History/Social Science Curriculum Guide
6th Grade
2016-2017
Paramount Unified School District
Educational Services
History / Social Studies
Curriculum Guide
What’s New in 2016-2017?
Currently, History/Social Studies teachers in PUSD are working toward the full implementation of the Literacy Standards for History/Social Studies,
Science and Technical Subjects. The Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies do not replace content standards but enhance them by incorporating
literacy skills and understandings required for college and career readiness. Since literacy is a shared responsibility in all content areas, the development
of reading, writing, speaking, listening and language is essential in social studies classrooms as well. In order to assist with literacy opportunities and
timeframe considerations, a team of social studies teachers representing each grade level made revisions to the 2016-2017 Social Studies Curriculum
Guides.
The following table provides a summary of the components of the curriculum guides that have been changed or added:
Understandings are statements that:
• summarize important ideas and core processes that are central to the content and have lasting value beyond
the classroom
Understandings
• synthesize what students should understand – not just know or do – as a result of studying the lesson
• address the questions, “What specifically do you want students to understand?” and “What inferences
should students make?”
Essential Questions are thought-provoking questions that align with the Understandings and help students
Essential Questions
make meaning. These questions should be shared with students and reflected on throughout the lesson as
students work toward reaching the Understandings.
Constructed Response Constructed Response Questions require students to provide a short written response to demonstrate their
Questions
understanding of the content. Students should use the ACE strategy to answer the questions.
To help prepare students for the benchmark writing assessments, a multi-paragraph essay writing task is
Writing Tasks
included in Quarter 2 reflecting the type of writing used for the assessment (i.e., informative, argumentative).
Ideas for Thinking Maps are included for each chapter. Of course, teachers are welcome to select and develop
Thinking Map
their own uses for Thinking Maps. Students should be encouraged to self-select and generate maps, as well.
Opportunities
The maps should be used as mid-range tools, including opportunities for students to take ideas “off the map”
through discussion or in writing.
Shifts for Literacy in History/Social Studies
1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and
informational texts
2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both
literary and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
2016-17 History/Social Science
Pacing Calendar
Grade 6 – Ancient Civilizations
Unit 1 Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel
Standards
(** = high emphasis)
6.1
6.1.1 Describe the hunter-gatherer
societies, including the development
of tools and the use of fire.
August 17 – September 9
Scavenger Hunt, pp. 45
Map Skills, pp. 48-49
Understandings:
1-1 Studying the past helps to understand the present.
1-2 Physical geography plays a role in how civilizations develop.
1-3 Conflict often brings about great change.
Introducing Unit 1 pp. 114-117
6.1.2** Identify the locations of
human communities that populated
the major regions of the world and
describe how humans adapted to a
variety of environments.
6.1.3 Discuss the climatic changes
and human modifications of the
physical environment that gave rise to
the domestication of plants and
animals and new sources of clothing
and shelter.
6.2
6.2.1** Locate and describe the
major river systems and discuss
the physical settings that
supported permanent settlement
and early civilizations.
6.2.2 Trace the development of
agricultural techniques that permitted
the production of economic surplus
and the emergence of cities as
centers of culture and power.
6.2.3** Understand the relationship
between religion and the social and
political order in Mesopotamia and
Egypt.
6.2.4** Know the significance of
Hammurabi’s Code.
Chapter 1 – The First Civilizations
• Section 1 – Early Humans,
pp. 122-126
• Section 2 – Mesopotamian
Civilization, pp. 132-141
• Section 3 – New Empires,
pp. 142-147
Resources:
CH. 1 Content and Academic Vocabulary
p. 122, 132, 142
CH. 1 Text Planning Guide and Resources,
pp. 118A- 118F
CH. 1 Resources First Civilizations TE Guide
CH. 1 Universal Access p. 123,134,147
Materials
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
ARNT
1-5
6-13
14-18
RESG
1-6
7-12
13-16
Assessment Options:
• Section 1-1 Quiz
• Section 1-2 Quiz
• Section 1-3 Quiz
• Chapter 1 Assessment
pp. 226-227
Essential Questions:
1-1 What can we learn about early human life by studying the past?
1-2 How did the earliest civilizations begin and develop?
How did physical geography influence the location and
success of early civilizations?
1-3 What causes conflict between groups?
What types of change can occur as a result of conflict?
Thinking Map Opportunities:
1-1 Double Bubble – Paleolithic compare/contrast to Neolithic Age pp.
124-130
1-2 Circle Map – Contributions of Sumerians pp. 136-137
1-3 Tree Map – Classify the Assyrian and Chaldean Empires
pp. 143-147
Constructed Response Questions*:
1-1 Explain the major differences between the people who lived in the
Paleolithic period to those that lived in the Neolithic period.
1-2 Explain the major contributions of the Sumerian people.
1-3 Describe a major accomplishment of the Assyrians and the
Chaldeans.
* Use the ACE Strategy to answer constructed response
questions.
Shifts for Literacy in History/Social Studies
1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and
informational texts
2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both
literary and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
2016-17 History/Social Science
Pacing Calendar
Grade 6 – Ancient Civilizations
Unit 1 Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel
Standards
(** = high emphasis)
Sept. 12– Oct. 7
6.2
6.2.1** Locate and describe the
major river systems and discuss
the physical settings that
supported permanent settlement
and early civilizations.
6.2.2 Trace the development of
agricultural techniques that
permitted the production of
economic surplus and the
emergence of cities as centers of
culture and power.
Chapter 2 – Ancient Egypt
•
•
•
Section 1 – The Nile Valley,
pp. 156-164
Section 2 – Egypt’s Old Kingdom,
pp. 165-176
Section 3 – The Egyptian Empire,
pp. 179-186
Resources:
CH. 2 Content and Academic
6.2.3** Understand the
Vocabulary
relationship between religion and
p. 156, 165, 178
the social and political order in
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
CH. 2 Text Planning Guide and
Resources, pp. 152A- 152F
6.2.5** Discuss the main features
CH.
2
Resources
Ancient Egypt TE
of Egyptian art and architecture
Guide
CH. 2 Universal Access p. 157,169,180
6.2.6 Describe the role of Egyptian
trade in the eastern Mediterranean
and Nile Valley.
6.2.7 Understand the significance
of Queen Hatshepsut and Ramses
the Great.
6.2.9 Trace the evolution of
language and its written forms.
Materials
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
ARNT
19-25
26-30
31-36
RESG
17-23
24-27
28-32
Assessment Options:
• Section 2-1 Quiz
• Section 2-2 Quiz
• Section 2-3 Quiz
• Chapter 2 Assessment,
pp. 194-195
Understandings:
2-1 Physical geography plays a role in how civilizations develop and
decline.
2-2 Religion shapes how culture develops, just as culture shapes how
religion develops.
2-3 All civilizations depend on leadership for survival.
Essential Questions:
2-1 How can success of a community be influenced by its physical
geography?
2-2 How do you think a society might be affected by government leaders
who are also religious leaders?
2-3 How can a society flourish under strong leadership?
Thinking Map Opportunities:
2-1 Tree Map– Geography of Nile River pp. 157-159
2-2 Circle Map – Egyptian Religion pp. 167-168
2-3 Double Bubble – Compare and contrast Hatshepsut and Ramses
pp. 181-185
Constructed Response Questions:
2-1 How did the geography of the Nile River valley lead to the growth of a
civilization there?
2-2 What was the Egyptian process of embalming and who was it
reserved for?
2-3 Describe the similarities and differences between the rule of
Hatshepsut and Ramses II.
Quarter 1 Benchmark Assessment –
October 11-12, 2016
(Chapters 1- Ch. 2.3)
Shifts for Literacy in History/Social Studies
1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and
informational texts
2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both
literary and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
2016-17 History/Social Science
Pacing Calendar
Grade 6 – Ancient Civilizations
Unit 1 Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel
Standards
(** = high emphasis)
6.3
6.3.1** Describe the origins and
signifcance of Judaism as the first
monotheistic religion based on
the concept of one God who sets
down moral laws for humanity.
6.3.2** Identify the sources of
ethical teachings and central
beliefs of Judaism. Belief in God,
observance of law, practice of the
concepts of righteousness and
justice, and importance of study;
and describe how the ideas of the
Hebrew traditions are reflected in
the moral and ethical traditions of
Western civilization.
6.3.3 Explain the significance of
Abraham, Moses, Naomi, Ruth,
David, and Yohanan ben Zaccai in
the development of the Jewish
reilgion.
6.3.4 Discuss the locations of the
settlements and movements of
Hebrew peoples, including the
Exodus and their movement to and
from Egypt, and outline the
significance of the exodus to the
Jewish people.
6.3.5 Discuss how Judaism survived
and developed despite the
continuing dispersion of much of the
Jewish population from Jerusalem
and the rest of Israel after the
destruction of the second Temple in
A..D. 70
October 12 – November 4
Chapter 3 – The Ancient Israelites
• Section 1 – The First Israelites
pp. 200-205*
• Section 2 – The Kingdom of
Israel, pp. 206-212
• Section 3 – The Growth of
Judaism pp. 213-223
Unit 1 Review – Making Comparisons,
pp. 228-229
Resources:
CH. 3 Content and Academic Vocabulary
p. 200, 206, 213
CH. 3 Text Planning Guide and Resources,
pp. 196A- 196F
CH. 3 Resources Israelites TE Guide
CH. 3 Universal Access p. 202,205,222
Materials
ARNT
RESG
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
43-47
48-53
54-62
37-40
41-44
45-51
Assessment Options:
• Section 3-1 Quiz
• Section 3-2 Quiz
• Section 3-3 Quiz
• Chapter 3 Assessment
pp. 226-227
Understandings:
3-1 Religion shapes how culture develops, just as culture shapes how
religion develops.
3-2 All civilizations depend on leadership for survival.
3-3 Religion shapes how culture develops, just as culture shapes how
religion develops.
Essential Questions:
3-1 How might religion influence culture?
3-2 What characteristics does a good leader have?
3-3 How does religion shape a group’s way of life?
Thinking Map Opportunities:
3-1 Flow Map – Sequencing movement of the Israelites p. 201-204
3-2 Multi-flow Map - The rise and rule of King David. p. 207-209
3-3 Tree Map – The Jewish Way of Life pp. 217-218
Constructed Response Questions:
3-1 What led to the Israelites leaving Canaan and eventually returning to
the Promised Land?
3-2 Who was King David and what was life like in Israel under his reign?
3-3 What influenced the way the Jewish people lived their life?
Shifts for Literacy in History/Social Studies
1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and
informational texts
2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both
literary and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
2016-17 History/Social Science
Pacing Calendar
Grade 6 – Ancient Civilizations
Standards
Unit 2 India, China, and the Americas
Understandings:
(** = high emphasis)
November 7 – December 16
6.5.1 Locate and describe the
major river system and discuss
the physical setting that
supported the rise of this
civilization.
Introducing Unit 2, pp. 230-233
6.5.2 Discuss the significance of
the Aryan invasions.
6.5.3 Explain the major beliefs
and practices of Brahmanism in
India and how they evolved into
early Hinduism.
6.5.4 **Outline the social
structure of the caste system.
6.5.5** Know the life and
moral teachings of Buddha
and how Buddhism spread in
India, Ceylon, and Central
Asia.
6.5.6 Describe the growth of the
Maurya empire and the political
and moral achievements of the
emperor Asoka.
6.5.7 Discuss important
aesthetic and intellectual
traditions (e.g., Sanskrit
literature, including the
Bhagavad Gita; medicine;
metallurgy; and mathematics,
including Hindu-Arabic
numerals and the zero.
Chapter 4 – Early India
• Section 1: India’s First
Civilizations, pp. 238-245
• Section 2: Hinduism and
Buddhism, pp. 246-253
• Section 3: India’s First
Empires, pp. 259-267
Resources:
CH. 4 Content and Academic
Vocabulary p. 238, 246, 259
CH. 4 Text Planning Guide and
Resources,
pp. 234A- 234F
CH. 4 Resources TE Guide Early India
CH. 4 Universal Access p. 262, 265
Materials
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
ARNT
63-68
69-73
74-78
RESG
52-57
58-62
63-68
Assessment Options:
• Section 4-1 Quiz
• Section 4-2 Quiz
• Section 4-3 Quiz
• Chapter 4 Assessment
pp. 270-271
4-1 People’s social status affects how they live.
4-2 Religion shapes how culture develops and how people live their daily
life.
4-3 Civilizations are strengthened by a variety of advances.
Essential Questions:
4-1 In what ways did the caste system affect the people who lived in
India?
4-2 How much do religious beliefs influence the way people live?
4-3 What early advances in India benefited their society?
Thinking Map Opportunities:
4-1 Tree Map for “Social Levels of the Caste System” p. 244
(May be used for Writing Task)
4-2 Double Bubble Map comparing and contrasting Hinduism
and Buddhism p. 247-252
4-3 Flow Map sequencing advances in art, science, and math in India.
Writing Task
Write a multi- paragraph essay in which you explain the significance of
the caste system in ancient India. Use evidence from the text in your
response.
In your essay:
• Explain why the Aryans created the caste system.
• Describe each social class and the role they played in society.
• Explain how the caste system affected the people in India.
Quarter 2 Benchmark Assessment –
December 13-14, 2016
(Chapters 3 and 4 plus review from Ch.1
– Ch. 2.3 and Q2 writing prompt)