Academic Programs
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The emphasis of the 6th grade history program is that all people have a common bond of culture: language, technology, institution, and beliefs. Through the study of geography, current indigenous people, and ancient civilizations, the students discover diversity and unity among all peoples. Ultimately, they learn the make-up of culture and of successful civilizations. The 6th Grade history curriculum revolves around the following through-line questions:
How can we find out the truth about what happened in the past?
What is culture and how does it evolve?
How does geography influence culture and history?
These questions guide our daily activities and help to unify the unit studies over the course of the year.
Content
Geography
Biomes/indigenous peoples
Agricultural Revolution (focus on Catalhoyuk)
Early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India.
Independent project: Students have the opportunity to work and think like an historian.
Concepts and Methods
The Biomes project: Students investigate an indigenous group of people and their interaction with the land. This is an interdisciplinary project, bringing together science, history, and occasionally music and Spanish. In the end, students create a museum display of what they have learned about the relationship between land and people and how modern-day living is changing the way of life. Students will understand the following:
How people interact with the environment
How the environment impacts the way people live
How interdependent the world is today in terms of goods, ideas and people
Early Peoples and Agricultural Revolution: Students learn about Early Peoples and how the Agricultural Revolution drastically changed the way we are living and allowed the world to populate, springing civilizations in many different areas. Students learn to read critically and not to accept all material at face value. Can we find out the truth about what happened in the past by consulting one source?
Skills
Students learn the following skills:
Note-taking
Research methods using the internet and San Francisco Public Library databases.
The Research Cycle: asking questions, seeking answers, reviewing the material by sorting and sifting, evaluating, and presenting the results.
