Download Social Studies Essential Knowledge

6TH Grade Social Studies Essential Knowledge
Sarah Carrasco, Albuquerque, NM
Identify on a map
o Continents
1. Asia
2. North America
3. South America
4. Antarctica
5. Europe
6. Africa
7. Australia
o Oceans
1. Pacific Ocean
2. Indian Ocean
3. Atlantic Ocean
4. Arctic Ocean
o Countries and Cities
1. Italy
 Rome
 Sicily
2. Greece
 Athens
3. China
 Huang-He Valley
4. Egypt
 Thebes
 Giza
5. India
o Empires
1. Arabia
2. Mesopotamia
3. Byzantine
4. Fertile Crescent
o Bodies of water
1. Red Sea
2. Nile River
3. Persian Gulf
4. Mediterranean Sea
5. Nile River
6. Ganges River
7. Indus River
o Mountain Range
1. Alps
2. Himalaya
Italy
China
Greece
India
Egypt
General Vocabulary
1. A.D. -Dates events after Christ's birth- A date in the first 100 years after the birth of Christ is
between A.D 1 and A.D 100
2. Archaeology – the study of remains (fossils and artifacts) of past cultures
3. Architecture – the science of planning and constructing buildings
4. Arts – Entertainment such as dance, painting, pottery, music, and theater
5. B.C. – Before Christ in the year of the lord (dates and events before the birth of Christ)
6. City-State – an area of land that has its own government and was not part of any larger unit
7. Civilization – complex society with cities, organized government, art, religion, class division,
and a writing system
8. Class system – A system based on wealth
9. Clothing – fabric used to cover, clothed, and protects your body, unique to a region.
10. Cultivation – to prepare land for raising crops
11. Culture – The way of life of a group of people at a particular time, including their daily habits
and beliefs
12. Customs – a way of living that people of the same culture practice regularly over time
13. Domesticate – to train plants or animals to be useful to people
14. Dynasty – members of one ruling family pass the power on from father to son
15. Economy – organized way in which people produce, sell, and buy goods and services
16. Education –passing and learning of trait, skill, and knowledge
17. Empire – a territory or a number of territories ruled by a single supreme authority
18. Food – something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies your body and health, unique to a
region.
19. Government – the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for
a political unit
20. Irrigation – the watering of dry land by manmade waterways (canals or pipes)
21. Language – a systematic means of communicating ideas of feelings by the use of
conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meaning
22. Migration – to move from one place to another
23. Monarchy – a form of government where one person rules such as a king, a queen, or an
emperor. There is no limit to a monarch’s power.
24. Monotheism – the belief in one god
25. Natural resource – use of environment to make life easier
26. Philosophy – the study of or search for the truth, wisdom, and the right way to live
27. Polytheism – the belief in many gods
28. Primary source – a firsthand account of an event (or an artifact) created during the period of
history studied
29. Production – the creation of a product
30. Region – an area with common features that set it apart from other areas
31. Religion – a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and
practices
32. Resource – something that can be used for support or help (library, textbook, teacher,
internet, books)
33. Scribe – record keeper
34. Secondary source – a record of the past based on information from primary sources
35. Technology – tools and methods used to help humans perform tasks
36. Traditions – an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
Geography
37. Geography – the study of the Earth’s surface and its natural features. Geography also deals
with climate, plants, animals, minerals, and resources
38. Latitude – is measured East to West and runs North and South; also known as parallels
because it’s parallel to the Equator
39. Longitude – is measured North to South and runs East to West and is parallel to the Prime
Meridian; also known as meridians
40. Equator – the imaginary line that runs around the earth like a belt halfway between the North
and South poles
41. Hemisphere – any half spears. Everything north of the equator is the Northern hemisphere;
everything south of the equator is the Southern hemisphere
42. Continents – one of the 7 largest land masses on Earth
43. Prime Meridian – the imaginary line that runs North and South and helps cut the Earth into
the Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
44. Peninsula – body of land jutting out into a lake, sea, or ocean surrounded by water on three
sides
45. River Valley – a valley formed by flowing water
46. Elevation – the height of land above sea level
47. Physical map – a map that primarily shows natural features of Earth such as lakes, rivers,
mountains, and deserts
48. Aqueducts – a high, arched structure built to carry water over long distances
49. Absolute Location – The exact spot of a place on the earth’s surface
50. Five themes of geography – Location (where it is), Place (What it is like),
Human/Environment interaction (the relationship between people and their surroundings),
Movement (the way people in one area relate to people in other areas), Region (common
features that bring geographical areas together)
Early Man
51. Artifacts – weapons, tools, or other items made by humans
52. Fire – a natural source of heat for cooking food and warmth; a key to survival for early man
53. Fossil – the trace or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in rock
54. Hunter/Gather – a person of the old stone age who met needs by hunting animals and
gathering plants
55. Ice Age – a time in history with long periods of extreme cold weather
56. Neolithic – the time in history after the Ice Age when people began to domesticate animals
and plants, learned how to grow food and farm. Also known as New Stone Age
57. Nomads – person who regularly moves from place to place
58. Ozti – a shepherd who traveled with his herd and who lived 5300 years ago. His frozen body
was found in the mountains between Austria and Italy in 1991.
59. Paleolithic – the earliest part of human history also known as the Old Stone Age
60. Stone age – The early period of human history when people used stone to make tools
61. Tools – items used to make hunting, gathering, building, and making clothes easier
Hunters and Gathers
Cave Art
Mesopotamia
62. Artisan – skilled workers who made metal products, cloth, or pottery
63. Babylon – center of trade by the Euphrates River
64. Code of Hammurabi – laws to govern the people of Babylon. Known for laws such as ‘an
eye for an eye’
65. Cuneiform – a system of writing that used wedged shaped symbols to represent sounds,
ideas, and objects developed in ancient Sumer
66. Hammurabi – King of the Babylonian empire; creator of the code of Hammurabi.
67. Hanging Gardens – an immense staircase (ziggurat) of greenery at King Nebuchadnezzar’s
palace built for his wife.
68. Nebuchadnezzar – the king who rebuilt the city of Babylon and quickly became the world’s
largest and richest city. Built the Hanging Gardens for his wife.
69. Sumerians – people from the region formed in southern Mesopotamia known as Sumer
Egypt
70. Ahmose – The Egyptian prince who led the Egyptian empire towards the New Kingdom and
made it richer and more powerful than ever before
71. Canopic Jars – special jars used to hold the organs of the pharaohs during the embalming
process
72. Cleopatra – ruler of Egyptian government in Alexandria who backed Caesar in the civil war
he waged from 49-45 BC
73. Deities – gods and goddesses
74. Embalming – a special process to protect the pharaohs body; the removal of organs, special
salt rubbed into the body then stored to dry, body is filled with spices and perfumed, stitched
closed, cleaned with oils, then wrapped with linens.
75. Hatshepsut – 1st woman pharaoh who focused on trade and economic growth rather than
conquests. Is thought to have been killed by her nephew.
76. Hieroglyphics – the ancient Egyptian system of writing that used symbols to stand for objects
ideas or sounds
77. King Tut – The young pharaoh whose tomb was found by archeologists with all of its
treasures still inside
78. Mummy – The embalmed and wrapped body of the dead pharaohs
79. Papyrus – reed like plant used to make items such as sandals, baskets, rafts, and paper
80. Pharaoh – the title used by the kings in Ancient Egypt
81. Pyramids – a massive monument of ancient Egypt which took many years to build and was
used as a tomb to Pharaohs.
82. Ramses II – Egyptian Pharaoh who conquered land and helped Egypt become the richest and
largest Empire
83. Rosetta Stone - A piece of stone found in 1799 with inscriptions in hieroglyphics and is
celebrated for having given the first clues to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics
84. Tribute – a forced payment to the government
Egyptian Art
Pyramids
Canopic Jars
India
85. Indus Civilization – the first Indian civilization that arose in the Indus Valley (also known as
Harappan people)
86. Aryans – settled the area of the Harappan people after earthquakes and floods killed then
drove them out
87. Cattle – used by the Aryans for milk, butter, and money. Wealth was measured by the
amount of cattle owned. Eventually declared sacred and forbade to be used as food
88. Sanskrit – language used in India
89. Raja – the prince who ruled each tribe and small kingdom throughout India
90. Caste System – a social group that someone is born into and cannot change. Determines
what job to have, who to marry, and who to socialize with.
91. Varnas – social classes of India
92. Brahmas – Very top social class; priests and the only people who could perform religious
ceremonies
93. Kshatriyas – second to top of social class; warriors who ran the government and army
94. Vaisyas – middle class; the common people who were farmers and merchants
95. Sudras – lower class under Vaisyas; manual laborers and servants who had few rights
96. Pariahs – not even considered to be a class; AKA Untouchables; performed work other
Indians thought was dirty (garbage pickup, skinning animals, or handling dead bodies)
97. Guru – teacher for Indian boys
98. Hinduism – one f the oldest religions in the world, belief in many gods and goddesses, its
people are called Hindus
99. Krishna – the founder of Hinduism
100.
Bhagavad Gita – “Song of the Lord”, Krishna speaks to his followers on how to live
their lives.
101.
Brahman – the universal spirit of all the gods and goddesses
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
Karma – the consequences of how a person lives
Reincarnation – to be born again and again into a different social class based on how
he lived his life
Dharma – divine law that requires people to perform the duties of their social class
Buddhism – a simple and spiritual religion founded in India
Four Noble Truths – the heart of the Buddha’s teachings
 Life is full of suffering
 People suffer because they desire worldly things and self satisfaction
 The way to e4nd suffering is to stop desiring things
 The only way to stop desiring things is to follow the Eightfold Path
Buddha – the founder of Buddhism; means “the Enlightened One”
Nirvana – a state of wisdom for those who give up earthly possessions
Dalai Lama – The Buddhist leader who also headed the government; considered to be
the reincarnation of Buddha.
Pilgrims – people who make a journey for religious purposes (like to visit a shrine)
Zero – Indian mathematicians developed this idea and a symbol to represent it
Advance in medicine – first to do plastic surgery and could set broken bones;
Statue of Buddha
China
111. Marco Polo- Italian Merchant, who traveled to China, served as a diplomat for Kublai Kahn.
Brought back stories of the eastern Hemisphere.
112. Confucius- Chinese philosopher who stressed the need to respect tradition: his teaching
discussed the right and wrong uses of power.
113. Bureaucracy- Government made up of appointed officials, who are responsible for different
areas of government.
114. Shang Dynasty- The Shang dynasty ruled from 1750-1045. The Shang may have built the first
Chinese cities. The Shang kings ruled over the Huang He Valley and most people were farmers.
Numerous kings with large armies controlled during this time.
115. Zhou Dynasty- Ruled for more than 800 years! Zhou rulers were believed to have a mandate
from heaven (they were chosen because of their heavenly powers) and ruled the proper way
according to the Dao (duty to keep Gods happy). Chinese learned irrigation.
Wu- Longest lasting Dynasty
116. Daoism- Chinese philosophy that promotes a peaceful society also known as Taoism
117. Legalism- Believe that people were naturally evil and needed harsh laws to force them to be
good citizens.
118. Qin Shihuangdi- First Qin Emperor believed in Legalism and unified China he created money
to be used throughout China he also ordered for roads and buildings to be built.
Qin Dynasty
119. The Great Wall- The long wall of 10,000 is a series of stone in northern China, built, rebuilt,
and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of
the Chinese Empire; the majority of the existing wall were built during the Ming Dynasty.
120. Han Dynasty- 141 B.C- 87 B.C People had to take tests to show they were smart to fill the
positions in the government. This became a part of Chinese civilization for 2,000 years.
Liu Bang
121. Acupuncture- The treatment of herbs used to cure illnesses by sticking needles into skin (Han
Dynasty)
122. Silk Road- The large network of trade by shipping expensive goods such as silk, the route used
for the exporting of silk was 4,000 miles.
Great Wall of China
Confucius
Greece
123. Alex the Great- King of Macedonia who conquered who conquered, Greek, Persia, Egypt and
the Indus Valley; his conquest spread Greek culture.
124. Mount Olympus- Highest Mountain in Greece on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia.
125. Thermopylae- Mountain pass in ancient Greece.
126 Agamemnon- A Greek hero of the Trojan war.
127. Agora- In early Greek city-states, an open area that served as both a market place and meeting
place
128. Oligarchy- government in which a small group of people hold power
129. Sparta- city in ancient Greece and the capital of Laconia
130. Athens- Capital of Greece, an ancient city-state
131. Helots- A person who was captured and enslaved by the ancient Spartans
132. Persia- The conventional European designation of the country now known as Iran
133. Darius- was the third king of Achaemenid Empire.
134. Aristotle- A Greek philosopher who was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the great
135. Socrates- was an Athenian sculptor whose true love was philosophy, he invented the Socratic
method
136. Pericles- Athenian general who led Athens during the war with Sparta; he made sure that the
poor and rich citizens could be part of the government.
137. Plato- was a Greek Philosopher and student to Socrates.
138. Homer- Blind Greek poet who wrote Epics (long poems) such as Iliad and Odyssey.
Alexander the Great
Athens
Rome
139. Julius Ceasar- Roman general who became the republic’s dictator in 450 B.C
140. Constantine- Roman emperor who founded Constantinople as the new eastern capital of the
Roman empire
141. Charlemagne- King of Franks from 768-814 and emperor of Rome from 800-814
142. Gladiator- A Roman athlete usually a slave, criminal or prisoner of war, who was forced to
fight for entertainment.
143. Patricians- Were the wealthy people in Rome (landowners)
144. Plebeians- Roman citizens who were not wealthy.
145. Carthage- Rome’s enemy located in the Mediterranean area on the coast of North Africa,
Carthage was the richest city in the western Mediterranean.
146- Punic War- Carthage and Rome wanted to control Sicily. Rome was not prepared without Navy
so the quickly put together a fleet and won Carthage.
147. Second Punic War- Carthage had taken over Spain and Rome wanted to gain control. Hannibal
who was the greatest general in Carthage was sent to attack the Romans in Italy and Rome won again
because the sent their army to attack the Carthage’s people. Carthage gave up Spain to Rome. Rome
now ruled the Western Mediterranean.
Gladiator
Western Mediterranean
Middle Ages
148. Renaissance- A period of great culture and artistic change that began in Italy around 1350 and
spread throughout Europe.
149. Crusades- Journeys and battles undertaken by Europe Christians to win control over the holy
land from the Muslims.
150. Black Plague- A terrible disease that spread and killed many people, the disease was carried by
rats.
151. Magna Carta- A important English Document written in 1215 that was a model for American
colonists. It limited the power of one ruler.
152. Charlemagne- He was the king of the Franks and after conquering Germany he ordered them to
convert to Christianity. He also invaded Spain and gained control over the Muslims. Charlemagne
became the Roman Emperor.
153. Feudalism- Developed to divide Society into classes. It was based on landowning, loyalty, and
the power of armored knights on horseback. The bottom was peasants and serfs, then Knights, above
Knights were Lords and Ladies and at the top was the Kings and Queens.
154. Franks- During the 400’s a Germanic people called the Franks settled in the area that is now
France.
155. Gregory the Great- Pope from A.D 590- to A.D 604. He wanted all Europe to become
Christian.
156. Knights- Warriors in armor who fought on horseback.
157. Serfs- Peasants in the Middle Ages.
158. Theology- Study of religion and God, earning this degree could take up to 10years.