Social Studies Grade Six
Content/Concepts
Learning About History
Concepts:
history, oral history, artifacts, timeline
Information from a pre-historical period is obtained largely from *oral history
and archaeological findings.
- artifacts
- fossils
- legends, myths
Artifacts have great value and importance.
- record of past
- sacred significance
Information about the more recent past comes from
- primary sources
- history books
- *oral history (e.g. stories, legends, myths, etc.)
* Oral history was and still is of great value to North American Indigenous people.
In many cultures the elders were revered as historians.
The concept of time may be illustrated in a linear fashion.
- timeline
- sequence
- causality
Optional
The concept of time may be illustrated in a cyclical fashion.
- circle
- repetitious, e.g. day/night, the seasons, the life/death cycle
Content/Concepts
Interpretation of History
Concepts:
history, point of view
History is "interpreted" by people. As such, the following points should be
considered:
- Knowledge we have about pre-historic times and peoples consist of conclusions
made on the basis of artifacts and oral histories. It is important to keep
in mind that these conclusions were usually made by people living in another
time and place, and having a different set of values and perspectives.
- Historians often use information that other historians have written. In
this way, biases and misunderstandings may be perpetuated, and various interpretations
may occur.
- Authors, no matter how hard they try to be unbiased, write within the contexts
of their own values, beliefs and perspectives.
- New information about the past is very slow to find its way into historical
publications.
- Most of the publications about America's Indigenous peoples have been written
from a Eurocentric perspective. The "facts" presented and the language may
not be technically correct or appropriate.
- An author writes from his/her point of view within an historical context.
The points of view of Indigenous peoples may be quite different from a Eurocentric
perspective.
Content/Concepts
Interaction: *Pre-contact Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
(Time: pre-1500)
Concepts:
Indigenous peoples, environment needs/wants, resources, interaction, values/beliefs,
culture, lifestyle
Indigenous peoples of the Americas developed distinctive and diverse cultures.
- Arctic - Inuit
- Newfoundland - Beothuk
- Northeastern region - Huron, Algonquian (Micmac, Shawnee), Iroquois (Mohawk
Oneida, Cayuga)
- Mississippi/Ohio River Basins - Hopewell, Adena (The Temple Mound Builders)
- Southeastern U.S.A - Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Natchez, Caddo, Delaware
- Mexico - Anasazi, Aztec, Toltec, Olmec, Zapotec, Maya
- Brazil - Indians of the Amazon (Kayapo, Atroari, Caraja, Mura, Omagua)
- Caribbean - Arawak
- Argentina - Araucanian Indians
The lifestyles of Indigenous peoples were influenced by:
- the available resources
- the climate and the land
- interactions with other peoples
* Pre-contact refers to the time prior to contact between Indigenous peoples of
Europe and the Americas. Although extensive migration of peoples occurred throughout
history, trans-Atlantic travel and migration of peoples began with the period
of exploration. In this unit, the students will study the lifestyles of various
peoples who came together in the Americas from the pre- and post-contact perspectives.
Content/Concepts
Interaction: Indigenous Peoples of Western Europe and Africa
(Time: pre-1500)
Peoples of Western Europe
Concepts:
European peoples, environment, needs/wants, resources, interaction, values/beliefs,
culture, lifestyles
European people's lifestyles were influenced in part by their environments.
Focus on the lifestyles of people from:
- Spain
- France
- England
Peoples of Africa
Concepts:
Peoples of Africa, environment,needs/wants, resources, interaction, values/beliefs,
culture, lifestyle
African peoples' lifestyles were influenced in part by their environments,
in part by their interactions with other peoples.
Focus on the lifestyles of people from:
- the Gold Coast region (esp. Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon)
- Morocco
The cultural groups for study may include:
- Ashanti
- Akan (Hausa)
- Ewe
- Fulani
Content/Concepts
Interaction: Western Europe Goes Exploring to the Americas (Time: post 1500)
Concepts:
Explorers, push/pull factors resources, interaction, needs/wants, values/beliefs
Exploration of the Americas conducted primarily from:
(Students might note that exploration involved countries with ports. Portugal
and Scandinavian countries may also be included.)
There were various motives for exploration.
"Push" factors:
- need for trade route/NW passage (Eastern trade routes were shut off by Islamic
countries.)
- lack of resources (fish, furs, minerals)
- spread Christianity
"Pull" factors:
- resources/treasure
- territory, colonization
- adventure
Exploration routes were determined by environmental factors as well as motives:
Explorers interacted with the environment:
- applying European methods to another environment
- use of resources
Explorers interacted with the Indigenous peoples:
- reliance by explorers upon Indigenous peoples' expertise in adapting to
the physical environment and to act as guides through unfamiliar territory
.
- lack of appreciation for, and sensitivity to, the unique values and lifestyles
of the Indian people.
Content/Concepts
Interaction: Europeans Immigrate to the Americas
Concepts:
Immigrants, push/pull factors resources, interaction, needs/wants, values/beliefs
Early immigrants from Europe had various motives for immigrating to the Americas.
"Push" factors:
- religious rules
- poverty, famine
- wars
- crowding
- oppressive governments
- racism
"Pull" factors:
- free/cheap land offered by governments
- religious freedom
- opportunities for a better life
- adventure
- spread Christianity
- Immigrants interacted with the environment:
- survival
- applying European methods to another environment
- use and abuse of resources
Immigrants interacted with Indigenous peoples:
- mutual exchange of information about living on/off the land.
- changes in technologies.
- as increasing numbers of immigrants cleared and settled the land, traditional
lifestyles of Indigenous people were endangered.
Content/Concepts
Interaction: African People are Taken as Slaves to the Americas
(Time: 1500 - 1800)
Concepts:
Slavery, plantations, interaction, needs/wants, values/beliefs
In the Americas, the economies of sugar and cotton were such that promoted
the emergence of slavery.
- Growing market for sugar and cotton.
- Highly profitable under controlled market conditions.
- Huge plantations made a large workforce necessary.
- Labour intensive. Cheap labour was scarce.
In the Americas, plantation agriculture caused some major changes:
- Brought in a population of Blacks from Africa.
- Created two classes of people, the wealthy land owner and the slave.
- Cleared natural vegetation.
- Indigenous peoples, many of whom had been established on the land for generations,
were forced to move elsewhere.
During this period of time, the Black slaves suffered incredible hardships.
- Taken from their homes often against their will.
- Travelled the Atlantic under the worst possible conditions
.
- Sold as property. Used and often abused as being less than human.
- Lived in a completely foreign environment (country, language, beliefs, laws,
etc.).
- Laws addressed the rights of the owner not the slave.
Black slaves fought for and finally won their freedom, but are still striving
to gain social equality.
Content/Concepts
Interaction: Many cultures within the Atlantic Region
(Time: Post 1850's)
Concepts:
Cultures, immigrant, refugee, needs/wants, values/beliefs
Wars have caused people to migrate.
- WW I, WW II, Vietnam war, civil wars (Haiti, Cuba), Persian Gulf
Changes in technologies have made moving great distances more commonplace.
- Ease of travel
- Opportunities for employment in other countries.
Aboriginal peoples of the Americas have in many cases been displaced. Have they
become refugees in their own land?
Immigrants and refugees face various issues as they establish homes in a new
country.
- They may need a new language.
- They may need to deal with unfamiliar values, beliefs, traditions as well
as new ways of doing every day tasks.
- They may be subjected to prejudice, racism.
People in the receiving country face various issues when groups of new people
move in.
- Provide opportunity for language study, schooling.
- Provide opportunity for making a living.
- Accept and tolerate people with values, beliefs, and traditions different
from their own.
Optional:
Nations have laws governing immigration as well as emigration.