This lesson plan is concerned with early humankind and its development into human societies. It presents four topics for Unit I: (1) cave art; (2) paleontological discoveries; (3) evolution from hunting-gathering to farming; and (4) development of language. It also suggests completion time for each topic; addresses the uses and significance of the…

This unit for sixth-grade students provides a fuller understanding of Julius Caesar's significance. Before students delve into the sample topic, they need an understanding of Roman values, lore, republican ideals, and structure of early Roman history. The first few activities in this lesson are to be taught prior to beginning the actual study of…

This unit for sixth graders focuses on the origins of Chinese civilization, the rise of early Chinese imperial centers, and the breakdown of order by the beginning of the sixth century B.C. Among the topics in the unit are: Early history and geography of India; Buddhism; Early history and geography of China; Confucius; and Culture, politics,…

This model lesson for sixth graders about the beginnings of civilization in the Near East and Africa aims to have students focus on the cultural and geographical features of a region: landforms, climate, and vegetation. The lesson features three major topics: (1) Sumer and Mesopotamia, (2) Egypt, and (3) Kush. It addresses the uses and…

Important ideas from the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman traditions are formally introduced to students in the sixth-grade course. Units three and five focus on people and ideas that form the roots of western civilization. The goal is to help students perceive how the viewpoints of Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman are congruent and divergent. Unit…