SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
All Units
Foundations for Understanding 19th Century America
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS AND ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
• Humans search for meaning.
• How do Historians interpret the past?
• How do variables such as a person’s race, class, gender,
ethnicity, cultural background, geographical location, and
historical point in time affect his or her perspective and/or
interpretation of historical events?
• What does it mean to be free and “created equal”?
• Humans are social beings.
• What societal factors lead to unity and disorder?
• How democratic is/was the United States?
• The past affects humans; humans affect the future.
• How does the past relate to the present?
• Humans relationship with the land affects their development.
• How has geography affected social, political, economic,
and cultural development?
• Both continuity and change are aspects of human development.
• How does America change from 1800 to 1900?
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
BENCHMARKS
History Strand
6A H.1
I can name and discuss the ways historians use journals, letters,
diaries, site visits, and artifacts to understand past events.
6A H.2
I can explain how the United States changed and stayed the same
from 1800-1900.
Geography Strand
6A G.1
I can explain how geography has affected social, political,
economic and cultural development.
Economics Strand
6A E.1
I can explain how economic incentives shaped the development
of the nation.
Culture Strand
6A CU.1
I can explain how culture affects perceptions of the world.
6A CU.2
I can analyze how culture shapes, unites, and divides a society.
Civics Strand
6A C.1
I can explain how democracy was defined at the beginning of the
1800s and how its meaning changed by the end of the century.
6A C.2
I can explain the tension between states’ rights and federal rights
during the 1800s.
Contemporary Applications Strand
6FA CA.1 I can explain how knowledge of the 19 century helps me
understand current issues.
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
UNIT QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Unit 1: Expansion
How did where someone lived impact how he/she lived in the early
1800s?
How were the multiple views of indigenous cultures different or similar
to European cultures?
What is democracy? How democratic was the United States during the
period 1800-1840?
To what extent did the United States live by its creed: “All men are
created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable
rights…”?
How just was Manifest Destiny?
BENCHMARKS
History Strand
6EX H.1
I can describe the philosophy of Manifest Destiny and its impact
on westward expansion, considering the following events:
•
Louisiana Purchase
•
Journey of Lewis and Clark
•
War of 1812
•
Indian removal
•
Texas Revolution
•
Mexican War
•
California Gold Rush
•
Trails west (6A H.2)
6EX H.2
I can compare Jeffersonian and Jacksonian politics and how it
affected the American people. (6A H.1 6A C.1)
6EX H.3
I can describe the significant contributions of important people
during this era such as the following: Thomas Jefferson,
Meriwether Lewis, George Rogers Clark, Sacagawea, Tecumseh,
James Madison, Sequoia, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, James
Polk. (6A H.1 6A H.2)
6EX H.4
I can explain the ways in which the forced displacement of native
Americans changed their way of life. (6A H.1 –6A G.1 - 6A CU.1)
Geography Strand
6EX G.1
I can explain how the nation expanded geographically and
demographically in the early 1800s. (6A H.1 –6A G.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
6EX G.2
I can describe how the geography of a land both impedes and
aids exploration and immigration. (6A G.1)
Economics Strand
6EX E.1
I can explain the relationship between economic incentives and
western expansion. (6A E.1)
Civics Strand
6EX C.1
I can explain how the United States became more democratic
during this era. (6A C.1)
Culture Strand
6EX CU.1 I can explain what life was like on the frontier from a
multicultural perspective, including some of the following
cultures and/or sub-cultures: Native American, Mexican, slave,
and pioneer. (6A CU.1)
6EX CU.2 I can explain how the attempt to assimilate indigenous and
incoming people reflected the concept of Manifest Destiny. (6A
CU.2)
Contemporary Applications Strand
6EX CA.1 I can explain the legacy of westward expansion on life today. (6A
CA.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 2: Pre-Civil War
UNIT QUESTIONS
1.
What political, economic, social, geographical factors caused the Civil
War?
2.
How did slaves transform African culture into African-American culture?
3.
How and why did the conflicts between the state governments and the
federal government escalate into the Civil War?
4.
Marginalized groups: when and how do they challenge their place in
society? To what extent are they successful?
BENCHMARKS
History Strand
6PC H.1
I can explain the causes of and the path leading to the Civil War,
considering the following events:
•
Missouri Compromise
•
Nat Turner's slave revolt
•
Underground Railroad
•
Compromise of 1850/Fugitive Slave Act
•
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
•
Kansas Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas
•
Rise of the Republican Party
•
Dred Scott decision
•
Lincoln-Douglass debates
•
Harper's Ferry
•
1860 election
•
Secession (6A H.2)
6PC H.2
I can explain the attempts and methods of social reform led by
important people during this era such as the following: Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Dorothea Dix, Susan B. Anthony, Horace Mann,
Catherine Beecher, Nathanial Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, Sarah and Angelina Grimke,
Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Stephen
Douglas, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nat Turner, and
Dred Scott. (6A H.2, CU.1, CU.2, C.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 2: Pre-Civil War
continued
History Strand cont.
6PC H.3
I can compare the impact of slaves on the institution of slavery
and the institution of slavery on the slaves, considering the
following: intellectual development, family life, economic
opportunity, slave codes, political and legal rights, liberty, and
resistance. (6A CU.2, C.1, E.1)
6PC H.4
I can compare the pro-slavery and Abolitionist positions and
arguments. (6A H.2, C.1, CU.1, CU.2, E.1)
Geography Strand
6PC G.1
I can compare the geographic differences between the North and
South during the Antebellum Era. (6A G.1)
Economics Strand
6PC E.1
I can compare the differences between the northern and southern
economies during the Antebellum Era. (6A E.1)
Civics Strand
6PC C.1
I can describe the conflict between state and federal governments
before the Civil War. (6A C.2)
Culture Strand
6PC CU.1
I can compare the differences between Northern and Southern
society during the antebellum era. (6A CU.1, CU.2)
6PC CU.2
I can describe African-American culture during this time period.
(6A CU.1, CU.2)
Contemporary Applications Strand
6PC CA.1
I can explain how cultural reforms affect society. (6A CA.1)
6PC CA. 2
I can explain why attempts at compromise fail. (6A CA.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
The following content and concepts should be introduced or
extended this year, but they do not constitute Benchmarks:
Contemporary Applications Strand
I can explain the role that tolerance, empathy, and reform play in maintaining
the delicate balance of democracy.
I can explain the effects of oppression in the world today.
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 3: Civil War and Reconstruction
UNIT QUESTIONS
1.
During the Civil War, how did where people live affect how people
lived?
2.
What were the positive and negative consequences of the war?
3.
What was the impact of reconstruction on southerners and AfricanAmericans in particular?
4.
Why did Reconstruction fail?
BENCHMARKS
History Strand
6CW H.1
I can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the North and
South. (6A G.1, E.1)
6CW H.2
I can explain the significance of major stages and campaigns of
the Civil War, including the following:
Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg,
Sherman's march to the sea, Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and
the Emancipation Proclamation. (6A H.2)
6CW H.3
I can explain the significant contributions of important people
during this era such as the following: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses
S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, William Tecumseh
Sherman, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, John Wilkes Booth,
Andrew Johnson, Clara Barton and Matthew Brady. (6A H.2)
6CW H.4
I can explain important terms and concepts associated with
Reconstruction such as: Lincoln’s assassination discrimination,
carpetbagger, lynching, Ku Klux Klan, segregation, racism, Jim
Crow, and “separate but equal”. (6A H.2)
Geography Strand
6CW G.1
I can describe the relationship between geography and the
location of key battles of the war. (6A G.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 3: Civil War and Reconstruction
(continued)
Economics Strand
6CW E.1
I can describe the economic strengths and weaknesses of the
North and South during and following the war. (6A E.1)
Civics Strand
6CW C.1
I can analyze the effect of Lincoln’s leadership on the Civil War
and the nation. (6A C.2)
6CW C.2
I can explain how the federal government tried to ensure the
freedom of African-Americans during and after the Civil War,
considering the following:
! Emancipation Proclamation
! 13 -15 Amendments
! Freedmen’s Bureau (6A C.1)
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Culture Strand
6CW CU.1 I can describe the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on
Americans, including whites, African-Americans, indigenous
peoples, and immigrants. (6A CU.1, CU.2)
Contemporary Applications Strand
6CW CA.1 I can explain the legacy of the Civil War and Reconstruction in
our own time. (6A CA.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 4: Transformation
Industrialization and Labor, Urbanization, and Immigration
UNIT QUESTIONS
1.
How did the United States change (socially, politically, economically,
and geographically) as a result of industrialization, immigration, and
urbanization?
2.
How did the transformation of the United States in the second half of the
1800s shape the idea of who is American?
3.
How did developments in technology and transportation impact the
United States in the late 1800s?
BENCHMARKS
History Strand
6TR H.1
I can describe the relationship between the rise of industry,
immigration, and the growth of cities. (6A H.2, E.1)
6TR H.2
I can describe the significant contributions of inventors and
business leaders such as: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham
Bell, George Pullman, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller,
Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. Pierpont Morgan. (6A E.1)
6TR H.3
I can explain why immigrants came to the United States in large
numbers at the turn of the century. (6A E.1)
Geography Strand
6TR G.1
I can describe how the immigrants’ homelands shaped their
experiences in the United States, considering the following:
• Chinese Exclusion Act
• Ellis Island
• Angel Island
• Assimilation
• Nativism (6A CU.1)
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SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND
BENCHMARKS FOR SIXTH GRADE
Unit 4: Transformation continued
Industrialization and Labor, Urbanization, and Immigration
Economics Strand
6TR E.1
I can explain the economic, social, and geographic impact of
events and movements such as the following on the nation's
growth:
! Homestead Act
! Transcontinental Railroad
! Immigrant labor
! Technological advancements
! Monopolies
! Class issues
! Pollution
! Labor and social organizations
! Native American reservations (6A E.1, G.1)
Civics Strand
Culture Strand
6TR CU.1 I can describe how technological developments and urbanization
changed the daily life of Americans. (6A CU.2)
6TR CU.2 I can explain the effect of increased immigration on the emerging
nation. (6A CU.2)
6TR CU.3 I can explain the extent to which immigrants integrated into
American culture. (6A CU.1)
Contemporary Applications Strand
6TR CA.1
I can describe the connection between the past and present gap
between haves and have-nots in the U.S. and the world. (6A
CA.1)
6TR CA.2
I can explain the evolution of cultural diversity that exists in
American society. (6A CA.1)
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