6th Grade World History:  Prehistory and Antiquity

• We define History and Historiography and examine their associated methodology.
• We consider the origin of human culture and civilization with particular interest in technological and economic development.
• We study the first major civilizations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia, focusing on social, economic, political and cultural structures and their evolution.
• Particular cultures to be studied are those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Israelites, India, China, and especially, Greece and Rome.  In all cases, we will try to foster an appreciation for the physical, geographical and social conditions under which these cultures evolved.
• We will always be concerned with the implications our study of the past has for our present social and political concerns.

• We will make use of the textbook A Message of Ancient Days (Houghton Mifflin Social Studies) as guide for  our exploration of the past, but our principal concern will be to develop a classroom conversation between teacher and students about our studies, supplementing the textbook with material provided by the teacher in the form of lectures, handouts and research assignments.
• Students will be expected to take notes in class and on assigned readings and maintain a binder containing these notes and all other materials associated with the course.
• There will be periodic quizzes/tests announced and prepared for well in advance.
• There will be opportunities provided each student for classroom presentations based on research after consultation with the teacher.

• Grades will be based not only on quiz or test results, but also on an assessment of the individual student's engagement with and mastery of the material as demonstrated in participation in classroom discussion and in the precision and thoroughness of classroom notes.
• The ultimate determinant of the student's success will be:  what in the end the student has achieved, given the resources and opportunities afforded in the class.