Michigan 6th Grade Social Studies Standards

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6-G Geography

• 6-G1 The World in Spatial Terms: Geographical Habits of Mind
  • 6-G1.1 Spatial Thinking: Use maps and other geographic tools to acquire and process information from a spatial perspective.
    • 6-G1.1.1 Use a variety of geographic tools (maps, globes, and web-based geography technology) to analyze the world at global, regional, and local scales.
    • 6-G1.1.2 Draw a sketch map, or add information to an outline map, of the world or a world region.
  • 6-G1.2 Geographical Inquiry and Analysis: Use skills of geographic inquiry and analysis to answer important questions about relationships between people, their cultures, and their environments, in their communities and within the larger world context. Students use information to make reasoned judgments based on the authenticity of the information, critically analyze the information, and present the results.
    • 6-G1.2.1 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a geographic problem or issue.
    • 6-G1.2.2 Explain why maps of the same place may vary, including the perspectives and purposes of the cartographers.
    • 6-G1.2.3 Use, interpret, and create maps and graphs representing population characteristics, natural features, and land use of the region under study.
    • 6-G1.2.4 Use images as the basis for answering geographic questions about the human and physical characteristics of places and major world regions.
    • 6-G1.2.5 Locate and use information from GIS and satellite remote sensing to answer geographic questions.
    • 6-G1.2.6 Create or interpret a map of the population distribution of a region and generalize about the factors influencing the distribution of the population.
  • 6-G1.3 Geographical Understanding: The purpose of middle school geography curriculum is to develop content, themes, skills, and perspectives that can help students understand a diverse and interconnected world.
    • 6-G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
    • 6-G1.3.2 Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how those connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility.
• 6-G2 Places and Regions: Describe the cultural groups and diversities among people who are rooted in particular places and in human constructs called regions. Analyze the physical and human characteristics of places and regions.
  • 6-G2.1 Physical Characteristics of Places: Describe the physical characteristics of places.
    • 6-G2.1.1 Locate and describe the basic patterns of landforms.
    • 6-G2.1.2 Locate and describe the basic patterns and processes of plate tectonics.
    • 6-G2.1.3 Locate and describe the characteristics and patterns of major world climates and ecosystems.
  • 6-G2.2 Human Characteristics of Places: Describe the human characteristics of places.
    • 6-G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study, including languages, religions, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions.
    • 6-G2.2.2 Explain how communities are affected positively or negatively by changes in technology.
    • 6-G2.2.3 Explain how culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions.
    • 6-G2.2.4 Interpret population pyramids from different countries including birth rates, death rates, male-female differences, and the causes and consequences of the age structure of the population.
    • 6-G2.2.5 Generalize about how human and natural factors have influenced how people make a living and perform other activities in a place.
• 6-G3 Physical Systems: Describe the physical processes that shape the Earth’s surface that, along with plants and animals, are the basis for both sustaining and modifying ecosystems. Identify and analyze the patterns and characteristics of the major ecosystems on Earth.
  • 6-G3.1 Physical Processes: Describe the physical processes that shape the patterns of the Earth’s surface.
    • 6-G3.1.1 Interpret and compare climographs from different latitudes and locations.
    • 6-G3.1.2 Explain the factors that cause different climate types.
  • 6-G3.2 Ecosystems: Describe the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.
    • 6-G3.2.1 Locate major ecosystems and explain how and why they are similar or different as a consequence of latitude, elevation, landforms, location, and human activity.
• 6-G4 Human Systems: Explain that human activities may be seen on Earth’s surface. Human systems include the way people divide the land, decide where to live, develop communities that are part of the larger cultural mosaic, and engage in the cultural diffusion of ideas and products within and among groups.
  • 6-G4.1 Cultural Mosaic: Describe the characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaic.
    • 6-G4.1.1 Define culture and describe examples of cultural change through diffusion, including what has diffused, why and where it has spread, and positive and negative consequences of the change.
    • 6-G4.1.2 Compare and contrast the gender roles assigned to men and women in different societies.
    • 6-G4.1.3 Describe cultures of the region being studied, including the major languages and religions.
    • 6-G4.1.4 Explain how culture influences the daily lives of people.
  • 6-G4.2 Technology Patterns and Networks: Describe how technology creates patterns and networks that connect people, resources, products, and ideas.
    • 6-G4.2.1 Identify and describe the advantages, disadvantages, and impacts of different technologies used to transport people and products, and spread ideas throughout the world.
  • 6-G4.3 Patterns of Human Settlement: Describe patterns, processes, and functions of human settlement.
    • 6-G4.3.1 Explain how people have modified the environment and used technology to make places more suitable for humans, as well as how modifications sometimes have negative/unintended consequences.
    • 6-G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement and explain why people settle where they do and how people make their livings.
    • 6-G4.3.3 Explain the patterns, causes, and consequences of major human migrations.
  • 6-G4.4 Forces of Cooperation and Conflict: Explain how forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division of the Earth’s surface and its resources.
    • 6-G4.4.1 Identify factors that contribute to cooperation and conflict between and among cultural groups (control/use of natural resources, power, wealth, and cultural diversity).
    • 6-G4.4.2 Evaluate examples of cooperation and conflict within the region under study from different perspectives.
• 6-G5 Environment and Society: Explain that the physical environment is modified by human activities, which are influenced by the ways in which human societies value and use the Earth’s natural resources, and by Earth’s physical features and processes. Explain how human action modifies the physical environment and how physical systems affect human systems.
  • 6-G5.1 Humans and the Environment: Describe how humans use and modify the environment.
    • 6-G5.1.1 Describe examples of how humans have impacted and are continuing to impact the environment in different places as a consequence of population size, resource use, level of consumption, and technology.
    • 6-G5.1.2 Explain how different technologies can have positive and negative impacts on the environment.
    • 6-G5.1.3 Analyze ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in one place can cause changes in other places.
    • 6-G5.1.4 Define natural resources and explain how people in different places use, define, and acquire resources in different ways.
  • 6-G5.2 Physical and Human Systems: Describe how physical and human systems shape patterns on the Earth’s surface.
    • 6-G5.2.1 Analyze the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on human activities and the actions people would be required to make (or would choose to make) in response to the change.
    • 6-G5.2.2 Analyze how combinations of human decisions and natural forces can lead to (or help people avoid) a natural disaster.
• 6-G6 Global Issues: A global issue is one that has an impact affecting many regions of the world.
  • 6-G6.1 Global Topic Investigation and Issue Analysis.
    • 6-G6.1.1 Identify global issues.
    • 6-G6.1.2 Investigate a contemporary global issue by applying the skills of geographic inquiry.
    • 6-G6.1.3 Develop a plan for action: Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group discussions and debates; Compose a persuasive essay justifying a position with a reasoned argument; and Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue, at local to global scales.

6-C Civics and Government

• 6-C1 Purposes of Government: Analyze how people identify, organize, and accomplish the purposes of government.
  • 6-C1.1 Nature of Civic Life, Politics, and Government: Describe civic life, politics, and government and explain their relationships.
    • 6-C1.1.1 Compare and contrast different ideas about the purposes of government in different nations, nation-states or governments.
• 6-C3 Structure and Functions of Government: Explain that governments are structured to serve the people. Describe the major activities of government, including making and enforcing laws, providing services and benefits to individuals and groups, assigning individual and collective responsibilities, generating revenue, and providing national security.
  • 6-C3.6 Characteristics of Nation-States: Describe the characteristics of nation-states and how they may interact.
    • 6-C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of modern nation-states.
    • 6-C3.6.2 Compare and contrast various forms of government around the world.
• 6-C4 Relationship of United States to Other Governments, World Issues, and World Governing Organizations: Explain ways in which governments interact with one another through trade, diplomacy, treaties and agreements, humanitarian aid, economic sanctions and incentives, military force, and the threat of force.
  • 6-C4.3 Conflict and Cooperation Between and Among Nations: Explain the various ways that governments interact both positively and negatively.
    • 6-C4.3.1 Explain how governments address national and international issues and form policies, and how the policies may not be consistent with those of other nation-states.
    • 6-C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments to address global issues, and the international cooperation needed to do so.
    • 6-C4.3.3 Analyze the impact of treaties, agreements, and international organizations on global issues.

6-E Economics

• 6-E1 The Market Economy: Describe the market economy in terms of the relevance of limited resources, how individuals and institutions make and evaluate decisions, the role of incentives, how buyers and sellers interact to create markets, how markets allocate resources, and the economic role of Government in a market economy.
  • 6-E1.1 Individual, Business, and Government Choices: Describe how individuals, businesses, and government make economic decisions when confronting scarcity or surpluses in the market economy.
    • 6-E1.1.1 Explain how incentives and disincentives in the market economy can change the decision-making process.
• 6-E2 The National Economy: Use economic concepts, terminology, and data to identify and describe how a national economy functions and to study the role of government as a provider of goods and services within a national economy.
  • 6-E2.3 Role of Government: Describe how national governments make decisions that affect the national economy.
    • 6-E2.3.1 Analyze the impact of sanctions, tariffs, treaties, quotas, and subsidies.
• 6-E3 International Economy: Analyze reasons for individuals and businesses to specialize and trade, why individuals and businesses trade across international borders, and the comparisons of the benefits and costs of specialization and the resulting trade for consumers, producers, and governments.
  • 6-E3.1 Economic Systems: Describe how societies organize to allocate resources to produce and distribute goods and services.
    • 6-E3.1.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, market) answer the three basic economic questions: What goods and services will be produced? How will they be produced? For whom will they be produced? Also, who will receive the benefits or bears the costs of production?
    • 6-E3.1.2 Compare and contrast the economic and ecological costs and benefits of different kinds of energy production.
  • 6-E3.3 Economic Interdependence: Describe patterns and networks of economic interdependence, including trade.
    • 6-E3.3.1 Use charts and graphs to compare imports and exports of different countries in the world and propose generalizations about patterns of economic interdependence.
    • 6-E3.3.2 Diagram or map the flow of materials, labor, and capital used to produce a consumer product.
    • 6-E3.3.3 Explain how communication innovations have affected economic interactions and where and how people work.

6-P Process and Skills Standards

• 6-P1 Reading and Communication – Read and Communicate Effectively
  • 6-P1.1 Use appropriate strategies to read and interpret basic social science tables, graphs, graphics, maps, and texts.
  • 6-P1.2 Interpret primary and secondary source documents for point of view, context, bias, and frame of reference or perspective.
  • 6-P1.3 Express social science ideas clearly in written, spoken, and graphic forms, including tables, line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, maps, and images.
  • 6-P1.4 Present an argument supported with evidence.
• 6-P2 Inquiry, Research, and Analysis
  • 6-P2.1 Use compelling and supporting questions to investigate social scientific problems.
  • 6-P2.2 Evaluate data presented in social science tables, graphs, graphics, maps, and texts.
  • 6-P2.3 Know how to find, organize, and interpret information from a variety of sources.
  • 6-P2.4 Use resources in multiple forms and from multiple perspectives to analyze issues.
• 6-P3 Public Discourse and Decision Making
  • 6-P3.1 Identifying and Analyzing Issues, Decision Making, Persuasive Communication About a Global Issue, and Civic Participation.
    • 6-P3.1.1 Integrate Michigan process and skills standards into a grade-appropriate project. Clearly state a global issue as a question of public policy, trace the origins of the issue, analyze various perspectives, and generate and evaluate alternative resolutions. Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.
• 6-P4 Civic Participation
  • 6-P4.2 Act constructively to further the public good.
    • 6-P4.2.1 Demonstrate knowledge of how, when, and where individuals would plan and conduct activities intended to advance views in matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate effectiveness.
    • 6-P4.2.2 Engage in activities intended to contribute to solving the local, national or global issues studied.
    • 6-P4.2.3 Participate in projects to help or inform others.