Maryland Social Studies Standards — Grade 6

Identify and compare forms of government and various distributions of power, such as those found in ancient civilizations, dynastic China, absolute and constitutional monarchies

Summarize the positions taken on government by political philosophers from early civilizations through the Middle Ages

Examine and report on the roots of democratic principles in World History, such as Sumerian written law, Hammurabi's Code, Greek city-states, Roman Republicanism, and the British Constitution (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights)

Examine the decline of feudalism and the emergence of monarchies

Describe the conflict between the church and the state in the formation and implementation of policy

Analyze perspectives regarding issues in a feudal society, such as the church leaders v. lords of the manor, joining the Crusades, the growth of trade

Compare methods used in early world history to change governments, such as coups, elections and revolts

Examine the role of citizens in Greek city-states and the Roman Republic/Empire

Examine how religion shaped and influenced government policy

Analyze the usefulness of various sources of information used to make political decisions

Explain why common people did not have a voice in ancient civilizations

Describe the importance of citizenship in ancient Rome and Greece

Describe the significance of Hammurabi's Code and how it defined rights of citizens

Explain how the Roman Republic and the rule of the Senate affected individuals and groups

Compare power and authority of rulers in Ancient Egypt, India, Persia and China v. the protection of citizens in Greek city-states

Examine the balance between providing for the common good of the manor v. the rights of the individual serfs

Describe how location and environment influenced early world cultures

Describe and compare elements of culture such as art, music, religion, government, social structure, education, values, beliefs and customs, from civilizations in early world history

Describe the social, political, and religious character of societies in early world history

Identify cultural groups within a region in early world history

Describe factors that resulted in cultural diffusion, such as trade, conflict and migration

Describe interactions that promoted or failed to promote relationships between groups, civilizations, empires, and nations

Examine the practices and beliefs of world religions and philosophies including monotheism and polytheism

Describe the impact of various religions on a civilization, such as its effect on political, economic and social systems

Examine the causes and effects of social, economic, and political conflict such as the Crusades

Describe the impact of trade and migration on the exchange of ideas and beliefs

Use maps to compare geographic locations of civilizations from world history to:Mesopotamia,Africa including Egypt Nubia/Kush and Sub-Saharan Africa,Indus River Valley,Northern China,Greeks and Romans,Mesoamerican, such as the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs

Use photographs and thematic maps, to identify and describe physical and human characteristics of early civilizations

Identify and describe physical characteristics that influenced human settlement

Explain how physical characteristics of a place influenced human activities, such as agriculture, transportation, art and architecture and economic activity in the ancient world

Explain how human perceptions of and interactions with the environment changed over time in due to technologies, such as road building, dam construction, and agricultural improvements

Identify reasons why people migrate, such as economic opportunity, climate, and political reasons

Explain how the development of transportation and communication networks influenced the movement of people, goods and ideas from place to place, such as trade routes in Africa, Asia and Europe, and the spread of Islam

Describe how economic systems and cultural diffusion help to shape patterns of human settlement and interaction

Describe ways people modified their environment to meet their needs, such as cultivating lands, building roads, dams, and aqueducts

Analyze how people in early world history perceived and reacted to environmental concerns, such as flooding, drought, and depletion of natural resources and evaluate the consequences of those actions

Identify opportunity cost of economic decisions made by individuals and groups such as the decision to engage in trade

Identify ways people have used resources to meet economic wants such as domesticating agriculture

Describe how available resources affected specialization and trade

Give examples of how technology changed consumption and provided greater access to goods and services

Examine why technology has changed production such as the development of the printing press

Analyze examples of regional specialization that resulted from economic resources, such as silk production, bronze casting and terraced farming

Describe the effects of agricultural surplus and job specialization on the emergence of early towns and cities in various parts of the world

Identify African and Eurasian trade routes to explain how surplus goods and regional specialization resulted in economic interdependence

Describe how various early world societies answer the basic question of what, how, and for whom to produce

Describe examples of tradition in economies such as the economic roles of men and women in tribal societies

Describe examples of command in economies, such as the feudal system

Explain how the growth and management of towns, guilds, and the banking system were affected by technology and agriculture

Analyze how the guild system addressed changes in the economy, such as dictating price and production

Explain how societies used mediums of exchange to facilitate trade and help their economies grow

Describe characteristics and innovations of hunting and gathering societies, such as nomadic lifestyles, inventors of tools, adaptation to animal migration and vegetation cycles and the shift from food gathering to food-producing activities

Explain how and why towns and cities grew from early human settlements, including the need for security and government

Describe and trace the development of political and social structures of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs

Describe the characteristics of a civilization, such as social hierarchy, government, writing system, specialization in an area of trade and the establishment of cities

Compare major cultural, political and economic achievements of river valley civilizations, such as the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley, the Huang River Valley, the Indus River Valley and the Nile River Valley including Egypt, Nubia and Kush

Describe the major cultural achievements of the Greek civilization, such as art, science, political systems, and philosophy across time

Explain the emergence, rise and decline of the Greek city-states

Describe the major achievements of the Roman Era, such as legal, artistic, architectural, technological, and literary

Explain the transition from Roman Republic to Roman Empire including the social structure, significance of citizenship and the development of political institutions

Summarize the factors that led to the decline of the Roman Empire

Describe the causes and consequences of the unification of China under early imperial dynasties, such as the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang

Explain the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism in the context of early Chinese imperial dynasties

Analyze China's cultural, political and economic influence on Japan, Korea, and countries in Southeast Asia

Describe the contributions of major African monarchies, cities, and trade networks, such as Ghana, Mali and Songhai

Analyze the cultural and economic impact of African regional and worldwide trade routes

Summarize the factors that led to the decline of the African empires

Describe how interactions promoted or failed to promote development, such as the Fertile Crescent Empire, Greek city-states, and Latin Empires

Analyze the causes of the rise and fall, expansion and contraction of political entities and nation-states

Describe the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Buddhism

Explain the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Hinduism and its political and social impact on India

Analyze the major traditions, customs, and beliefs of Islam

Describe causes and consequences of the expansion of Islam into other regions, such as Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Europe and India

Analyze the major traditions, customs, and beliefs of Christianity

Explain the origins and consequences of the Black Death during the 14th century, such as a population decrease, a decline in trade, the elimination of the social order and the decline of religious power

Analyze the characteristics of the development and decline of feudalism and the emergence of monarchies

Describe the causes, consequences and cultural diffusion that resulted from the Crusades, such as the increase in Mediterranean trade and the exchange of knowledge and ideas

Students shall use reading, writing, and thinking processes and skills to gain knowledge and understanding of political, historical, and current events using disciplinary and inquiry literacies.