Links for K-12 Teachers | Assessment Assistance | On-Line Practice Modules | Daily Dose of the Web

6th Grade Social Studies Skills
Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape. Do not copy content from the page. Plagiarism will be detected by Copyscape.
Culture | Economics | Geography | Governance and Civics | History | Individuals & Groups

Links verified 4/7/08
More 6th Grade Social Studies Links
Return to Grade Level Skills
a site for teachers | a PowerPoint show | This is an Adobe Acrobat document Adobe Acrobat document | a Word document
sound | video format | interactive lesson | a quiz | lesson plan | to print

Culture Standards
6.1.1 | 6.1.2 | 6.1.3 | 6.1.5 | 6.1.6 | 6.1.7 | 6.1.8

SPI's & Reporting Categories
(based on Tennessee Curriculum Standards)
Internet Resources
Recognize the basic components of culture (i.e., language, common values, traditions, government, art, literature, and lifestyles).
6.1.1
G
  1. Amish Culture and Lifestyle - All aspects of Amish life are dictated by a list of written or oral rules, known as Ordnung, which outline the basics of the Amish faith and help to define what it means to be Amish
  2. Culture Shock: A Fish Out of Water - article and quiz
  3. Native American Spirituality - "Their beliefs and practices form a integral and seamless part of their very being"
  4. Ancient Egyptian Cultural Exhibition - Multi link site covering many spi's
  5. Body Language - Learn the body language of many different cultures.
  6. Gullah Language & Culture - a blend of African and Elizabethan English.
  7. What is Culture? - explanation, terms, and a quiz
Identify the job characteristics of archaeologists, anthropologists, geologists, and historians.
6.1.2
WH1, 2
  1. Archaeologist
    1. Archaeologist - Job description.
    2. Discover the Mysteries of the Past - Read this book review and learn about this job.
    3. Job Profile - Read this profile from an archeologist as he describe what his job entails.
  2. Anthropologist
    1. Tasks and Duties
    2. Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) Index
  3. Geologist
    1. Career as a Geologist
  4. Historians
    1. Job Profile
Recognize the world's major religions and their founders (i.e., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed).
6.1.3
WH1
  1. Major Religions of the World - Ranked by Number of Adherents
  2. Introduction into Islam
  3. The Essence of Buddhism
  4. The Life of the Buddha - Buddha encouraged people to follow a path of balance rather than extremism.
  5. The Life of Moses - Moses is the founder of the Jewish people, and the leader who freed them from slavery in Egypt
  6. Moses at the Millennium - "He is the first and greatest of the prophets, and it is to him that God reveals the Law that rules the Jews (and the Christians) to this day"
  7. Prophet Mohammed - "He silently converted people to his faith through his strong personality, charming demeanor and force of divine virtues."
Identify differences between various cultural groups (i.e., European, Eurasian, Indian, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and Native American).
6.1.5
WH1, 2
  1. Native Americans - Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Click on an area of the map to learn about life in that region.
  2. Comparing Cultures - In this lesson, students will use the Web to find out about the cultures and customs of Nepal, Japan, or the Mentawai tribe of Indonesia. They will compare three customs from one of these cultures to customs in the United States.
  3. Some differences between Thai and Western cultures - a document distributed to project members volunteering to help in Thai cultures This is an Adobe Acrobat document
  4. Volunteerism in America and Japan - comparison of the two cultures
Recognize reasons that cultural groups develop or settle in specific physical environments.
6.1.6
G
  1. Agriculture - from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
  2. Desert People of the Past - how these people developed their environment to fit their needs
  3. Biotic change on the Colorado Plateau - Human activities may be unprecedented in their impact on biotic communities.
  4. Physical systems vs human systems - How physical and ecological systems affect human beings and their activities.
Identify how early writing forms in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley influenced life (i.e., legal, religious, and culture).
6.1.7
WH1
  1. The Origins of Writing in Mesopotamia - posted by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Indus Valley Civilization Writing
  3. Egyptian Writing
  4. Emergence and Evolution of the Cuneiform Writing System in Ancient Mesopotamia
  5. Egyptian Figures and Symbols
  6. The Origins of Writing - Museum of Anthropology, Utah State University
Recognize how migration and cultural diffusion influenced the character of world societies (i.e., spread of religions, empire building, exploration, and languages).
6.1.8
G
  1. Age of Imperialism - " annotated history unit covers United States expansionism around the turn of the last century"
  2. The Age of Imperialism- [this link opens on a new page] Quia quiz
  3. British Colonization - colonization
  4. Gullah Language & Culture - developed in the slave communities of the isolated plantations of the coastal South
  5. Industrial Revolution migration - causes and consequences of migration
  6. The Peopling of America - "A timeline showing forces behind immigration and their impact on the immigrant experience."
  7. Where to Live - lesson plan; "explore the features that are important when choosing a place to live."
Economics Standards
6.2.1 | 6.2.2 | 6.2.3 | 6.2.4 | 6.2.5 | 6.2.6
Recognize an example of a barter economy.
6.2.1
E
  1. Argentina: The Post-Money Economy - Barter has replaced the cash economy for many Argentines. (a report from Time magazine online)
  2. Surviving In Today's Economy Using Trade And Barter
  3. No Pesos? No problem - As Argentina's economy falters, millions turn to a booming bartering system to make do.
Identify major trade routes (i.e., silk roads, Persian trade routes, African trade routes, Mediterranean trade routes, and ocean routes).
6.2.2
E
  1. Ancient Trade Routes between Europe and Asia
  2. Nabataean Trade Routes -early trade routes of the Nabataeans (major Arabian trade route)
  3. The Persian Gulf Trade in Late Antiquity
  4. The Silk Road - The story of one of the world's oldest and most historically important trade routes and its influences on the culture of China, Central Asia, and the West.
  5. The Tin Trade - trade routes, and geography, define a country
  6. Trade between Arabia and the Empires of Rome and Asia
  7. Trade in the Gulf - Mesopotamia, the linchpin of ancient international trade
  8. Trade routes developed by the Seljuks
  9. Trade Routes Resources Blog - well documented
Identify disadvantages and advantages of nomadic and early farming lifestyles (i.e., shelter, food supply, and, domestication of plants and animals).
6.2.3
E
  1. Sahara’s Blue Men losing nomadic lifestyle -
  2. Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication - "Learning when--and why--each of the more than two dozen domesticated animals was brought under human rule "
  3. Shelter - Living in a Sod House -People living in sod houses describe their life.
  4. Sodbusters - Lesson plan
  5. Transition to Agricultural Domestication - "Because of agriculture's ability to provide a stable and large quantity of produce, population densities then grew even more."
  6. Shelters - What to consider when building shelters; from a Survival manual.
Recognize the importance of economic systems in the development of early civilizations around rivers (i.e., Tigris and Euphrates, Huang He, Nile, and Indus).
6.2.4
E
  1. Early River Valley Civilization - article on civilizations constituting the next step in the organization and centralization of human economic, political, religious, and social institutions and practices
  2. Economics Of The Indus Valley - article on the civilization of the Indus Valley
  3. The Arts, Technology and Trade of the Classical Harappan - short article on trade and the intricate system of weight
  4. The Yellow River Culture - "Chinese civilization began within a major river valley"
Recognize the importance of trade in later civilizations (i.e., Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, India, and European).
6.2.5
E
  1. Ancient Egyptian overseas trade -Trade routes and goods.
  2. Mediterranean History & Trade Routes - article
  3. Why Did Ancient People Trade? - article
Analyze how basic economic ideas influenced world events (i.e., supply and demand lead to exploration and colonization).
6.2.6
E
  1. Age of Exploration - Teacher Guide and Student Activities included in this Unit Plan
  2. The European Voyages of Exploration -" This tutorial also examines the geographical, technological, economic, political, and cultural patterns of that era."
  3. First English Settlement in the New World - the Roanoke Island colonial venture
  4. Explorations in Economic Demand - Three part unit with self check quiz at end of unit..
return to the top of the page

Geography Standards
6.3.1 | 6.3.2 | 6.3.4 | 6.3.5 | 6.3.6 | 6.3.7
Identify the basic components of a world map (i.e., compass rose, map key, scale, latitude and longitude lines, continents, and oceans).
6.3.1
G
  1. Are We There Yet? - students answer ten questions by reading information from maps
  2. Go to Enchanted Learning Software's Search page and enter latitude and longitude. You will find dozens of printable pages.
  3. Find your Longitude - Interactive game
  4. Label the Latitude and Longitude - a world map from Enchanted Learning (answers)
  5. Latitude and Longitude - Introduction
  6. Latitude and longitude - online Quiz
  7. Latitude and Longitude Printout Glossary - to be used with a world map
  8. Look up the latitude and longitude of states in the U.S.
  9. Map and Globe Quiz - Test your knowledge on identifying the parts of a map and a globe.
  10. A Map For All Reasons - students identify the function of various parts of a map
  11. Map Skills Quiz - Online quiz to test knowledge of reading maps
  12. USA Latitude and Longitude Activity - from Enchanted Learning
  13. What do Maps Show - Several activities are presented to assist in teaching the concepts of reading maps.
  14. What’s On a Map? - eight questions about using various parts of a map
  15. World Latitude and Longitude Outline Map - from Enchanted Learning
  16. World map to use in latitude & longitude study - World Latitude and Longitude Activity to go with the map
Identify basic geographic forms (i.e., rivers, lakes, bays, oceans, mountains, plateaus, deserts, plains, and coastal plains).
6.3.2
G
  1. Land Formations Activity -identify geologic features.
  2. Puzzle Maps from iKnowThat.com - From the Physical Features section select; Gulf Region, Bay Area, Plains Region, Canyon Region, or Continents and Ocean. After selecting one you will be asked to register. Click on the green "Maybe Later," to go to the game. Each game has a "Read it to Me" button.
    1. You can find similar activities at Label Maps or Clue Maps
Identify geographic reasons for the location of population centers prior to 1500 (i.e., coastal plains, deserts, mountains, and river valleys).
6.3.4
G
  1. Asian, African, and American Civilizations before 1500 - lecture notes with many good illustrations
  2. Princes and Merchants: European City Growth before the Industrial Revolution - Table 1, on page 8, shows the Thirty Largest Cities in Europe, from 1050 to 1800 This is an Adobe Acrobat document
Use a variety of maps to understand geographic and historical information (i.e., political maps, resource maps, product maps, physical maps, climate maps, and vegetation maps).
6.3.5
G
  1. Eight representations of a single place - Each of these images shows a representation of Mount Shasta, a volcano in California. A fantastic topographic map allows viewers to rotate the map horizontally.
  2. Map Skills - Maps show us many types of information. We can learn about a country's landforms, weather, population…… almost anything simply by reading a map!
  3. Map Adventures - Online lesson to guide young students in basic concepts for visualizing objects from different perspectives and how to understand and use maps.
Interpret a graph that illustrates a major trend in world history (i.e., population growth, economic development, governance land areas, and growth of religions).
6.3.6
G
  1. Population Country Ranks - find rankings for a variety of demographic concepts
  2. Population Density
    1. Animated Map - human population growth through history
    2. Continental Population Density Maps, 1995: (click on thumbnail image for full size maps)
    3. Population density - (persons per sq km) - A listing of locations ranked from greatest density to least density
    4. Population Density on a World Map - This data set shows the number of people per square kilometer around the world in 1994.
    5. Population Density Map of U.S.
    6. Summary Demographic Data - This page allows you to obtain summary demographic data and population pyramids for one country. (Data updated 9/30/2004)
    7. Where People Live on Planet Earth - a color-coded map produced from populations estimates made for 1994. (click the map for a larger version)
  3. Population Growth Rate
    1. Human Population: Fundamentals of Growth - Population Growth and Distribution (good charts)
    2. Population growth rate - a list of countries ordered from the highest growth rate to the lowest
    3. Population growth rate (All Descending) - a more detailed listing of the growth rates
    4. Population Growth Rate - a learning module from the World Bank Group
    5. Population Growth Rate Teaching Activities (with answers) - a learning module from the World Bank Group
Identify the location of early civilizations on a map (i.e., Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Ancient Chinese, and Indian).
6.3.7
G
  1. Ancient Atlas - Maps and Geography of the Ancient World in alphabetical order
  2. Assyria - map of Assyria
  3. Map of Eygpt -
  4. Map of Mesopotamia - click on the map to enlarge it and see locations of early civilizations.
  5. Map of Persia - can use mouse to make map larger.
  6. Shang Dynasty - map and article; be sure to click on the tabs across the top for other Chinese Dynasties; also has a timeline.

Governance and Civics Standards
6.4.1 | 6.4.2 | 6.4.3 | 6.4.4 | 6.4.5
Recognize types of government (i.e., formal/informal, monarchy, direct/indirect democracy, republics, and theocracy).
6.4.1
GC
  1. Definition of monarchy - definition and examples along with list of present constitutional monarchies.
  2. Focus on Direct Democracy - three different forms of direct democracy
  3. Introduction to Representative Democracy - Lesson plan
  4. Types of Government - 12 types of government explained
  5. The Modern Monarchy -the monarchy in Thailand
  6. Theocracy - definition
Recognize the steps that give rise to complex governmental organizations (i.e., nomadic, farming, village, city, city-states, and states).
6.4.2
GC
 
Identify the development of written laws (i.e., Hammurabi’s Code, Justinian Code, and Magna Carta).
6.4.3
GC
  1. The Avalon Project at Yale Law School - The Code of Hammurabi (Translated by L. W. King) includes a hyperlinked dictionary of terms
  2. The Code of Hammurabi - complete text of Hammurabi 's law code, the first written code of laws in human history
  3. Code of Hammurabi - from MSN Encarta
  4. The Code of Hammurabi - (from Click2Biography) Only the first four chapters are free, but significant information is included there.
Recognize the roles assigned to individuals in various societies (i.e., caste systems, feudal systems, city-state systems, and class systems).
6.4.4
GC
  1. City- State - characteristics of a city-state
  2. Why did Greece develop city-states? - short article
  3. Feudal Life - Different roles in feudalism
  4. Lessons on society's class structure - China
  5. People Like Us - A Touchy Subject - Class systems.
  6. Experiencing India's Caste System - Webquest
  7. Experiencing India's Caste System Game - Quia quiz
  8. The Caste System - Lesson plan to go along with the webquest mentioned above.
Compare and contrast the lives of individual citizens in various governmental organizations (i.e., monarchial systems, feudal systems, caste systems, and democratic systems-Greek).
6.4.5
GC
 

History Standards
6.5.1 | 6.5.2 | 6.5.3 | 6.5.5 | 6.5.6 | 6.5.7 | 6.5.8 | 6.5.10 | 6.5.11 | 6.5.12 | 6.5.17
Read a timeline and order events of the past between prehistory and the Renaissance.
6.5.1
WH1, 2
  1. An index of Timelines from Internet4Classrooms
  2. Customize your own timeline - This free service is offered by OurTimeLines.com. They request that webmasters not link to the timeline generator. Therefore you must go to the bottom of their page where you see the phrase, Ready to check it out? Just... Click Here!
  3. Make your own Timeline at Teachnology - (scroll past the membership information) Their generator can be used to make time lines of up to 9 events of your choice. Select either a horizontal or vertical timeline.
  4. Millennium - 1000 years of History - Experience the people, events and achievements that have shaped the world. Timelines, in pop-up windows, are available in each century
  5. Millennium Milestones - The 100 Most Significant Events of the Last Thousand Years
  6. World History -1000–2002
  7. Year by Year 1900 to 2003 from InfoPlease
  8. Interactive Historical Timelines from WhoWhatWhen. This site contains a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present. With this site you can create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals.
  9. Technology in the Home - This is a time line in the form of a Shockwave image that changes as you pull the slider to the left or right. For any year, you can get information about any object in the image by placing your mouse cursor over the part of the image you are interested in.
Recognize the types of early communities (i.e., nomadic, fishing, and farming).
6.5.2
WH1
 
Identify types of artifacts by pictorial representation (i.e., Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Chinese, Native American, Medieval, and Renaissance).
6.5.3
WH1, 2
  1. Native Americans - Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Click on an area of the map to learn about life in that region.
  2. British Museum - Compass - COMPASS currently features around 5000 objects from the huge range of periods and cultures represented in the Museum.
Identify major technological advances (i.e., tools, wheel, irrigation, river dikes, development of farming, advances in weaponry, written language, and printing press).
6.5.5
WH1, 2
 
Recognize the designations for time dating (i.e., BCE, AD, centuries, decades, prehistoric, and historic).
6.5.6
WH1, 2
  1. Becoming Human - Interactive story on the process of becoming Human. How scientests locate analyze and interpret fossil evidence.
  2. Timeline of prehistoric times -
  3. Iron Age - Find out whether you have the skills to make fire, bake bread and spin cloth and so survive the Iron Age.
Recognize major historical time periods (i.e., Early Civilizations, Classical Period, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, and Renaissance).
6.5.7
WH1, 2
  1. Middle Ages - Multi link site with information about Feudalism | Primogeniture | Christendom | The Huns | The Barbarians | The Byzantine Empire | The Moors | Charlemagne | The Vikings | The Normans (beware of all the ads and pop-ups)
  2. "The Cradle of Civilization" - Learn more about the contributions early cultures made by investigating some of the objects that they left behind.
  3. European Renaissance - multiple choice quiz
  4. Renaissance - Elizabethan England - bites of Elizabethan life. It is primarily social history, not political or military.
Identify conclusions about early world historical events using primary and secondary sources.
6.5.8
WH1, 2
  1. Primary Sources On The Web - list of web sites containing primary source materials.
  2. Using Primary and Secondary Sources - distinction between primary and secondary sources
  3. Using Comics to Teach About Primary and Secondary - lesson plan; PDF format
  4. Safe Passage - using primary and secondary sources - many lessons using primary sources.
  5. History in the Raw - Subject index, Teaching resources, Lesson plans and more.
Identify the development of written and spoken languages (i.e., Roman alphabet, Latin word origins, Romance Languages).
6.5.10
WH1, 2
  1. Linguistic Features - Structure of Chinese Characters
  2. Origins of Chinese Writing - a brief introduction to the beginnings of Chinese writing
  3. Picture writing evolved into a written alphabet - tables showing the evolution
  4. Viking Runes - The Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone, wood and metal, all written in the enigmatic symbols known as runes
Identify characteristics including economy, social relations, religion, and political authority of various societies (i.e., Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek City-States, Roman Empire, Indian, and Medieval).
6.5.11
WH1, 2
  1. Discover Babylon - Improving Our Understanding of Mesopotamian Civilization Through Learning Technology - Resources and a game to download; About the simulation game (not available 4-7-08)
Recognize the possible causes of change in civilizations (i.e., environmental change, political collapse, new ideas, warfare, overpopulation, unreliable food sources, and diseases).
6.5.12
WH1, 2
 
Recognize the significant mythologies of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
6.5.17
WH1
 

Individuals Groups and Interactions Standards
6.6.1 | 6.6.2 | 6.6.3
Identify examples of groups impacting world history (i.e., Muslims, Christians, Mongolians, Vikings, slave traders, explorers, merchants/traders, and inventors.)
6.6.1
WH1, 2
 
Recognize the impact of individuals on world history (i.e., Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, William the Conqueror, Ramses II, Julius Caesar, Socrates, Aristotle, Marco Polo, Alexander the Great, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Martin Luther, and Johannes Gutenberg).
6.6.2
WH1, 2
 
Describe the ways in which individuals can change groups (i.e., Martin Luther – Christian church, William of Normandy – English Monarchy, Joan of Arc – Hundred Years War, and Buddha – Chinese Culture).
6.6.3
WH1, 2

 

6th Grade Social Studies Concepts
return to the top of the page
Return to Grade Level Skills


 Enter text in the search box
Search the Internet4Classrooms site

Visitors since November 2000
Click for Memphis, Tennessee Forecast
Memphis, TN
Internet4Classrooms is a collaborative project developed by Susan Brooks and Bill Byles