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Student Assessment
Grade 6, Unit 1
The lessons of this cluster focus on how social scientists work together to build knowledge about the distant past and early human history. The first focuses on interpreting timelines and introduces the concept of turning points. Students make predictions and ask questions about important turning points in early human history as they consider the unit’s Essential Question: What were the most important turning points in early human history? The second lesson introduces the cluster’s Supporting Question: How do we study the distant past? Students learn about five kinds of social scientists and ask questions about fossilized footprints from the perspective of those scientists. In Lesson 3, students learn how social scientists work together to decode the history of a naturally mummified man found in the Italian Alps. Finally, students take a closer look at the man’s axe and consider the questions it would raise for different social scientists. By the end of the cluster, students are able to answer the question: Why is it important for social scientists to work together as a team when studying history?
This cluster chronicles the major developments that took place in the Paleolithic Era (2.5 million years ago to 12,000 years ago)— the evolution of modern humans, their migration across the planet, and their strategies for survival—as students consider the Supporting Question: How did bodies and activities change during the Paleolithic Era? After a look at the early humans that made up humanity’s family tree, the lessons delve into the major changes to human bodies across this long era: walking upright, larger brains, more dexterous hands, and smaller body parts for digestion. It also looks at the new activities made possible by these developments: sophisticated toolmaking, control of fire, successful migration out of Africa, the creation of art, and a foraging and hunting lifestyle within small family groups. Along the way, students engage repeatedly with the Essential Question about turning points. Students continue to practice using timelines, and gain experience with asking questions, organizing information, and making claims supported by evidence.
This cluster centers around the major turning points of the Neolithic Era, which began around 12,000 years ago. In the first lesson, students ask questions about the transition from the Paleolithic Era to the Neolithic Era and are introduced to the cluster’s Supporting Question: What led to the development of early complex societies? In successive lessons, students delve into the concepts of domestication of plants and animals, metallurgy, and the impact that agriculture had on transforming the way of life for people in the Neolithic Era. Students draw meaning and organize information from written and visual texts to understand these developments. Finally, students examine the role of agriculture in the birth of early complex societies, which will be broadened with specific examples of ancient societies in all the units that follow.
In this cluster, students follow an In-Depth Inquiry with a tighter focus than in previous clusters. Students conduct a complete In-Depth Inquiry over four lessons. The Supporting Question for this inquiry cycle is: Did foragers or farmers have a better life? Student curiosity is piqued with two comics about Paleolithic and Neolithic life; then students work collaboratively to determine questions they would like to ask to guide their inquiry. They take notes from two additional sources to find information to answer their questions. They also consider how sustainability is an important feature of a good life through an introduction to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They learn that to sustain a complex society, resources must be saved for future generations. By pursuing answers to their own questions about lifestyles in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras, students ultimately answer the cluster’s Supporting Question: Did foragers or farmers have a better life?
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