Welcome to Mrs.Basham’s
6th Grade Social Studies
The focus of sixth grade social studies is physical and human geography of
the eastern hemisphere. Our studies include ancient civilizations and their
lasting impact on the world today. My classroom is an active classroom that
promotes higher achievement through cooperation, collaboration and critical
thinking.
Units of Study:
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Foundations of Geography including map skills and GRAPES
Ancient Mesopotamia and Southwest Asia
Ancient Egypt and Africa
Migration
Ancient India and Monsoon Asia
Ancient China and East Asia
Economics
Teaching Strategies
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Travel Journals: Students will keep notes, handouts and journal entries
in their spiral notebooks. Students will also use the notebook to reflect
on their learning. In addition, the notebook will:
- Help students with organization
- Help students understand information in a variety of ways.
- Become a record of the student’s growth throughout the year.
Geographic Inquiry Process: Through this process the students will
become experts in:
1. Asking geographic questions
2. Acquiring geographic information
3. Organizing geographic information
4. Analyzing geographic information
5. Answering geographic questions
Grading:
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Formative assessment such as participation, travel journals,
homework, and in-class work will be 30% of a student’s grade.
Formative assessment assignments are practice of the skills and
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knowledge being learned. They prepare the student for the
summative or unit assessment. This work is reinforced throughout
the unit and can often be redone.
Summative assessment such as tests, quizzes and projects will be
70% of a student’s grade. Summative assessment is used to show
what the student has learned during the course of a unit.