing a broader understanding to discern subtext in primary and secondary sources

    Communicate Clearly

    ● Developing and defending evidence-based arguments

    ● Utilizing multiple perspectives for comprehensive explanations

    ● Practicing and cultivating a wide variety of diverse types of writing

    ● Engaging in constructive conversations around history and social science topics

    • Quarter 1:

      Pre-Unit: Digital Citizenship and Historians Toolkit then Early Humans

      Essential Questions: 

      What does it mean to be a Historian? 

      What is history? How does a Historian work? How does a historian interpret history? 

      How are history and economics related? How do maps and globes present information? 

      How does art reveal what people's lives are like? What do we have in common with our early ancestors?

      How did the agricultural Revolution change the way people lived? What was life during the Neolithic and Paleolithic Age? 

      Standards

      6.SP1.1 Examine ways that historians and social scientists know about the past.

      6.SP3.5 Use questions generated from multiple sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources.

      6.SP3.7 Construct and present explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data

      6.SP4.2 Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument about the past.

      6.G1.1 Use and construct maps, graphs, and other representations to explain relationships between locations of places and regions. 

      6.G3.2 Analyze the influence of location, use of natural resources, catastrophic environmental events, and technological developments on human settlement and migration

      Quarter 2:

      Mediterranean Civilizations

      Essential Questions:

       How do people adapt to their environment?

      What is the importance of geography in how ancient civilizations began and spread?

      How do specialized occupations reflect a complex society? How did Mesopotamia's first empire develop?

      What is the importance of the rise of City-States? How did a Surplus in Farming change society?

      Was Qin Shihuangdi an effective leader?

      In what ways did the physical geography and climate impact the development of South Asian Civilization?

      Standards

      6.SP2.1 Explain how and why the perspectives of people have changed throughout different historical eras.

      6.SP4.1 Explain the multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.

      6.C2.1 Analyze the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie points of view regarding civic issues in the time period and regions studied.

      6.E3.1 Describe the relationship between variable costs and the benefits of economic production.

      6.E3.3 Analyze the influence of specialization and trade within diverse cultures and communities in regions studied

      6.E5.2 Explain the effects of increasing economic interdependence within distinct groups.

      6.G1.1 Use and construct maps, graphs, and other representations to explain relationships between locations of places and regions.

      6.G2.1 Compare the diverse ways people or groups of people have impacted, modified, or adapted to the environment of the Eastern Hemisphere.

      6.H1.2 Explain the causes and effects of interactions between cultures and civilizations.

      Quarter #3:

      Greece & Rome

      Essential Questions:

      Was Rome stronger as a republic or an empire?

      How did the geographic features of Ancient Greece influence the development of city-states and the spread of 

      Greek culture? How did the relationship between Ancient Greece and Rome evolve over time, and what were the key connections between the two

      civilizations? In what ways did the achievements of the Roman Empire in art, architecture, technology, science, literature, language, and law impact the

      development of Western civilization?

      Standards:

      6.SP1.3 Classify a series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

      6.SP3.1 Define and frame compelling and supporting questions about issues and events in the time period and region studied.

      6.SP3.2 Use evidence to develop claims and counterclaims in response to compelling questions in the time period and region studied

      6.SP3.6 Construct and present arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources

      6.G1.1 Use and construct maps, graphs, and other representations to explain relationships between locations of places and regions.

      6.H1.1 Compare the development and characteristics of historical cultures and civilizations from different global regions within designated time periods

      6.H2.1 Evaluate the causes and effects of conflict and resolution among different societies and cultures. 

      • Quarter #4:

        Middle Ages, Rennesaince, Reformation Time Period

        Essential Questions:

        How can a historic event change people's lives?

        What were the key features of feudalism and how did it shape the social structure of medieval Europe? In what ways did the Silk Road and overseas trade

        routes contribute to cultural exchange and economic development during the medieval period?

        How did Japanese arts and literature contribute to the cultural heritage of Japan and beyond during the medieval period?

        How did a change of ideas, change the world? How did the Renaissance change the cultural and intellectual landscape of Europe?

        How did the Scientific Revolution challenge existing knowledge and beliefs?

        What were the key ideas and thinkers of the Enlightenment, and how did they impact society and politics?

        Standards:

        6.SP1.4
        Evaluate the significance of past events and their effect on students’ lives and society.

        6.SP3.5
        Use questions generated from multiple sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources. 

        6.C4.1
        Explain challenges and opportunities people and groups face when solving local, regional, and/or global problems

        6.E1.1
        Analyze the relationship between education, income, and job opportunities within the context of the time period and region studied

        6.H3.1
        Analyze the impact of religious, government, and civic groups over time. 

        6.H4.1
        Describe how different group identities such as racial, ethnic, class, gender, regional, and immigrant/migration status emerged and contributed to societal and regional development, characteristics, and interactions over time.

       
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