Sixth Grade Social Studies:

      Grade 6 Social Studies focuses on the seven major ancient civilizations. The curriculum is designed to ensure the student of learning historical events, governmental structures, societal structures, cultural contributions and economic systems as they relate to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Africa, the Indus River Valley, China, Greece and Rome. Students also gain the skills necessary to use and construct maps, globes and other tools to locate and derive information that explain why and how geography affected the life and the culture of these ancient societies.

      In order for students to grasp the chronological organization of history, the diversity of peoples and the major events, reading and written response in the content area are part of daily class work and homework. Students are afforded the opportunity to take a “hands-on” approach to learning about daily life for each of the seven civilizations by completing independent projects such as creating a timeline, publishing an Ancient Roman newspaper, composing a myth and constructing a travel brochure.

       Rubrics are used to evaluate a student’s performance. Usually handed out before an assignment begins, the rubric acts as a working guide for both the student and the teacher. Along with class work, homework and projects, active participation and notebook evaluations as well as quizzes and chapter tests are all weighted components of the student’s trimester grade.