Social Studies

This year’s social studies is my favorite! We’re doing the 6th grade curriculum, which is Ancient Civilizations!

Sixth grade was when I really started to love school and learning. It had a lot to do with the two amazing teachers I had, but it was also because of what we were learning. This was the year I learned about Ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. We made mummies and had our own Olympics. I loved it! My first year teaching 6th grade social studies I even re-did a project for Egypt from when I was in 6th grade.

One thing I noticed from my first year teaching this curriculum was that the activity book was very, very dry. What student likes to learn from something without colored pictures?? I want my students to enjoy social studies as much I did, so over summer I looked around for ways to spice things up and  I found a great Interactive Notebook, specifically for Ancient Civilizations!

We've also started research projects on historical figures. The project we are doing is similar to the one I did a few years ago. Each student is reading a biography on someone from history. I tried to find people we would be learning about this year, but there weren't enough age appropriate biographies out there. Every student will be responsible for writing their own biography/report on their person, as well as, creating a Power Point to present in front of the class. 

My students seem to be enjoying our social studies so far, but we just finished our unit on Mesopotamia. Next up is Egypt, which I am so excited about! I hope I can instill memorable learning moments in my students, just like my two 6th grade teachers did for me.

My sixth grade year (1998-99). We each made a canopic jar, sarcophagus, and a mummy.