6th Grade Social Studies Class

Islamic Civilization

2010-04-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to learn about Islam and how it has raisin in the middle east in early times. We are also going to learn how it began and how it had spread across the Mediterranean.

People who live in the desert of Arabia are called Bedouins. They lived in the desert which had scare amounts of water and food. They live in tents and eat dried fruits and nuts. They also drank the milk of their animals. Their animals were much to valuable too eat.

Muhammad was a prophet who started Islam and convinced people that they should destroy idols and believe in the one true God. They had a bible like the other religions and it is called the Quran or holy book of Islam. The Quran also had rules written in them for things like marriage, Divorce, family life, property rights.

A Dog's Life (Money Due)

2010-02-25T05:21:00.001-08:00

The money for the book we are going to read in March, A Dog's Life, is due Monday March 1. The book costs $5.oo. Remember to bring it in.

Early Rome

2010-02-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

Now we are learning about early Rome. Italy is the most important part of the Mediterranean region. They were important because they had good military skills.

The Romans, A Latin-speaking people,settled on the region of Rome on the west side of Italy. The regions geography, as well as Etruscan and Greek ideas, helped Rome grow.

In 509 B.C. the Romans overthrew Etruscan rule and established a republic. By 275 B.C. Romans legions had conquered most of Italy.

A Republic is a form of government in which a leader is not a King or Queen but someone put in office by citizens with the right to vote.

Early Romans were separated into 2 classes

Patricians
Plebeians

They were a very strong empire and government. They were on of the best empires in ancient history.

Roman art was more realistic and Greek art was made more nice. They made alot of discovery's and even advanced with science and acrhitechture. They made a Colosseum for gladiator fights. Gladiators were normally slaves that fought animals and even each other. One gladiator Spartacus was a person who rebelled ageist the empire. He had 70,000 enslaved people to fight. In 2 years his army lost and 6,00 of his followers were crucified.

The fall of Rome was the worst thing that ever happened to Rome. They had violence and wide spread plagues. They also had heavy inflation in their ecnomy. They were so poor that they had to bater which means to exchange goods without useing money.

The first christian emperor was Constantine. He was a great leader and also had a hard time in life. His wife Fausta accused his son of crimes and had him killed. Constantine later discoverd Fausta lieing and he had her killed. She lied becuase she wanted her own son to be in line for throne.

Rome was invaded by many invaders from the north such as the Huns,Franks,Vandels,visigoths,Angles/Saxons, and Ostrogoths. In A.D 550 the whole western roman empire had faden away. It was later knowen as the Byzantine empire for more than 1000 years.

The Roman empire had maney influences on our culture today such as government. We still reconize them for being one of the biggest empires in Ancient history.

Early China

2010-01-26T05:53:00.000-08:00

Now we are learning about ancient China. We learned so far that the 2 main rivers of Chine are the Huang He river also known as the Yellow river. The other river is the Chang Jiang river also known as the Yangtze river. The Chang Jiang river also has rich fertile soil for farming.

Little is known about the early Chinese civilization. we believe that the first dynasty was the Xia dynasty. We know more about the next dynasty called the Shang Dynasty. The people of the Shang dynasty were divided into groups.The most powerful was the king and his family.

Under the kings rule, the warlords and other royal officers made up the upper class. They were Aristocrats, nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned. few people were traders and artisans. Most Chinese however were farmers.

Chinese used pictograph and Ideographs. Chinese also had a king who was a mandate. The king had to rule with goodness and wisdom.

Social class had a big effect on the Chinese people. It shapes the Chinese society and made it organized. Most Chinese people were farmers. It was hard to0 grow food because their was so little fertile soil to farm on.

Confucius was a great teacher and thinker because he was wise and smart. he made his own philosophy called Confucianism. Their was 3 philosophers called Confucius, Laozi, and Hanfeizi.

There were many things that were made during that period of time because they were one of the most important civilizations in ancient history.

The next 2 dynasty's are the most important dynasty's or the most known dynasty's. They were the Qin and Han dynasty's. The reason that they are important is because they built the great wall of China and the Han dynasty is the dynasty that complete the great wall of China. The Qin dynasty practiced the philosophy of legalism. The king of the Qin dyansty was Qin Shihuangedi. He had anyone who opposed him punished or even killed. Books that's were opposed him were burned publicly.

The people who were cruel to the Chinese people were the Xiongnu. They were bad people and were enemy's of the Chinese that's why they built the great wall of China. The Chinese made many inventions such as gunpowder,paper, iron drills, waterwheels.

They made a network of trade routes called the Silk Road. They manly traded

Silk
Tea
Spices

They traded many more goods also. They also invented accupunture which is still used today. It is when people stick needles into your body. It is supposed to cure and prevent illnesses.

Social Studies Mid-term Review

2010-01-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Midterm Review

1.What are the seven continents?

2. What are the 4 oceans?

3.What is a peninsula?

4.What is chronology?

5.Define the following terms-

Latitude
longitude
archaeologist
anthropologist
nomad

6.What are 3 types of maps?

7.What was the role of women in the paleolithic age?

8.Where was Mesopatomia located?

9.What does Mesopatomia mean? What are the 2 rivers located in Mesopatomia?

10.What are the gifts of the Nile river?

11.What direction does the Nile flow?

12.Name the longest river in the world?

13.Where did the Israelites record their history in religious beliefs?

14.What happened when the Israelites were conquered?

15.how did the geography of Greece influence where people settle and how they made a living?

16.How did the Greek colonist help industry grow?

17.In what field did Hellenistic scientist make advances?

18.Who are the 3 ancient Greek philosophers?

19.What gifts did we receive from our Greek heritage?

Early India

2010-01-05T06:58:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! Now in January we are learning about Early India. India is a subcontinent. The biggest mountains in India are the Himalaya mountains. The biggest mountain Mount Everest is located in the Himalaya mountains. The 2 famous river in India are the Indus river and the Ganges river.

Monsoons are important to Indian climate. They help grow the crops to be good. If the rains are delayed there will be a drought. If the rains last to long the crops will die and the people will starve.

Two major city's in early India are Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro. They were large city's with lots of people living there. They are large walls surrounding the city to protect it.

India social classes are called a caste. They are sepertad into 4 classes

Brahmin's-Priest
Kshatriya's-Warriors,rulers
Vaisya's-Common people
Sudra's-Unskilled laborers,servants

The help shape India's social society.

Notes from Mr. Paulhus

2009-12-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2009

Hello!

I will try to post my thoughts weekly.

Today, I just want to remind the students that their 500 word essay on Greek Heritage is due on Monday, December 7, 2009. Any questions e-mail me at tap7253@yahoo.com

December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Assignment:
500
word essay. Handwritten, in cursive, black ink.
Topic: Choose a god from Ancient Greece (page 155 of the textbook). Describe the god and his responsibilities. Due on January 4, 2010 at 8:15am.
Happy Holidays!

The Ancient Greek Civilization

2009-11-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

In class we are learning about the Ancient Greeks. Greece is located in Europe near the Mediterranean Sea. We know that Greece is a peninsula. A peninsula is a body of land with water on three sides. Greece has four seas by it the Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea, and the Sea of Crete. Many Ancient Greeks made living in the sea by fishing, sailors, and traders. Others settled in farming communities and grew wheat, barley, olives, and grapes.

The Minoans were the first civilizations to live in Greece. Even thought they weren't Greek they ruled the island of Crete. They where wealthy because they traded pottery and stone vases for ivory and metals. They built ships from oak and cedar trees and they sailed as far as Egypt and Syria to trade. In about 1450 b.c the Minoran Civilization collapsed and some say that undersea earthquakes caused giant waves and washed them away. Another way they might of disappeared was that they were invaded by the Mycenaeans.

The Myceanaeans were originally from Asia and they invaded Greek mainland around 190b.c. The first Mycenaeans were the kings of Greece. There capital was Mycenae and it was named after the Mycenaeans. The Mycenaeans Kingdoms where well organized. The center of each Mycenaean kingdom was a fortified palace on a hill. The ruler lived there. They also copied the Minoans with their weapons and goddess Earth Mother. They both fought in the Trojan War also.

The Dark Ages of Greece was between 1100B.C and 750B.C and it was difficult for the Greeks. Lots of battles and earthquakes fell over all Greece causing many to die it was a very hard time for all of Greece. Food was hard to get so farmers had to substance farm. They could grow only enough food to feed their own families.

As Greece recovered from the Dark Ages they did not have enough food to feed their families so they made colonies around the homeland. So started to trade many things for more money. The growth went into industry. The demands keeped producers at pace.

The Polis is like a tiny independent country. The main gathering place in a polis was usually a hill. A fortified area, called an acropolis. It stood at the top of the hill. It provided a safe refuge in case of attacks. It also sometimes served as a religious place. Below the acropolis was an area named agora. This place had two functions it was a market and a place where people could meet and debate issues. Polises varied in size. Some where a few miles wide while others where hundreds of square miles wide.

Each Greek city-state was run by its citizens and the Greeks were the first to develop the idea of citizenship. The point of it was to treat everyone with respect. Today it almost applies to everyone. By 700B.C the city states had begun to depend on armies of ordinary citizens called hoplites.The hoplites went to battle with a shield, a short sword, and a 9 foot spear. Hoplites make good soilders because they took pride in fighting for their city-state.

Another thing we are learning is the Athens and Spartans.Sparta is an Oligarchy which is when few people hold power. Athens is a democracy which all citizens run the government.Sparta cared more about training soilders but Athens cared more about intelligence in their soldiers.

Persia is a empire what is today southwestern Iran. Early Persians were warriors and nomad.Cyrus the great was one of the best leaders because he made the empire to grow very big. Another leader was Darius he improved the goverment and made it into provinces. His son Xerxes was Darius's son and he wanted revenge from the Athens also.

Athens have a direct democracy which means when there is a meeting the whole town goes to it.Today in the United States has a Representative democracy. In the Athens the man called Pericles tryed to make Athens more Democratic.

Daily life in Athens is normal,slavery is common and there was at least one slave in each household. Many Athenians depended on farming for a living. They made wealth by farming and trading. Men farmed or went to the army and Woman stayed home and cared for the household and the children.Girl normally married at the age of 14 or 15. Woman did not have as many rights as men such they could not move in public.

Under Pericles control Athens became more democratic and more rich, but Sparta and Athens went to war together and called it the Peloponnesian War.

In the next chapter we are learning about Ancient Greek Cultures. Myths are traditional stories about gods and hero's. The place were the Greek gods were born is called Mount Olympus. It is the highest mountain in Greece. Greek gods are tought to be all-powerful.

An oracle is a future teller for the ancient Greeks.

The Israelites

2009-10-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

In Social Studies we are learning about the Early Israelites. We learned about how the Israelite's religion. Also we are learning about graphic organizers. We also know life was not good in Egypt at that time because Israelites where taken to build pyramids for the pharoah. They believed in one God which is our present day God. The belief in one God is called monotheism. Ideas the Jews had was the believe in one God, The 10 commandments, and the Torah.

(The Phoenicians were a group of Canaanites. They lived along the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians were very skilled at sailing and trading. One of their important ideas was the alphabet. The alphabet is a group of letters that stand for sounds. Today, we still use the idea.)

It took the Israelites around 40 years to actually reach the city of Canaan(The Promised Land) . During those 40 years Moses had obtained the 10 commandmeants on Mount Sinai from God. Moses never lived to actually see The Promised Land. God punished Moses because he "literally" broke the commandments. Moses broke them to stop the Israelites from rebelling against him. God punished him in 2 ways. The first way was that God didn't allow Moses to see The Promised Land. The second way, and the most important, was that God took his life.....

Canaan was inhabited by people when the Israelites arrived there. In order to get back to The Promised Land, they had to fight the Canaanites. Joshua, the one who led the Israelites to Canaan, led them to the city of Jericho. There, they marched around the walls for 6 days, while the priests blew there trumpets. On the 7th day, the trumpets sounded one last time. Then Joshua told the Israelites to make a great shout. When they did, the walls crumbled and the Israelites overrun the city.