Grade 6 Social Studies
8 units matched to the Alberta Curriculum.
Organizing ideas
- Democracy: history, principles and operation. A democracy is government by the people, with rights, rules and responsibilities.
- Principles of democracy: equality, majority rule with minority rights, the rule of law, and direct and representative democracy.
- Ancient Athens and the Roman Republic: two early ways of sharing power, and who was left out.
- Haudenosaunee Confederacy: an Indigenous system of decision making by consensus, with clan mothers and a Grand Council.
- Canada today: federal, provincial and municipal governments, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Taking part: formal and informal ways citizens take part, and how to respond to discrimination and racism.
Units
Unit 1
Principles of Democracy
The word democracy, who holds power, majority rule with protection for minorities, the rule of law, accountability, consensus and direct versus representative democracy.
Learning outcome: principles of democracy · what democracy means, majority rule, minority rights, the rule of law and the difference between direct and representative democracy
Unit 2
Athens: Direct Democracy
Athens around 500 BCE: Cleisthenes, the Assembly, officials chosen by lot, jury courts and ostracism, and why this democracy was limited to adult male citizens. Compared with Canada's democracy.
Learning outcome: ancient Athenian direct democracy · how the Athenian Assembly, councils chosen by lot and ostracism worked, and who was left out
Unit 3
The Roman Republic
The Roman Republic from 509 BCE (traditional date): two consuls, the Senate, patricians and plebeians, tribunes, the Twelve Tables, checks and balances, and the end of the Republic under Augustus.
Learning outcome: Roman Republic representative democracy · how Rome elected officials, shared power between two consuls and a Senate, and gave plebeians a voice
Unit 4
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora), its Great Law of Peace, clan mothers and consensus decisions, in the present tense as living nations. Needs review with Haudenosaunee partners before launch.
Learning outcome: Haudenosaunee Confederacy decision making · how the Great Law of Peace, clan mothers and consensus guide the Confederacy
Unit 5
Governments in Canada
The three orders of government, MPs and MLAs, the prime minister and premier, the Governor General and Lieutenant Governor, how a bill becomes law, and which government looks after what.
Learning outcome: provincial and federal governments in Canada · how Parliament, the Alberta Legislature and municipal councils work and what each level looks after
Unit 6
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Charter (1982): fundamental freedoms, democratic, mobility, legal, equality and language rights, reasonable limits, Indigenous rights, and the link between rights and responsibilities.
Learning outcome: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms · fundamental freedoms, democratic, mobility, legal, equality and language rights, and their reasonable limits
Unit 7
Taking Part
Formal ways to take part (voting, running for office, jury duty) and informal ways (volunteering, petitions, peaceful protest), what young people can do now, and civic responsibilities.
Learning outcome: formal and informal civic participation · voting, running for office, volunteering, petitions, peaceful protest and other ways to take part
Unit 8
Fairness and Respect
Defines prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination and racism, looks at examples such as the Chinese head tax and the internment of Japanese Canadians with apologies, and shows how human rights law, the Charter and upstander actions help. Factual and age-appropriate, with no graphic detail.
Learning outcome: discrimination and racism · prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination and racism, past wrongs and apologies, human rights law and ways to be an upstander
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