Maryland 6th Grade Social Studies Standards

Looking for free content that’s aligned to your standards? You’ve come to the right place!

1 Civics

• 1.1 The Foundations and Functions of Government
  • 1.1.1 Examine the necessity and purpose of government in early world history.
    • 1.1.1.a Identify and compare forms of government and various distributions of power, such as those found in ancient civilizations, dynastic China, absolute and constitutional monarchies.
    • 1.1.1.b Summarize the positions taken on government by political philosophers from early civilizations through the Middle Ages.
  • 1.1.2 Analyze the historic events, documents, and practices in early world history that are the foundations of political systems.
    • 1.1.2.a Examine and report on the roots of democratic principles in World History, such as Sumerian written law, Hammurabi’s Code, Greek city-states, Roman Republicanism, and the British Constitution (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights).
    • 1.1.2.b Examine the decline of feudalism and the emergence of monarchies.
  • 1.1.3 Analyze the roles of institutions and governments in early world history regarding public policy and issues.
    • 1.1.3.a Describe the conflict between the church and the state in the formation and implementation of policy.
    • 1.1.3.b Analyze perspectives regarding issues in a feudal society, such as the church leaders v. lords of the manor, joining the Crusades, the growth of trade.
• 1.2 Individual and Group Participation in the Political System
  • 1.2.1 Analyze the methods used by individuals and groups to shape governmental policy and actions in early world history.
    • 1.2.1.a Compare methods used in early world history to change governments, such as coups, elections and revolts.
    • 1.2.1.b Examine the role of citizens in Greek city-states and the Roman Republic/Empire.
    • 1.2.1.c Examine how religion shaped and influenced government policy.
  • 1.2.2 Analyze the importance of civic participation as a citizen of early world history.
    • 1.2.2.a Analyze the usefulness of various sources of information used to make political decisions.
    • 1.2.2.b Explain why common people did not have a voice in ancient civilizations.
• 1.3 Protecting Rights and Maintaining Order
  • 1.3.1 Analyze the individual rights and responsibilities in an ancient world civilization.
    • 1.3.1.a Describe the importance of citizenship in ancient Rome and Greece.
    • 1.3.1.b Describe the significance of Hammurabi’s Code and how it defined rights of citizens.
  • 1.3.2 Evaluate how ancient governments around the world protected or failed to protect the rights of individuals and groups.
    • 1.3.2.a Explain how the Roman Republic and the rule of the Senate affected individuals and groups.
    • 1.3.2.b Compare power and authority of rulers in Ancient Egypt, India, Persia and China v. the protection of citizens in Greek city-states.
    • 1.3.2.c Examine the balance between providing for the common good of the manor v. the rights of the individual serf.

2 Peoples of the Nations and World

• 2.1 Elements of Culture
  • 2.1.1 Describe characteristics that historians use to organize people into cultures.
    • 2.1.1.a Describe how location and environment influenced early world cultures.
    • 2.1.1.b Describe and compare elements of culture such as art, music, religion, government, social structure, education, values, beliefs and customs, from civilizations in early world history.
    • 2.1.1.c Describe the social, political, and religious character of societies in early world history.
• 2.2 Cultural Diffusion
  • 2.2.1 Explain how cultural diffusion influenced the development of cultures.
    • 2.2.1.a Identify cultural groups within a region in early world history.
    • 2.2.1.b Describe factors that resulted in cultural diffusion, such as trade, conflict and migration.
    • 2.2.1.c Describe interactions that promoted or failed to promote relationships between groups, civilizations, empires, and nations.
  • 2.2.2 Analyze how increased diversity in early world history resulted from immigration, settlement patterns and economic development.
    • 2.2.2.a Examine the practices and beliefs of world religions and philosophies including monotheism and polytheism.
    • 2.2.2.b Describe the impact of various religions on a civilization, such as its effect on political, economic and social systems.
• 2.3 Conflict and Compromise
  • 2.3.1 Analyze factors that affected relationships in early world history.
    • 2.3.1.a Examine the causes and effects of social, economic, and political conflict such as the Crusades.
    • 2.3.1.b Describe the impact of trade and migration on the exchange of ideas and beliefs.

3 Geography

• 3.1 Using Geographic Tools
  • 3.1.1 Use geographic tools to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics in early world history.
    • 3.1.1.a Use maps to compare geographic locations of civilizations from world history to:
      • 3.1.1.a.i Mesopotamia
      • 3.1.1.a.ii Africa including Egypt, Nubia/Kush and sub-Saharan Africa
      • 3.1.1.a.iii Indus River Valley
      • 3.1.1.a.iv Northern China
      • 3.1.1.a.v Greeks and Romans
      • 3.1.1.a.vi Mesoamerican, such as the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs
    • 3.1.1.b Use photographs and thematic maps, to identify and describe physical and human characteristics of early civilizations.
• 3.2 Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
  • 3.2.1 Examine how physical and human characteristics shape the identity of places and regions and influence the development of civilizations in world history.
    • 3.2.1.a Identify and describe physical characteristics that influenced human settlement.
    • 3.2.1.b Explain how physical characteristics of a place influenced human activities, such as agriculture, transportation, art and architecture and economic activity in the ancient world.
    • 3.2.1.c Explain how human perceptions of and interactions with the environment changed over time in due to technologies, such as road building, dam construction, and agricultural improvements.
• 3.3 Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
  • 3.3.1 Describe and analyze population growth, migration and settlement patterns in early world history.
    • 3.3.1.a Identify reasons why people migrate, such as economic opportunity, climate, and political reasons.
    • 3.3.1.b Explain how the development of transportation and communication networks influenced the movement of people, goods and ideas from place to place, such as trade routes in Africa, Asia and Europe, and the spread of Islam.
    • 3.3.1.c Describe how economic systems and cultural diffusion help to shape patterns of human settlement and interaction.
• 3.4 Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
  • 3.4.1 Analyze why and how people modify their natural environment and the impact of those modifications.
    • 3.4.1.a Describe ways people modified their environment to meet their needs, such as cultivating lands, building roads, dams, and aqueducts.
    • 3.4.1.b Analyze how people in early world history perceived and reacted to environmental concerns, such as flooding, drought, and depletion of natural resources and evaluate the consequences of those actions.

4 Economics

• 4.1 Scarcity and Economic Decision-making
  • 4.1.1 Explain that people made choices because resources relative to economic wants to goods and services in the context of early world history.
    • 4.1.1.a Identify opportunity cost of economic decisions made by individuals and groups such as the decision to engage in trade.
  • 4.1.2 Analyze how scarce economic resources were used to satisfy economic wants in early world history.
    • 4.1.2.a Identify ways people have used resources to meet economic wants such as domesticating agriculture.
    • 4.1.2.b Describe how available resources affected specialization and trade.
  • 4.1.3 Analyze how technological changes affected consumption and production in early world history.
    • 4.1.3.a Give examples of how technology changed consumption and provided greater access to goods and services.
    • 4.1.3.b Examine why technology has changed production such as the development of the printing press.
  • 4.1.4 Examine how specialization, interdependence and trade affected the production of goods and services in early world history.
    • 4.1.4.a Analyze examples of regional specialization that resulted from economic resources, such as silk production, bronze casting and terraced farming.
    • 4.1.4.b Describe the effects of agricultural surplus and job specialization on the emergence of early towns and cities in various parts of the world.
    • 4.1.4.c Identify African and Eurasian trade routes to explain how surplus goods and regional specialization resulted in economic interdependence.
      • The ancient Silk Road: geography and transportation (6-G.1)
      • The ancient Silk Road: goods and ideas (6-G.2)
      • The medieval Silk Road (6-G.3)
      • Origins and development of the Mali Empire (6-L.2)
• 4.2 Economic Systems and the Role of Government in the Economy
  • 4.2.1 Describe the types of economic systems in early world societies.
    • 4.2.1.a Describe how various early world societies answer the basic question of what, how, and for whom to produce.
    • 4.2.1.b Describe examples of tradition in economies such as the economic roles of men and women in tribal societies.
    • 4.2.1.c Describe examples of command in economies, such as the feudal system.
  • 4.2.2 Describe the transition from feudalism and the manor system to the development of early towns.
    • 4.2.2.a Explain how the growth and management of towns, guilds, and the banking system were affected by technology and agriculture.
    • 4.2.2.b Analyze how the guild system addressed changes in the economy, such as dictating price and production.
  • 4.2.3 Describe the importance of medium of exchange in early world history.
    • 4.2.3.a Explain how societies used mediums of exchange to facilitate trade and help their economies grow.

5 History

• 5.1 Individuals and Societies Change Over Time
  • 5.1.1 Analyze how the rise of the earliest communities led to the emergence of agricultural societies.
    • 5.1.1.a Describe characteristics and innovations of hunting and gathering societies, such as nomadic lifestyles, inventors of tools, adaptation to animal migration and vegetation cycles and the shift from food gathering to food-producing activities.
    • 5.1.1.b Explain how and why towns and cities grew from early human settlements, including the need for security and government.
  • 5.1.2 Examine the emergence, growth and decline of empires in the Americas.
    • 5.1.2.a Describe and trace the development of political and social structures of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs.
• 5.2 Emergence, Expansion and Changes in Nations and Empires
  • 5.2.1 Analyze how civilizations emerged in the river valley areas.
    • 5.2.1.a Describe the characteristics of a civilization, such as social hierarchy, government, writing system, specialization in an area of trade and the establishment of cities.
    • 5.2.1.b Compare major cultural, political and economic achievements of river valley civilizations, such as the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley, the Huang River Valley, the Indus River Valley and the Nile River Valley including Egypt, Nubia and Kush.
  • 5.2.2 Analyze the emergence and enduring influence of Aegean civilizations.
    • 5.2.2.a Describe the major cultural achievements of the Greek civilization, such as art, science, political systems, and philosophy across time.
    • 5.2.2.b Explain the emergence, rise and decline of the Greek city-states.
  • 5.2.3 Analyze the emergence, expansion and decline of the Roman Empire.
    • 5.2.3.a Describe the major achievements of the Roman Era, such as legal, artistic, architectural, technological, and literary.
    • 5.2.3.b Explain the transition from Roman Republic to Roman Empire including the social structure, significance of citizenship and the development of political institutions.
    • 5.2.3.c Summarize the factors that led to the decline of the Roman Empire.
  • 5.2.4 Compare the dynasties and empires in ancient China.
    • 5.2.4.a Describe the causes and consequences of the unification of China under early imperial dynasties, such as the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang.
    • 5.2.4.b Explain the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism in the context of early Chinese imperial dynasties.
    • 5.2.4.c Analyze China’s cultural, political and economic influence on Japan, Korea, and countries in Southeast Asia.
  • 5.2.5 Analyze the emergence, growth and decline of African Empires.
    • 5.2.5.a Describe the contributions of major African monarchies, cities, and trade networks, such as Ghana, Mali and Songhai.
    • 5.2.5.b Analyze the cultural and economic impact of African regional and worldwide trade routes.
    • 5.2.5.c Summarize the factors that led to the decline of the African empires.