GRADE 6 SOCIAL STUDIES
KEY CONCEPTS CHECKLIST

GEOGRAPHY

_____lines of latitude (parallels) and line of longitude (meridians) to locate or compare points on a map or representation of a globe

_____Cardinal directions and intermediate directions –NE, NW, SE, SW

_____The equator and prime meridian

_____Land and climatic conditions conducive to human settlement—e.g., fresh water, fertile soil, mild climate, location near body of water

_____Role of slash-and-burn farming

_____Physical features that have influenced world historical events –e.g., Nile River, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (“Land between Two Rivers”), Red, Sea, Sahara Desert, Indus River, Alps Mountains, Sinai Peninsula, Himalaya Mountains, Gobi Desert, Bering land bridge

_____Cultural goals and interests, inventions, and technological advances that have affected people’s perception and use of world regions---e.g., spread of the Islamic Empire, religious conflict in Jerusalem and Israel, development in the Fertile Crescent, agricultural innovations such as terrace farming and the plow

_____Reasons for early migrations ---e.g., search for sources of food and water, severe climate changes such as flood or drought, increased opportunity for trade, escape from religious or political persecution

_____Physical features that have discouraged migrations of people----e.g., mountains, deserts, waterfalls

_____Historical migration routes

_____Factors that have made cultural diffusion possible---e.g., trade by the Phoenicians and spread of their alphabet, spread of the Islamic Empire

_____Historical events and trade routes that led to the distribution of culture---e.g., European exploration, Crusades, Silk Road, Constantinople, Mediterranean Sea

_____Trade of goods and services that encouraged economic interdependence among ancient civilizations---e.g., cotton, papyrus, silk, wood, spices, pottery, ivory, copper

_____Ancient centers of trade---e.g., Mycenae, Egypt, China, Mediterranean nations, Mesopotamia, Indus River Valley

_____Political borders established by ancient civilizations---e.g., natural boundaries such as deserts, bodies of water and mountains, and man-made boundaries such as walls

_____Effect of physical environments on human activity in ancient civilizations---e.g., flood plains, deserts, rain forests

_____Human adaptations of physical environment---e.g., levees and dams, irrigation, canals, trading, growing crops native to environment

_____Characteristics of hunter-gatherers and desert nomads

HISTORY

_____Interpret chronology of dates as presented on vertical and horizontal timelines

_____Understand that data presented in a timeline represents elapsed time between and within elapsed time periods

_____Describe change and continuity over time

_____Identify and interpret primary source material---e.g., quotes, literature, artifacts

_____Distinguish the difference between a primary and secondary source

_____Hunter-gatherer societies (e.g., wandering and nomadic lifestyle, types of food hunted, use of animals for clothing and shelter

_____Building materials used by early civilization –e.g., Mesopotamia, Native Americans

_____Development of early tools and materials used to create them

_____Natural resources important to the development of agriculture in early civilizations---e.g., availability of fresh water supply, rich soil, temperate climate

_____Physical barriers that provided ancient civilizations protection

_____Development of agricultural societies from hunters and gatherers—e.g., domestication and cultivation, Agricultural Revolution, shortage of available food

_____Reasons for the domestication of plants and animals

_____Major climatic changes which led to domestication

_____Location and characteristics of major river systems---e.g., Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Indus River, Nile River, Huang-He River (“River of Sorrows”)

_____Characteristics of the major early river valley civilizations

• Mesopotamia –e.g., ziggurats, Code of Hammurabi, Sumerian city-states, cuneiform
• Egypt –e.g., rule by pharaohs, pyramids and mummification, hieroglyphics, irrigation methods, papyrus
• Indus Valley
• China –e.g., ideographs, warrior class, Mandate of Heaven/ rule by dynasty, silk

_____Trade of goods and spread of ideas between early river valley civilizations

_____Development of agricultural societies in Southwest Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and temperate Europe—e.g., methods of food storage, agricultural developments such as irrigation techniques and the plow and their impact, increase of structured governments and defined leaders

_____Military migrations and invasions in Europe and Asia –e.g., Spartans, Hyskos, Aryans, Hittites, Dorians

_____Origins and influence of the Hittite, Minoan, and Mycenaean civilizations

_____Introduction of iron tools and weapons in Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region---e.g., metal plow, increased military activity

_____Phoenician trade in the Mediterranean Basic---e.g., important training partners such as Egypt and Greece, exchange of goods and information such as phonetic alphabet, indigo dye and cloth, nautical and shipbuilding skills

_____Forms of writing developed in early civilizations---e.g., Greek alphabet, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese symbols, Indus Valley pictographs

_____Cultural achievements of Greece—e.g., establishment of direct democracy in Athens, architecture, polis, literature such as epic poems and plays

_____Alexander the Great---e.g., education and ancestry, expansion of the Greek empire through military conquests (location and methods), spread of Greek culture into Asia

_____Influence of Greek ideas about democracy on the Roman Republic and their impact on the founders of the United States

_____Key characteristics of classical civilizations0—e.g., accomplishments in science and engineering, architecture, major goods traded, writing system, language, religious beliefs

_____Compare and contrast the major religions that emerged in the Mediterranean Basin, China, and India (Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism)—e.g., location, key beliefs, holy books, holy sites, leaders and founders, common moral beliefs, symbols

_____Spread of major religions and cultural traditions---e.g., spread of Islamic empire and Christianity, Emperor Constantine, effect of Roman Crusades, Jewish migration

_____Effect of major religions on European, Asian, and African civilizations—e.g., influence of Roman Catholic Church in medieval Europe, architecture of places of worship, religious motivation for European explorations, caste system of India

_____Developments brought about by the emergence and collapse of major kingdoms prior to A.D. 1000---e.g., divide of the Roman Empire, romance languages, Goths, expansion of Arabic culture

_____Major events, key figures, and social structure of the Early Middle Ages—e.g., feudalism (vassals, serfs, knights, priests, lords, manors), effects of the plague, fall of Rome, accomplishments of Charlemagne

_____Major innovations in shipbuilding, navigation, and naval warfare---e.g., cannon, telescope, magnetic compass, astrolabe, lateen sail, frigate, galleon, caravel

_____Accomplishments of King Philip the Navigator