Grade 6

Other Massachusetts History and Social Science sets

• Grade Pre-K
• Grade K
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 7
• Eighth Grade - United States and Massachusetts Government and Civic Life
• Grade 8
• Grades 9, 10
• U.S. History I
• World History I (2018)
• US History I
• Grades 11, 12
• US History II

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, quoting or paraphrasing as appropriate.6-8.RCA-H.1

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.6-8.RCA-H.2

Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).6-8.RCA-H.3

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.6-8.RCA-H.4

Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally), including how written texts incorporate features such as headings.6-8.RCA-H.5

Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).6-8.RCA-H.6

Integrate visual information (e.g., charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.6-8.RCA-H.7

Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.6-8.RCA-H.8

Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.6-8.RCA-H.9

Independently and proficiently read and comprehend history/social studies texts exhibiting complexity appropriate for the grade/course.6-8.RCA-H.10

Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.6-8.WCA.1

Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.6-8.WCA.2

Not applicable6-8.WCA.3

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.6-8.WCA.4

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.6-8.WCA.5

Use technology, including current web-based communication platforms, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.6-8.WCA.6

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.6-8.WCA.7

When conducting research, gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.6-8.WCA.8

Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, interpretation, reflection, and research. (See grades 6–8 Reading Standard 1 for more on the use of textual evidence.)6-8.WCA.9

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.6-8.WCA.10

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on discipline-specific topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.6-8.SLCA.1

Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.6-8.SLCA.2

Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.6-8.SLCA.3

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate vocabulary, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation.6-8.SLCA.4

Integrate multimedia components and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.6-8.SLCA.5

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.6-8.SLCA.6

an economy that produces food surpluses6.T2.6.a

dense populations in distinct areas or cities6.T2.6.b

stratified social classes6.T2.6.c

specialized occupations6.T2.6.d

developed systems of government, religion, and learning6.T2.6.e

achievements in technology, art, and monumental architecture6.T2.6.f

systems of record keeping, either written or oral6.T2.6.g

Explain how the presence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers contributed to the development of agriculture and ancient complex societies; explain why historians have called the region that surrounds these rivers "the Fertile Crescent."6.T3b.1

On a map of archaeological sites in the region, and identify the locations and time periods of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians as successive states and empires.6.T3b.2

Describe how irrigation, mining and metalsmithing, agriculture, the domestication of animals, and inventions such as the wheel, the sail, and the plow contributed to settlement and the growth of Mesopotamian civilizations.6.T3b.3

Analyze the important characteristics and achievements of early Mesopotamia.6.T3b.4

Identify the locations of ancient Upper and Lower Egypt and ancient Nubia; and explain what the terms "Upper" and "Lower" mean in this context.6.T3c.1

Describe the significance of the Nile River to ancient Egyptians.6.T3c.2

Analyze the kinds of evidence that have been used by archaeologists and historians to draw conclusions about the social and economic characteristics of ancient Nubia (the Kingdom of Kush) and their relationship to the characteristics of ancient Egypt.6.T3c.3

Analyze the role of the pharaoh as god/king, and describe how pharaohs were represented in painting and sculpture, the concept of dynasties, and significant acts of at least one pharaoh or queen (e.g., Khufu, Akhnaten, Ramses II, Nefertiti, Cleopatra).6.T3c.4

Describe the relationships among social classes (e.g., the relationship of the pharaoh to priests, nobles, government officials, soldiers, scribes, artisans, farmers, and peasants, laborers, and slaves).6.T3c.5

Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt with respect to beliefs about death, proper behavior, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of deities.6.T3c.6

Summarize important achievements of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms (e.g., the agricultural system; knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, the invention of a calendar; the invention of papyrus and hieroglyphic writing; the organization of monumental building projects such as the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza; the centralization of government and military power).6.T3c.7

On a map of the ancient Mediterranean world, locate Greece, Asia Minor, Crete, Phoenicia, the Aegean and the Red Sea.6.T3d.1

Explain how the location of Phoenicia contributed to its domination of maritime trade in the Mediterranean from c. 1000-300 BCE.6.T3d.2

Describe how the alphabetic Phoenician writing system differed from Mesopotamian cuneiform or Egyptian hieroglyphic writing; explain how Phoenician maritime traders contributed to the spread of the use of the alphabetic system, which eventually evolved into the Greek alphabet and then into letter symbols used in other languages.6.T3d.3

On a historical map of the Mediterranean, locate Asia Minor, Greece and Mesopotamia, the kingdoms of the Hittites and ancient Israel and Palestine and ancient Egypt.6.T3e.1

Trace the migrations of the ancient Israelite tribes from Mesopotamia to the land called Canaan and explain the role of Abraham and Moses in Hebrew history.6.T3e.2

Describe the history of ancient Israel and early Christianity:6.T3e.3

On a map of the Arabian Peninsula, identify the Red Sea and the cities of Mecca and Medina as the sites of the beginning of the Muslim religion.6.T3f.1

Explain Islam's historical relationship to Judaism and Christianity as monotheistic religions.6.T3f.2

Describe the life and teachings of Muhammad (570-c. 632 CE) and the significance of the Qur'an as the primary source of Islamic belief.6.T3f.3

Describe the impact of encounters through trade, cultural exchange, and conquest among the societies and empires in the region, in particular, exchanges on land routes of the Silk Roads linking Europe, the steppes of West Asia, East Asia, and Africa, and the goods, languages, and cultural motifs exchanged (e.g., gold, ivory from Africa, grain from Western Asia, produce, horses, livestock, wood, furs from the steppes, ceramics, silk, and other luxury goods from China).6.T3g.1

Use information from primary and secondary sources to research contributions of one of the ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Israelite, Islamic, and Eurasian societies to the modern world.6.T3g.2

On a map of the world, locate the continent of Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. On a map of Africa, locate the northern, eastern, western, central, and southern regions of Africa, the Sahara Desert, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Cape of Good Hope, the Great Rift Valley, Lake Victoria). Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.6.T4a.1

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.6.T4a.2

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate (including drought and desertification), and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.6.T4a.3

Identify the location, sources of wealth, and importance of the Kingdom of Axum (c. 100-940 CE); explain the role it played in the adoption of Christianity in Ethiopia and the role east African societies played in the spread of Islam to South Asia,6.T4b.1

Explain the pivotal role Swahili coastal societies along the Indian Ocean played in linking trade networks between interior Africa and maritime routes along the coasts of Central and South Asia, and connecting to China; identify key goods in this trade (e.g., gold, ivory, iron, people from Africa, and cloth, glass beads, and porcelain from Asia).6.T4b.2

Identify the locations, sources of wealth and importance of West African cities and empires, including the city of Timbuktu (beginning c.5th century CE), and the empire of ancient Ghana (beginning c. 700 CE).6.T4b.3

Explain the pivotal role these societies played in the trans-Saharan trade, the spread of Islam, and trade with North Africa, Europe, West Asia in gold, ivory, and slaves and the contributions of these societies to the modern world.6.T4b.4

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate Central America, the Caribbean Sea. On a map of the region, identify important physical features of the region (e.g. Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula, the Panama Canal).6.T5a.1

Demonstrate knowledge of political geography by locating the current countries and major cities of Central America and the Caribbean Islands on a political map; use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a country or region.6.T5a.2

Explain how absolute and relative locations, climate, major physical characteristics and natural resources influenced settlement, population size, and the economies of regions and countries in Central America and the Caribbean Islands.6.T5a.3

Describe the culture and way of life of the indigenous populations of the region (e.g., Carib [Antilles and South America], Taino [Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico], Lenca [Honduras], Miskito [Nicaragua], Huatares and Chorotegas [Costa Rica], Lokono, also known as Arawak [Trinidad and Tobago]).6.T5a.4

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate South America and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On a map of South America, locate important physical features of the region (e.g. Isthmus of Panama, Andes Mountains, Cape Horn, Amazon River, and the southern, northern, eastern, and western regions of South America). Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.6.T5b.1

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.6.T5b.2

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.6.T5b.3

Research and report on one of the major ancient societies that existed in Central America (Maya, Teotihuacán, and other civilizations such as the Olmec, Toltec, and Zapotec), or one of the major pre-Columbian Andean civilizations (Chavín, Moche, Nazca), their locations, and their cultural characteristics.6.T5c.1