Grade 6 World Cultures

Enduring Understanding:

Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world.

Essential Questions

  1. How did the earliest civilizations begin and develop?
  2. How has their development contributed to the world we live in?

How did physical geography influence the location and success or decline of early civilizations?

  1. Identify the major physical features of the regions where ancient civilizations flourished.
  2. Describe how these features influenced the success or decline of the civilizations.
  3. Compare maps of these ancient civilizations to current political maps and make inferences about the continuing affects of physical geography on cultural development.

What role has religion played in human development from ancient times to modern?

  1. Explore the importance of religion in the cultural expression of ancient civilizations (e.g. customs, artistic expression, creation stories, architecture of sacred spaces).
  2. Identify key tenets of the major world religions (i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism).
  3. Analyze how religious ideas influence current issues.

How are the systems of power, authority, and governance used to establish order in ancient civilizations still present in today’s modern governments?

  1. Identify forms of government within these civilizations.
  2. Compare those forms to existing systems of governance in today’s world.

How did the people of early civilizations use innovation and technology to meet personal and community needs?

  1. Identify innovations in manmade structures over time (e.g. irrigation, roads, building materials) and their influence on meeting needs.
  2. Examine the evolution and importance of writing.
  3. Identify cultural expressions that reflect these systems (e.g. architecture, artistic expression, medicine, philosophy, drama, literature).
  4. Compare social classes, vocations, and gender roles within ancient civilizations.

Rubrics and samples of student work are on the class wiki: http://icsworldcultures.wikispaces.com/home

Treasury in Petra, Jordan

Essential Questions based on UbD unit at
http://www.uen.org/core/socialstudies/sixth/eueq.shtml

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