Download Sixth Grade Social Studies Curriculum Development

Sixth Grade Social Studies Curriculum Development
Focus:
Time Period:
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World Geography, History & Culture: Patterns of Continuity and Change
Beginnings of Human Society to the Emergence of the First Global Age (1450) –
Represents the first five Eras of the National Standards
First formal look at a study of the world
Focus heavily on the discipline of geography by using the themes of location, place, movement,
human-environment interaction and region to understand the emergence, expansion and decline of
civilizations and societies from the beginning of human existence to the Age of Exploration
Take a systematic look at the history and culture of various world regions including the development of
economic, political and social systems through the lens of change and continuity
Examine the various factors that shaped the development of civilizations, societies and regions in the
ancient world
Examine both similarities and differences among these areas [regions]
Integrate various civilizations, societies and regions from every continent (Africa, Asia, Europe and the
Americas)
Recognize and interpret the “lessons of social studies;” those transferable understandings that are
supported throughout time by recurring themes and issues.
Organization of the new Essential Standards around five broad conceptual strands:
Curriculum developers should take an integrated approach to designing curriculum that will help students
understand the ancient world. Thus, were possible, each strand should be included in each unit of instruction.
In this way, students will be able to take a more holistic approach to their studies.
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History
Geography and Environmental literacy
Economics and financial literacy
Civics and Government
Culture
National World History Standards:
http://nchs.ucla.edu/Standards/world-history-standards
The periodization of the new Essential Standards for sixth grade social studies is based on the five eras
identified by the National Standards for World History,
Era 1:
Era 2:
Era 3:
Era 4:
Era 5:
The Beginnings of Human Society Giving Shape to World History
Early Civilizations and the Emergence of Pastoral People, 4000-1000 BCE
Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires, 1000 BCE-300 CE
Expanding Zones of Exchange and Encounter, 300-1000 CE
Intensified Hemispheric Interactions, 1000 – 1500 CE
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Last Revised:
2/15/12
Sixth Grade Social Studies Curriculum Development
Organization of the curriculum around conceptual units of instruction:
We recommend that districts/schools organize their curriculum around integrated units of instruction. While
the sixth grade standards use periodization as a way to focus content, the lens by which curriculum developers
should design units of instruction should be informed by the broad concepts identified by the standards.
These organizing concepts or conceptual lenses will provide students deeper and richer understanding of
these periods of time by focusing on the generalizations or lessons of social studies (also known as big ideas or
essential understandings).
For example, if you want to use the five eras of World History as unit foundations, what topics would lend
itself to a more in-depth study of each era that are based on the major concepts from the Essential Standards?
What generalizations would students have to understand for each unit that are both tied to specific strands,
but also show the integration of each strand?
Some major concepts for which student should understand in sixth grade social studies are:
 Continuity and change (over time and in various civilizations, societies, and regions)
 Conflict and cooperation
 Compromise and negotiation
 Migration and population distribution
 Cultural expression/practices and diffusion
 Human-environment interaction
 Trade and economic decision-making
 Societal organization (economic, political, and social systems)
 Technology and innovation
 Quality of life
 Citizenship
If you elected to organize your curriculum around units of instruction, here are some suggestions for including
era one in your curriculum.
 For one, you could develop a stand-alone unit that focuses on the work of anthropologists and
archaeologists to reconstruct early history in terms of human evolution and cultural development.
This would include migration patterns of the early inhabitants of the earth, theories of human
development, the change from nomadic to more sedentary societies due to the development of
agricultural techniques, etc.
 Or, you could incorporate this information in a larger unit on the development of the first civilizations.
You could shape this unit by showing the continuity and change from the nomadic way of life to the
development of major civilizations. This unit would, perhaps, place more emphasis on the civilizations
and use the earlier period info to set the context for change.
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Last Revised:
2/15/12