Subscribe

6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 9

Peoples of Alaska

First peoples, Russian contact and who came later

What your child practices

Different explanations of how people came to Alaska (Beringia and oral histories), Alaska Native peoples today, why Russian and European explorers and traders came and what contact meant, and the people who have come since: miners, cannery workers, farmers, soldiers and oil workers.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.6.2.22.1; SS.6.2.23.1; SS.6.2.14.1 · explanations of how people came to Alaska, the reasons for Russian and European contact, and the peoples who have moved to Alaska in the last 200 years

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Scientists think the first people came across Beringia, a land bridge; oral histories and archaeology give different evidence.
  2. Russia ruled from Sitka. Later, workers from the Philippines, China, Japan and other places came to the canneries.
  3. Oil at Prudhoe Bay brought pipeline workers. Anchorage has some of the most diverse schools in the US.

Example: Which Russian-era capital is in Southeast Alaska? It was the capital of Russian America. It is on Baranof Island. Answer: Sitka

Peoples of Alaska in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 6 of 9 in 6th grade Social Studies, after Earthquakes, Volcanoes & Hazards and before Alaska's Resources & Economy.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Anchorage is home to people from many cultures. Which is true?

    • no one has moved there recently
    • everyone speaks only one language
    • its schools are among the most diverse in the US

  2. Question 2

    Why did many soldiers come to Alaska during World War II?

    • to build bases, airfields and the Alaska Highway
    • to look for gold
    • to fish for salmon

  3. Question 3

    Which group came to Alaska in large numbers during the gold rushes of the 1890s?

    • Vikings
    • miners from the lower 48 and around the world
    • Spanish soldiers

  4. Question 4

    Which Russian-era capital is in Southeast Alaska?

    • Barrow
    • Nome
    • Sitka

  5. Question 5

    Beringia connected which two continents?

    • Asia and North America
    • Australia and Asia
    • Africa and Europe

  6. Question 6

    What pulled people to Alaska during its history?

    • furs, gold, fish, oil, jobs and land
    • warm weather
    • free houses for everyone

More 6th grade