Grade 6: Learning Objectives
-
Knowledge: Grade 6 students should be able to-
- Define terms such as family, clan, tribe, power, authority, governance, citizenship, law, human rights, values, genocide, constitution, and justice
- Describe how families, clans, and tribal groups in Eastern Hemisphere civilizations such as Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India formed governments and associations to maintain law and order
- Explain how various civilizations in the Eastern Hemisphere have held different assumptions regarding who should hold power and authority; who should govern; what citizenship means; and how laws should be made and enforced
- Describe how the world is divided into nations and what kinds of governments are found in Eastern Hemisphere countries
- Discuss how governments have changed over time in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Explain the historic origins of different governments found in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Describe how modern Eastern Hemisphere nations have established formalized governments to maintain social order and control
- Use maps to show how political boundaries of Eastern Hemisphere countries have changed over time
- Explain how Eastern Hemisphere nations define and protect individual human rights
- Discuss how totalitarian nations have violated human rights
- Explain how genocide has been used by various Eastern Hemisphere nations to eliminate ethnic minorities and other groups
- Discuss how Nazi Germany committed genocide by killing millions of Jews, Poles, Slavs, gypsies, and others deemed "undesirable"
- Explain how international organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, and the African Union have been established to promote peace, foster economic development, and spread cultural understanding among Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Discuss how Eastern Hemisphere nations have adopted constitutions and other legal documents which describe their forms of government and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship
- Outline the rights and responsibilities of citizens living in various nations of the Eastern Hemisphere and discuss how they are different from and similar to the rights and responsibilities of citizens living in the United States
- Describe the sources of various Eastern Hemisphere nations' civic values as embodied in their constitutions, statutes, court cases, and other important documents
- Students should be able to get information by-
- Identifying a variety of sources of information about governments in Eastern Hemisphere nations such as newspapers, magazines, Internet websites, government documents and other primary and secondary sources
- Locating sources of print and nonprint information about governments of Eastern Hemisphere nations by using online library card catalogues, tables of contents, indices, and bibliographies
- Visiting museums, libraries, historic sites, and art galleries that contain collections about various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Viewing movies, television documentaries, videotapes, DVDs and plays about life in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Listening to radio shows, recordings, and interviews with citizens of Eastern Hemisphere nations discussing their ways of life and their governments
- Reading from text and trade books, monographs, letters to the editor, newspaper and magazine articles, government documents, diaries, and transcripts of television and radio broadcasts about what civic life is like in various Eastern Hemisphere nations today and in the past
- Visiting the website for the United Nations (www.un.org or www.unicef.org) to collect information about the types of governments that function in various nations of the Eastern Hemisphere
- Visiting the CIA website to gather information about the governments and rights of citizens of various Eastern Hemisphere nations: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook (The CIA fact book includes information about the governments of different world nations.)
- Listening to patriotic songs and music from different Eastern Hemisphere nations and reading the lyrics to learn what their civic values are and what principles unite them
- Interviewing people who have visited different countries in the Eastern Hemisphere to learn about the types of governments that rule these nations and about the rights of their citizens
-
Students should be able to organize information by-
- Completing charts which display the differences and similarities among families, clans, and tribes living in various Eastern Hemisphere countries
- Drawing and completing a timeline of events in the history of a particular Eastern Hemisphere nation focusing on the development of its government and the rights and responsibilities of its citizens
- Developing outlines that describe how governments in various Eastern Hemisphere nations have changed over time
- Drawing or completing maps that show the political boundaries of various Eastern Hemisphere nations and how these boundaries have changed over time
- Completing charts that show the rights of citizens in various Eastern Hemisphere nations including the right to vote, peaceful protest, address grievances, run for political office, serve on juries, and initiate legislation
- Drawing posters that protest the violations of human rights in various Eastern Hemisphere nations displaying these rights, and showing how governments have violated them
- Completing a chart that displays different international organizations such as the United Nation, European Union, and African Union and shows how these organizations have promoted peace, economic development, and cultural understanding
- Preparing a chart that lists important patriotic symbols including monuments, buildings, artifacts, artwork, and sculptures found in different Eastern Hemisphere nations and explaining their importance and how they reflect political values
- Completing a table that lists the rights of children taken from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (www.un.org) and examples of nations in the Eastern Hemisphere where these rights are being protected or violated
-
Students should be able to present information by-
- Preparing classroom presentations that explain how and why governments in various Eastern Hemisphere nations have changed over time in order to meet the needs and wants of their citizens
- Writing reports about how families, clans, and tribal groups have maintained law and order across time and place in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Presenting oral reports about different Eastern Hemisphere nations that focus on questions such as:
- Why have Eastern Hemisphere citizens held different assumptions regarding power, authority, governance, citizenship, and law?
- How have the political boundaries in Eastern Hemisphere nations changed over time?
- Which present-day systems of government in Eastern Hemisphere nations have their origins in the past?
Adapted from: Social Studies Instructional Strategies and Resources, The State Education Department, 2003, p. 251.)
- Designing and constructing a bulletin board or multimedia display that features examples of the national symbols, monuments, holidays, pastimes, historic sites, important government documents, and patriotic artwork and music of various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Writing book reviews about human rights violations and abuses in various Eastern Hemisphere nations including books about childhood experiences during the Armenian massacres, the Nazi Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Forced Famine in Ukraine, and the Irish famine
- Visiting the United Nations website at www.un.org to collect and present information about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child including case studies about how this convention has been used to protect the rights of children in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Publishing a classroom newspaper using information from the embassies of various Eastern Hemisphere nations including information about their types of governments; rights and responsibilities of citizens; and their executive, legislative and judicial systems
- Constructing classroom timelines of important political events in a selected Eastern Hemisphere nation's history including significant dates for the founding of the nation, development of its government, publication or presentation of government documents and its constitution, and major political crises, turning points or milestones
-
Civic Dispositions*: Students should learn and demonstrate the following civic values and attitudes-
- Willing to listen to others points of view or positions on issues even if one strongly disagrees (i.e., civility and civil conversation)
- Willing to view and assess a problem or issue from different points of view or perspectives (i.e., perspective taking)
- Willing to put oneself into another's shoes
- Willing to allow others to express their opinions, without interruption, after expressing one's own opinion
- Willing to participate in open-ended and respectful discussions, without using name calling or verbal attacks on those who disagree with one's own position or arguments
- Willing to show respect for the rule of law
- Willing to consider other points of view or arguments before forming conclusions or making judgments
- Willing to tolerate ambiguity and resist simplistic solutions to complex issues and problems
- Willing to respect the civil rights of others
- Willing to participate in classroom, school, and community activities
- Willing to respect others' space and property
- Willing to demonstrate personal responsibility
- Civic dispositions or traits of private and public character important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy: **
- Becoming an independent member of society
- Respecting individual worth and human dignity
- Assuming the personal, political, and economic responsibilities of a citizen
- Participating in civic affairs in an informed, thoughtful, and effective manner
- Promoting the healthy functioning of American constitutional democracy
(*Adapted from: Judith Torney-Purta and Susan Vermeer, Developing Citizenship Competencies from Kindergarten through Grade 12: A Background Paper for Policymakers and Educators (Education Commission of the States, 2004), p. 21. and Dialogue on Brown v. Board of Education (American Bar Association- Division for Public Education, 2003), p. 7.)
(**Taken from: NAEP - National Assessment of Educational Progress - Civics Assessment, Civic Dispositions, p. 73. For more information see: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard).
