A L I E F
Independent
School
District
GRADE 6 SOCIAL STUDIES –CONTEMPORARY WORLD CULTURES
Unit 2: Europe
Time: 6 Weeks
Hook ideas
here!
Universal
Generalizations
“Crossroads”
(places that are
accessible) tend to
have more activity
than places that
are isolated.
Line ideas here!
Social Studies Pacing Guide
Developed 2005
Revised 2006, 2011
Sinker ideas
here!
Unit Understandings
TEKS
Europe’s geography
has contributed to
its success.
Concepts :
human-environment
interaction, impact of
geography
Topics/Content
(5) Geography. The student
understands how geographic factors
influence the economic development,
political relationships, and policies of
societies. The student is expected to:
(A) identify and explain the geographic
factors responsible for the location of
economic activities in places and
regions; (WG 11B and 11C)
Setting the Scene, Text,
Ch. 3, p. 268
European
Geography-Impact
of…
 Location
 Temperate
Climate
 Transportation
Corridors
 Resources
 Vegetation
vocabulary:
climate region,
navigable, tributaries,
transportation
corridors, peninsula,
seaport
Unit Questions
To what extent
does the
geography of
Europe set it up for
its success?
Resources
Essential Resources


Text, Activity Atlas (pp.
254-259)
Map out day to day
lessons, components and
grouping strategies.
 Text, Ch.14, Sec.1-3
 Physical Features Map
Activity
 Printable Maps
Supplemental Resources
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



Alief ISD 2011
Grade 6
Lesson Plan:
Scavenger Hunt
Text: Europe
Geography
Lesson Plan:
O’Regional Thinking
Text: European History
Euratlas
Discovery Education
Videos:
o Geography of the
World: Europe: Land
and Resources
(23:10)
o Geography of the
World: Europe: The
People (21:36)
1
Thinking Maps Connections
(physical features of
Europe tree map)
Thinking Maps Connections
(natural vegetation tree and
types of plant life multi-flow)
Thinking Maps Connections
(regions tree and double
bubble map)
Thinking Maps Connections
(western/eastern Europe
double bubble)
Instructional Considerations:
Innovators often
serve as models
for the future.
Greece and Rome
introduced many of
the forms of
government that
exist today.
Concepts :
democracy, rule of law,
rights, elections
(1) History. The student understands
that historical events influence
contemporary events. The student is
expected to:
(A) trace characteristics of various
contemporary societies in regions that
resulted from historical events or factors
such as invasion, conquests,
colonization, immigration, and trade; and
(WG 18A)
(12) Government. The student
understands various ways in which
people organize governments. The
student is expected to:
(A) identify and give examples of
governments with rule by one, few, or
many; (WG 14B)
(B) compare ways in which various
societies such as China, Germany, India,
and Russia organize government and
how they function; and (WG 14B)
(C) identify historical origins of
democratic forms of government such as
Ancient Greece. (WG 14B)
(2) History. The student understands the
influences of individuals and groups from
various cultures to on various historical
and contemporary societies. The student
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 6
Beginnings of
Democracy –
Greece and Rome
 Voting
 Legislative
bodies
 Rights
 Rule of Law
vocabulary:
government,
democracy, tyranny,
oligarchy, monarchy,
autocracy, law, rights
What contributions
did Greece and
Rome make to
modern ideas
about government?
Essential Resources

History Alive!
Contemporary World
Cultures Learning
About the Roots of
Democracy
Supplemental Resources






History Alive!
Contemporary World
Cultures, The
Challenge of Forming a
Government
Text, Ch. 15.1- 15.4
Text Ch. 3.4 (pp. 54-56)
Ancient Greek
Government
Ancient Greece and
You (scavenger hunt)
Text: Government of
the People, By the
People, and for the
People?
Thinking Maps Connections
(forms of government
bridge)
2
is expected to:
(A) identify and describe the influence of
individual or group achievements on
various historical or contemporary
societies such as the classical Greeks on
government and the American
Revolution on the French Revolution;
Thinking Maps Connections
(roots of democracy tree
map)
Thinking Maps Connections
(forms of government tree)
Thinking Maps Connections
(democracy circle and
flow/tree)
Thinking Maps Connections
(rise and impact of Roman
Empire flow)
Instructional Considerations: In regards to the HS Lesson, The Challenge of Forming a Government, it is essential that the teacher carefully selects students for
particular roles to ensure the success of the lesson.
Major changes or
turning points
tend to have a
long-term impact.
Europe’s Industrial
Revolution led to
economic, social and
political changes.
Concepts:
industrialization,
urbanization, innovation,
capitalism, imperialism
(4) Geography. The student
understands the factors that influence
the locations and characteristics of
locations of various contemporary
societies on maps and globes and uses
latitude and longitude to determine
absolute locations. The student is
expected to:
(D) identify and locate major physical
and human geographic features such as
landforms, water bodies, and urban
centers of various places and regions;
(WG Place Geography)
(20) Science, technology, and society.
The student understands the influences
of science and technology on
contemporary societies. The student is
expected to: (WG 19 and 20)
(A) give examples of scientific
discoveries and technological
innovations, including the roles of
scientists and inventors, that have
transcended the boundaries of societies
and have shaped the world;
(8) Economics. The student understands
the factors of production in a society's
economy. The student is expected to:
(A) describe ways in which the factors of
production (natural resources, labor,
capital, and entrepreneurs) influence the
economies of various contemporary
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 6
The Industrial
Revolution
 Causes
o Inventions
o Agricultural
Revolution
 Factory System
 Textile Industry
 Effects
o Economic
Growth
o Population
Growth
o Child Labor
o Growth of
Cities
o Capitalism
vocabulary:
crop rotation, seed
drill, agriculture,
capitalism, spinning
jenny, textiles, factory
system, division of
labor, steam engine,
imperialism
How is the world
different as a result
of the Industrial
Revolution?
Essential Resources

History Alive!
Contemporary World
Cultures, The Rise of
Industrialism
Modified Lesson Plan- ML
 Industrial Revolution
PPT (Birdville ISD)
Supplemental Resources




Text, Ch. 15.3
Text, Ch. 16.1
Text, Ch. 17.2
Text: My Business for a
Machine
 Discovery Education
Videos:
o The Industrial
Revolution (1750 1915) (16:02)
Teacher’s Guide
o Horrible Histories:
Ingenious
Industrialists (24:34)
 Leveled Texts for SS-
3
The 20th Century
o The Industrial
Revolution pp.21-28
o Men of the Industrial
Revolution
societies; and (WG 12A)
(1) History. The student understands
that historical events influence
contemporary events. The student is
expected to:
(A) trace characteristics of various
contemporary societies in regions that
resulted from historical events or factors
such as invasion, conquests,
colonization, immigration, and trade; and
(WG 18A)






Industrial Revolution
Online Lesson
http://www.schoolhistor
y.co.uk/lessons/ironbrid
ge/objectives_iron.html
Summary of the
Industrial Revolution
Growing Business
Activity
Childworkers Activity
Lesson Plan: Coal
Industry
Additional Reading:
Coal Industry
Thinking Maps Connections
Thinking Maps Connections
Instructional Considerations: The Power Point, Industrial Revolution, might be used as a general hook for the unit. It provides basic information to lead into the
unit. The “Growing Business” lesson would be a good extension for the HA lesson, The Rise of Industrialism.
Lasting peace
sometimes results
from extended
and destructive
conflict.
World War I, World
War II and the Cold
War all had
significant impacts
on Europe.
Concepts :
dictator, appeasement,
communism, unification
(2) History. The student understands the
influences of individuals and groups from
various cultures to on various historical
and contemporary societies. The student
is expected to:
(A) identify and describe the influence of
individual or group achievements on
various historical or contemporary
societies such as the classical Greeks on
government and the American
Revolution on the French Revolution;
(1) History. The student understands
that historical events influence
contemporary events. The student is
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 6
Impact of World
War II
 Overview of
WWII
o Causes
o Theaters
o Victors
 The Cold War
o Conflicts
o Fall of
Communism
 Europe Today
o European
Union
Why was World
War II such an
important event in
the history of the
world?
Essential Resources
Overview of WWII
 Events Leading to
World War II Organizer
and Lesson
 Text, p.96 and pp. 316317
The Cold War
 Text, p. 286 and p. 317
Europe Today
 Text, Ch. 17, Sec. 3
4
expected to:
(A) trace characteristics of various
contemporary societies in regions that
resulted from historical events or factors
such as invasion, conquests,
colonization, immigration, and trade; and
(WG 18A)
(B) analyze the historical background of
various contemporary societies to
evaluate relationships between past
conflicts and current conditions.
o
Modern
Russia
Supplemental Resources

vocabulary:
dictator,
appeasement,
communism,
unification, Cold War
Leveled Texts for SSThe 20th Century
o WWII pp.77-84
o Leaders of WWII pp.
93-100
o The Cold War
pp.117-124
Instructional Considerations:

Alief ISD 2011
Grade 6
5