6th grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 6th grade social studies in the New York State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- The geography and regions of the Eastern Hemisphere today
- Early humans, the Neolithic Revolution and the first river valley civilizations
- World religions and the classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, China and India
- The Mediterranean world after Rome, and trade and travel across Afro-Eurasia to 1450
Easy ways to practice social studies at home
- Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently.
- Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying.
- Use an atlas or online map to trace a trade or travel route.
- Ask “Whose voice is missing from this story?” when reading about the past.
What each unit covers
Time & Evidence
Counting years in BCE and CE, centuries and calendars, artifacts and archaeology, and judging primary and secondary sources about the ancient world.
First Farmers
The long story of early humans, how farming began about 12,000 years ago, domestication, food surpluses, and how settling down led to specialized jobs and the first cities.
Mesopotamia & Egypt
Why civilizations grew along the Tigris, Euphrates and Nile, cuneiform and hieroglyphs, Hammurabi's Code, pharaohs and pyramids.
Ancient India & China
The Indus Valley and Yellow River, Chinese dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven, Confucius, Hinduism and Buddhism, and inventions such as paper and zero.
World Beliefs
Where and when major religions and philosophies began (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Christianity, Islam), their key figures, texts and ideas, described respectfully and factually.
Greece & Rome
Athens and Sparta, direct and representative democracy, the Roman Republic and Empire, and the Greek and Roman ideas found in US government.
Rome's Fall & Byzantium
Rome's lasting contributions, why the Western Empire fell, Constantine and Constantinople, Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, and the split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Medieval Europe
How medieval Europe was organized (kings, nobles, knights and peasants), the role of the Church and guilds, the Magna Carta, the Black Death, and how change came to the feudal system.
The Islamic World
The early Islamic world and its cities, scholars and discoveries (such as algebra and optics), the exchange of knowledge through trade and translation, and the Ottoman Empire.
Trade Routes & Beliefs
The Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade, how religions and ideas spread, the Islamic Golden Age, medieval Europe and the Magna Carta, up to about 1450.
Trade Networks
Specialization, barter and the first coins, the Silk Road and sea routes (with a reading passage and goods table), and how trade led to both cooperation and conflict.
The Eastern Hemisphere Today
The continents, regions, landforms, rivers and climates of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, how geography shapes where people live, and how some of today's issues, such as borders and water shortages, have roots in the past.
Classical China & India
The Qin and Han dynasties of China and the Maurya and Gupta empires of India: their rulers, governments, inventions and golden ages, compared with Greece and Rome.
The Mediterranean World
The three regions that shared the Mediterranean after Rome fell (feudal Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic caliphates), how Islam spread to North Africa and Spain, and the Crusades seen from European, Byzantine and Muslim points of view. Religions are described factually and respectfully.
Mongols & Travelers
The Mongol Empire and how it linked East and West, travelers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Mansa Musa and Zheng He, trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade, the spread of the Black Death, and technologies such as the compass, junks and the rudder.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New York report card guide.
Common questions
Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently. Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New York State Learning Standards 6th grade social studies units include Time & Evidence, First Farmers, Mesopotamia & Egypt, Ancient India & China, World Beliefs, Greece & Rome.
Free printable 6th grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.