Grade 6: NYS Social Studies Standards (Key Ideas and Performance Indicators)
Social Studies Standard 5: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.
Key Idea 1. The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law. (Adapted from: The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994)
Students in grades Grade 6 will demonstrate this understanding by-
- Describing the basic purposes of government and the importance of civic life in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Creating concept maps which define terms related to government including power, authority, governance, democracy, citizenship, nation-state, justice, and law
- Listing and explaining the roles of citizens in different Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Compiling a list of different Eastern Hemisphere nations and identifying the types of governments each nation supports
- Explaining how various civilizations in the Eastern Hemisphere including ancient Greece, Rome, China and India have made important contributions to an understanding of the rule of law, the concept of justice, the fundamental ideas of democracy, and representative government
- Creating charts and other graphic organizers that show how the governments of selected Eastern Hemisphere nations have changed over time
- Explaining how social and political systems are based on people's values and beliefs
- Discussing how and why the world is divided into nation-states and what kinds of governments other nation-states have
- Comparing and contrasting the governmental structures of the United States with selected nation-states of the Eastern Hemisphere
- Researching the goals and activities of international organizations such as the United Nations, African Union, and European Union in order to explain how they promote peace, cultural understanding, and economic development in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Discussing the meaning of human rights and explaining how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child protects children in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Researching the extent to which human rights have been and are being protected in various Eastern Hemisphere nations
Grade 6: English Language Arts Standards (Key Ideas and Performance Indicators)
ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Grade 6 students will demonstrate this standard by-
- Locating and using school and public library resources, with some direction, to acquire information about the important political contributions made by various Eastern Hemisphere civilizations including Greece, Rome, China, and India
- Reading from informational texts such as textbooks, reference materials, other primary and secondary sources, biographies, autobiographies, newspapers, magazines, journals, diaries, and age-appropriate online and electronic databases and websites to collect information about various governments in Eastern Hemisphere nations, past and present
- Writing brief position papers that describe the contributions to civics and government made by early Eastern Hemisphere civilizations such as Greece, Rome, China, and India
- Reading information from various historical websites such as The Ancient World Web (http://www.julen.net/aw), the Perseus Project(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu) or Odyssey in Egypt (http://www.website1.com/odyssey/) to learn more about the important contributions to civics and government made by ancient civilizations
- Writing news articles about human rights and human rights violations in various Eastern Hemisphere nations based on information found on the Amnesty International website (www.amnestyusa.org)
- Listening to presentations about how the Nazi Holocaust violated human rights as it committed genocide against millions of victims throughout Europe and the Soviet Union
ELA Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Grade 6 students will demonstrate this standard by-
- Reading, viewing, and interpreting imaginative texts such as short stories, novels, myths and legends, folktales, poetry, music, films and other video productions about the political life, history, and culture of various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Writing brief essays that define human rights and summarize the rights of children as expressed in various United Nations documents
- Listening to radio or television interviews with various government officials describing how their governments operate and the rights of citizens in their Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Enacting classroom skits that address political or governmental problems or issues facing various Eastern Hemisphere nations today including a definition of the problem, possible alternative solutions, consequences for each alternative, and a proposed action plan
- Making formal presentations to classmates about how different international organizations such as the United Nations, African Union, and European Union have promoted peace, economic development, and cultural understanding in the Eastern Hemisphere
ELA Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
Grade 6 students will demonstrate this standard by-
- Comparing and contrasting the conceptions of human rights as expressed in the United States Bill of Rights with those defined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (www.unicef.org)
- Preparing charts that list the characteristics of families, clans, and tribes in various Eastern Hemisphere nations and compare the different ways each group maintains order and meets societal needs
- Identifying different perspectives on various human rights issues such as child labor, the rights of women, slavery, and government-sponsored genocide
- Writing newspaper editorials or letters to the editor about public policy issues affecting Eastern Hemisphere nations such as illegal immigration, hunger, war, overpopulation, and disease
- Analyzing the impacts of various historical events on particular Eastern Hemisphere nations such as the Neolithic Revolution, European Renaissance, Age of Exploration, Nazi Holocaust, or Chinese Revolution
- Evaluating the effectiveness of regional or global organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, and African Union in terms of preventing war, ending world hunger, providing universal health care, or promoting human rights
- Comparing the importance of different national symbols, holidays, and political art in terms of how they reflect the political values of various Eastern Hemisphere nations
- Role playing different sides in a debate about various issues challenging Eastern Hemisphere nations such as child labor, resource depletion, hunger, universal health care, and education
