AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUBJECT/COURSE: World Cultures
IPG: Third Six Weeks
GRADE LEVEL: 6th
MAJOR CONCEPT #1: Resources
Overarching Idea
Guiding
Questions
Overarching Idea
Guiding
Questions
Societies depend on resources and face numerous challenges when these resources become
scarce.
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How do societies benefit from natural resources in their regions?
What challenges face regions and societies lacking natural resources?
How do societies cope with the challenges arising from a scarcity of resources?
What role does the availability of resources play in influencing the wealth and poverty of
nations?
MAJOR CONCEPT #2: Conflict
Societal, economic and environmental forces cause conflict.
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How do economic and environmental forces cause conflict?
How do changes in society lead to conflict?
How does conflict improve people’s lives?
How does conflict cause turmoil in people’s lives?
© Austin Independent School District, 2009-2010
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AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUBJECT/COURSE: World Cultures
IPG: Third Six Weeks
GRADE LEVEL: 6
MAJOR CONCEPT #3: Common Good
Overarching
Societies are responsible for providing for the common good of their citizens.
Idea
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Guiding
Questions
Why does a society provide for the common good?
How do social and economic problems impact a society’s common good?
How can challenges to a society’s common good be resolved?
How can other societies help a particular society assure its common good?
MAJOR CONCEPT #4: Location and Place
Overarching Factors of location and space influence where and how people live.
Idea
Guiding
Questions
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How do people in certain locations and places adapt to their physical environment?
How do people use maps to find locations and places?
What geographic factors influence the locations and places where people choose to settle?
MAJOR CONCEPT #5: Ethics, Values, and Beliefs
Overarching
Ethics, values and beliefs reflect the culture, ideas, and viewpoints of a society in a particular time period.
Idea

Guiding
Questions
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What are common ethics, values and beliefs among cultures that work to organize and preserve
societies?
How do people’s beliefs, values, and ethics influence the way they interact with each other and
with other groups?
© Austin Independent School District, 2009-2010
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