Quarter 1 · Weeks 1–9
Earliest Civilizations & the Rise of Cities
Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China — the world's first civilizations. Math grounds ratios, GCF/LCM, exponents, and fraction division; science opens the body-systems arc.
Subject Focus
Mathematics
Ratios, GCF/LCM, Exponents & Fraction Division
6.RP.A.1, 6.RP.A.3, 6.NS.A.1, 6.NS.B.4, 6.EE.A.1
ELA
Informational Reading & Argument Writing
RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.6, W.6.1, W.6.2, L.6.1
Science
Cells & Body Systems (MS-LS1)
MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3
Social Studies
Mesopotamia · Egypt · Indus Valley · Shang China
C3 D2.His, D2.Geo · State World History 6.1–6.4
Anchor Texts
- •The Golden Goblet (Eloise Jarvis McGraw)
- •Gilgamesh the Hero (retelling)
Milestones
- Cuneiform tablet & cylinder-seal artifact study
- Comparative essay: four river-valley civilizations
- Cell-to-organism hierarchy lab notebook
- Q1 culminating project & portfolio
Weekly Planner
Week 1
Geography of the Ancient World & the Rise of Cities
Why early cities formed where they did — river valleys, climate, and surplus.
Week 2
Mesopotamia I — Sumer and the First City-States
Ur, Uruk, cuneiform, ziggurats; the world's first writing.
Week 3
Mesopotamia II — Babylon, Empire & Hammurabi's Code
From city-state to empire; one of the world's first written legal codes.
Week 4
Egypt I — The Nile, the Old Kingdom & the Pyramids
Geography of the Nile; pharaohs and the architecture of eternity.
Week 5
Egypt II — Religion, Mummification & the Middle Kingdom
Ma'at, the gods, and beliefs about the afterlife.
Week 6
Egypt III — The New Kingdom & Daily Life
Hatshepsut, Tut, daily life along the Nile.
Week 7
The Indus Valley Civilization
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro: the planned cities of South Asia.
Week 8
Early China — The Shang Dynasty
Bronze, oracle bones, and the roots of Chinese civilization.
Week 9
Synthesis, Comparison & Q1 Culminating Project
Compare the four river-valley civilizations across themes.
Use this quarter without hunting
Open a week to teach the lessons, keep the daily schedule nearby for pacing, and use the Educator Hub for the worksheets, quizzes, study cards, printables, and answer keys connected to that teaching.