6th Grade Social Studies – World Civilizations & Geography: Prehistory to Atlantic Exploration
Ancient and classical civilizations, medieval global interactions, and the development of the Atlantic World with integrated geography and ELA literacy.
Standards at a Glance
Course Focus
6.1 Ancient Civilizations
6.2 Classical Civilizations
6.3 Increased Global Interactions (550–1450)
6.4 Development of the Atlantic World
Overview
6th Grade Standards at a Glance – World Civilizations & Geography
A quick view of how 6th graders move from prehistory and early river valley civilizations to classical empires, medieval global networks, and the foundations of the Atlantic World—while strengthening geography and literacy skills.
6.1 Ancient Civilizations – Prehistory & Early River Valleys
Social Studies Focus
- Trace the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to agriculture and settled communities.
- Examine river valley civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China.
- Analyze early governments, writing systems, religions, and social hierarchies.
Geography Skills
- Locate major early civilizations and river systems on regional and world maps.
- Explain how physical geography shaped agriculture, settlement, and trade.
ELA Integration
- Reading: origin stories, informational texts, and adapted primary sources.
- Writing: explanatory and comparative paragraphs about early civilizations.
- Speaking/Listening: discuss cause and effect in the rise of early societies using evidence.
6.2 Classical Civilizations – Empires & Ideas
Social Studies Focus
- Study Greece, Rome, Maurya & Gupta India, and Qin & Han China as classical civilizations.
- Examine governments, law codes, cultural achievements, and belief systems.
- Analyze continuity and change from ancient to classical eras.
Geography Skills
- Map imperial expansion, trade routes, and key cities across the Mediterranean and Asia.
- Explain how geography influenced defense, communication, and cultural exchange.
ELA Integration
- Reading: myths, philosophical excerpts, and informational texts on classical societies.
- Writing: comparative essays and argument paragraphs using textual evidence.
- Speaking/Listening: structured debates and Socratic seminars on classical ideas and legacies.
6.3 Increased Global Interactions (550–1450)
Social Studies Focus
- Investigate Islamic caliphates, West African empires, Byzantium, Medieval Europe, Medieval Japan, and the Mongol Empire.
- Analyze trade systems like the Silk Roads and Indian Ocean networks.
- Explore how cultural diffusion, conflict, and innovation connected Afro-Eurasia.
Geography Skills
- Use maps to trace trade routes, empires, and religious diffusion across regions.
- Interpret thematic maps (trade, religion, resources) to identify patterns of connection.
ELA Integration
- Reading: travel accounts, chronicles, and informational texts about cross-cultural contact.
- Writing: cause/effect and problem/solution pieces about global interactions.
- Speaking/Listening: collaborative discussions comparing societies and networks across Afro-Eurasia.
6.4 Development of the Atlantic World
Social Studies Focus
- Study the Maya, Aztec, and Inca; Ghana, Mali, and Songhai; and pre-European Atlantic connections.
- Analyze political systems, belief systems, and cultural achievements.
- Identify how Indigenous American and West African societies shaped early Atlantic networks.
Geography Skills
- Locate major American and West African civilizations, trade routes, and environments.
- Explain how environmental adaptation and resources influenced settlement and power.
ELA Integration
- Reading: informational texts and adapted primary sources about pre-contact societies.
- Writing: compare/contrast and thematic writing on power, belief, and environment.
- Speaking/Listening: presentations and discussions on Indigenous and African contributions to the Atlantic World.
Course Focus
6th Grade Social Studies – World Civilizations & Geography: Prehistory to Atlantic Exploration
In 6th grade, students explore how human societies emerged, expanded, and connected across the globe before the age of Atlantic exploration. They trace the shift from prehistory to early river valley civilizations, the rise of classical empires, the creation of large trade and belief networks across Afro-Eurasia, and the development of complex civilizations in the Americas and West Africa that will shape the early Atlantic World.
Throughout the year, students strengthen geography skills by using maps, spatial data, and geographic reasoning to explain why societies formed where they did and how people, goods, and ideas moved. They deepen ELA literacy by reading complex informational and narrative texts, analyzing adapted primary sources, writing explanations and arguments grounded in evidence, and engaging in academic discussions about continuity, change, and connection across world history.
Content Focus: Students examine how humans moved from hunter-gatherer bands to settled farming communities and analyze the rise of early river valley civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China.
Social Studies Indicators
- 6.1.1.SS – Explain how the development of agriculture led to permanent settlements, specialization of labor, and more complex social structures.
- 6.1.2.SS – Describe political, economic, social, and religious characteristics of early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China.
- 6.1.3.SS – Analyze the development and importance of writing, law codes, and belief systems in early civilizations.
- 6.1.4.SS – Compare and contrast how different river valley civilizations addressed common challenges such as flooding, defense, and resource scarcity.
Geography Integration
- Locate major rivers (Tigris and Euphrates, Nile, Indus, Huang He) and early civilization sites on regional and world maps.
- Explain how river systems, fertile soils, and climate supported agriculture and population growth.
- Use physical maps to identify natural barriers (deserts, mountains, seas) and discuss their role in protection and isolation.
- Create annotated maps showing how geography influenced trade routes, settlement patterns, and political centers in early civilizations.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Read origin narratives, informational texts, and adapted primary sources (such as law codes or creation stories) about early civilizations; identify central ideas and supporting evidence.
- Writing: Write explanatory paragraphs or short essays about the Neolithic Revolution or a specific river valley civilization, citing textual and geographic evidence.
- Speaking/Listening: Engage in discussions about how geography shaped early societies, using evidence from texts and maps to support claims.
- Language: Use domain-specific vocabulary such as Neolithic, civilization, surplus, specialization, hierarchy, irrigation accurately in speaking and writing.
Content Focus: Students analyze how classical civilizations in Greece, Rome, India, and China built empires, developed systems of government and belief, and left legacies that shaped later societies.
Social Studies Indicators
- 6.2.1.SS – Describe forms of government, citizenship, and law in classical Greece and Rome and explain their influence on modern political systems.
- 6.2.2.SS – Explain key ideas and practices of major belief systems (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism) that emerged or spread during the classical era.
- 6.2.3.SS – Analyze achievements in art, architecture, science, philosophy, and technology in classical civilizations.
- 6.2.4.SS – Compare how classical empires in Rome, Maurya & Gupta India, and Qin & Han China rose, governed diverse populations, and declined.
Geography Integration
- Use maps to locate the Mediterranean basin, Indian subcontinent, and East Asia, including major cities, seas, and mountain ranges.
- Explain how geography (peninsulas, seas, river systems, monsoons, mountains) influenced trade, defense, and cultural development in classical civilizations.
- Trace the expansion and contraction of classical empires on historical maps and connect territorial change to conflicts and reforms.
- Map major trade routes that connected classical civilizations, noting goods and ideas exchanged.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Read myths, philosophical excerpts, biographies, and informational texts about classical societies; distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
- Writing: Write comparative essays or structured paragraphs on topics such as democracy vs. republic, or Confucian vs. Hindu beliefs, using evidence from texts and maps.
- Speaking/Listening: Participate in structured academic conversations or Socratic seminars analyzing classical ideas about power, citizenship, and ethics.
- Language: Use vocabulary such as democracy, republic, empire, philosophy, dynasty, citizen with precision in academic tasks.
Content Focus: Students investigate how Afro-Eurasian societies became more connected through trade, religion, conquest, and cultural diffusion between 550 and 1450, focusing on Islamic caliphates, West African empires, Byzantium, Medieval Europe, Medieval Japan, and the Mongol Empire.
Social Studies Indicators
- 6.3.1.SS – Describe the rise and expansion of Islamic caliphates and their contributions in areas such as learning, trade, and culture.
- 6.3.2.SS – Explain the growth and significance of West African empires (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) and their role in trans-Saharan trade.
- 6.3.3.SS – Summarize key features of Byzantine, Medieval European, and Medieval Japanese societies, including social structures and belief systems.
- 6.3.4.SS – Analyze the impact of the Mongol Empire on trade, communication, and cultural exchange across Eurasia.
- 6.3.5.SS – Explain how trade networks such as the Silk Roads and Indian Ocean routes facilitated the movement of goods, people, and ideas.
Geography Integration
- Use maps to locate major Afro-Eurasian regions, empires, and trade routes between 550 and 1450.
- Interpret thematic maps showing the spread of religions (such as Islam and Buddhism), trade goods, and technologies.
- Explain how physical geography (deserts, monsoon winds, steppe lands, seas) influenced route selection and cultural contact.
- Create network maps that illustrate how cities such as Baghdad, Timbuktu, Constantinople, and Chang’an functioned as hubs of connection.
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Analyze travel narratives, chronicles, and informational texts (for example, accounts by Ibn Battuta or Marco Polo in adapted form); identify point of view and bias.
- Writing: Write cause/effect or problem/solution essays explaining how trade and conquest increased global interactions, citing multiple sources.
- Speaking/Listening: Engage in small-group seminars comparing societies across regions, using sentence stems and text-based evidence to support claims.
- Language: Use vocabulary such as caliphate, caravan, diffusion, diaspora, pilgrimage, network correctly in academic talk and writing.
Content Focus: Students explore complex societies in the Americas and West Africa prior to European expansion and examine how their political systems, economies, and cultures helped shape the early Atlantic World.
Social Studies Indicators
- 6.4.1.SS – Describe political, economic, and religious features of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations, including their achievements and environmental adaptations.
- 6.4.2.SS – Explain the growth and significance of West African empires (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) in regional and long-distance trade, including gold-salt networks.
- 6.4.3.SS – Analyze how Indigenous American and West African societies developed social hierarchies, belief systems, and economic networks before European contact.
- 6.4.4.SS – Identify early patterns of Atlantic connections and explain how these societies set the stage for later exploration and exchange.
Geography Integration
- Locate major Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations and West African empires on historical and physical maps.
- Explain how diverse environments (rainforests, mountains, plateaus, savannas) shaped agriculture, architecture, and transportation.
- Use maps and diagrams to show trade routes connecting interior regions to coasts and other cultural centers.
- Create comparative geography charts or map projects showing environmental adaptations (terrace farming, chinampas, camel caravans, etc.).
ELA Literacy Integration
- Reading: Read informational texts and adapted primary sources about Maya, Aztec, Inca, and West African empires; determine central ideas and summarize key details.
- Writing: Compose compare/contrast essays or thematic pieces on topics such as power, environment, or belief across Atlantic societies, using textual and geographic evidence.
- Speaking/Listening: Deliver short presentations or participate in panel discussions that highlight Indigenous American and West African contributions to the early Atlantic World.
- Language: Use academic terms such as empire, tribute, adaptation, plateau, savanna, civilization precisely in oral and written explanations.
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