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6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 9

Time & Evidence

BCE and CE, artifacts and sources

What your child practices

Counting years in BCE and CE, centuries and calendars, artifacts and archaeology, and judging primary and secondary sources about the ancient world.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: History 1 · studying the past from primary and secondary sources, and counting time in BCE and CE

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. BCE years count down toward year 1; CE years count up. A bigger BCE number is older.
  2. For two BCE dates, subtract the smaller from the bigger to find years between.
  3. Archaeologists use artifacts and remains. An era is a long period, like the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages (in that order).

Example: How many years passed from 3000 BCE to 1000 BCE? Both are BCE, so subtract. 3000 − 1000 = 2000. Answer: 2000 years

Time & Evidence in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 2 of 9 in 6th grade Social Studies, after World Regions and before First Farmers.

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: Maine Department of Education

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

    How many years from 2500 BCE to 500 BCE?

    • 2500
    • 2000
    • 3000
    • 500

  2. Question 2

    The year 1450 CE is in which century?

    • The 145th century
    • The 16th century
    • The 14th century
    • The 15th century

  3. Question 3

    A secondary source is useful because it…

    • Is always unbiased
    • Was made at the time
    • Never has mistakes
    • Brings many sources together and explains them

  4. Question 4

    Which is a secondary source about ancient Rome?

    • A Roman mosaic
    • A historian's book written in 2010
    • A letter by a Roman senator
    • A Roman coin

  5. Question 5

    Why do historians compare several sources?

    • It wastes time
    • Each source shows only part of the story and may be biased
    • One source is enough
    • Sources are always the same

  6. Question 6

    A historian makes a claim about why Rome fell. What should support it?

    • Her opinion only
    • A guess
    • A rumor
    • Evidence from several reliable sources

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