Grade 6 · Quarter 1 · Week 7
The Indus Valley Civilization
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro: the planned cities of South Asia.
Standards this week
- · 6.EE.A.2
- · 6.RP.A.3
- · RI.6.2
- · RI.6.6
- · MS-LS1-3
- · C3 D2.His.2.6-8
Packet contents
- Daily lesson plans (Mon–Fri)
- Friday weekly review
- Parent digest summary
- Worksheets (2)
- Teacher answer keys (2)
Materials to gather before Monday
Sharpened pencil & eraser
Day's notebook (one section per subject)
Outline map & colored pencils
Vocabulary notebook
Lab notebook
Lined paper
Timeline strip
Daily plans
Monday
Geography of the Indus
| Social Studies | Map the Indus and Saraswati rivers; the Hindu Kush; monsoon climate. |
|---|---|
| Math | Equivalent expressions: 3(x + 2) = 3x + 6; the distributive property. |
| ELA | Begin informational text on the Indus Valley; central idea (RI.6.2). |
| Science | Excretory system intro; kidneys and homeostasis. |
Today's worksheets
- · [1B] Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
- · [Q1] Assessment: Q1 ELA Assessment
Tuesday
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
| Social Studies | Grid streets, brick uniformity, the Great Bath; what these say about society. |
|---|---|
| Math | Use ratio reasoning to scale a city plan up or down. |
| ELA | Vocabulary: archaeology, artifact, urban planning. |
| Science | Investigation: filter 'kidney' challenge with sand and gravel. |
Today's worksheets
Wednesday
Indus Writing & Trade
| Social Studies | The undeciphered Indus script; trade with Mesopotamia (Meluhha). |
|---|---|
| Math | Identify equivalent expressions; combine like terms. |
| ELA | Compare an archaeologist's account with a textbook account (RI.6.6). |
| Science | Skin: largest organ; layers and functions. |
Today's worksheets
- · [1B] Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
Thursday
Society Without a Palace
| Social Studies | No clear kings or temples — what kind of society was this? |
|---|---|
| Math | Word-problem expressions: model a real-world situation algebraically. |
| ELA | Argument paragraph: 'What evidence reveals about Indus society' (W.6.1). |
| Science | Compare body systems in vertebrates vs. invertebrates. |
Today's worksheets
Friday
The Mystery of the Decline
| Social Studies | Climate change, river shifts, and the disappearance of Harappan cities. |
|---|---|
| Math | Mixed practice: variables, equivalent expressions, ratios. |
| ELA | Mini research: 'Why did Indus civilization fade?' — cite two sources (W.6.7). |
| Science | Body-systems checkpoint; exit ticket on hierarchy. |
Today's worksheets
Friday weekly review
Theme: Foundations of the Eastern Hemisphere
- Social Studies
- Name one geographic feature studied this week and explain how it shaped the people who lived there.
- Math
- Show one worked example from this week's standard and write a one-sentence rule in your own words.
- ELA
- Pull one sentence from the anchor text that surprised you. Explain why in 2–3 sentences.
- Science
- Describe one observation from a model, lab, or diagram and the question it raised.
Big question
How did this week's science or math concept change how you understand the civilization or text we studied?
For the family
Short summary of this week to share with your child and the rest of the household. Print and post on the fridge.
ELA
"Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Begin informational text on the Indus Valley"."
Vocab to use at dinner: archaeology, artifact, urban planning
Math
"Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of equivalent expressions: 3(x + 2) = 3x + 6." Teaching it back is the fastest way to lock it in."
Vocab to use at dinner: variables, equivalent expressions, ratios
Science
"Ask: "What did you observe today, and what do you think it means?" Encourage your child to draw a labeled sketch of "Excretory system intro" on a sticky note."
Social Studies
"At home, ask: "Where on a map would you find what you studied today?" Have your child point it out and tell you one cause and one effect from "Map the Indus and Saraswati rivers"."
Worksheets (2)
- [1B] ELA · Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
- [Q1] ELA · Q1 ELA Assessment
ELA · G6-ELA-PKG
1B
Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
Standards: RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.6
__________________
Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions below in complete sentences. Use specific evidence from the text.
ELA · G6-ELA-PKG
Q1
Q1 ELA Assessment
Standards: RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RI.6.2, L.6.1, L.6.4, W.6.2
__________________ Score: _____ / 20
Part 1: Reading comprehension (5 points)
Re-read this short excerpt before answering.
Teacher section — remove before giving to student
Answer keys
2 of 2 items have keys on file.
Answer key · ELA
1B: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
Teacher copy
1. Sample main ideas: (a) Mesopotamian scribes invented and developed cuneiform writing, the world's oldest writing system (supported by: "Cuneiform writing was invented in Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago"). (b) Scribes preserved knowledge that shaped the modern world (supported by: "thousands of their clay tablets survive in museums around the world").
2. Originally used for economic transactions (grain storage, sheep, taxes). Over centuries, it expanded to laws, hymns, letters, mathematical problems, and literature like the Epic of Gilgamesh.
3. Young scribes began at six or seven, studied for ten years or more, copied lists of words, memorized hundreds of cuneiform signs, learned Sumerian and Akkadian, and faced severe discipline including caning for careless writing.
4. "thousands of their clay tablets survive in museums around the world, baked hard by the fires that destroyed the cities they served" --- or any sentence about tablets surviving.
5. The author admires scribes; phrases like "remarkable craft," "great rewards," and the closing about modern technology owing them a debt all reveal positive view.
6. The passage argues that every modern alphabet and keyboard traces back to Mesopotamian scribes. The author's purpose is to show that ancient innovations still matter --- that we depend on what the scribes invented.
Answer key · ELA
Q1: Q1 ELA Assessment
Teacher copy
1. The Mesopotamian scribe held the city's memory; without him, the city could not function.
2. "He recorded what grain came in, what went out, who owed what."
3. Sample: The author respects scribes --- phrases like "the careful pressing of wedges into clay" and "the city's past into the future" show admiration.
4. Sample theme: Honesty against power requires courage. Students should cite a passage showing Ranofer's moral dilemma about Gebu.
5. Gebu's harsh treatment forces Ranofer to be careful, hide his ambitions, and learn to act in secret --- shaping his moral choices throughout the novel.
6. Scripture = a sacred or important written text.
7. Democracy = rule (kratos) by the people (demos).
8. Student sentence; should correctly use a root-based word.
9. My brother and I went home.
10. Ranofer is the antecedent of "he."
11. Sample: Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian scribes spent years learning a difficult writing system, were trained in temple schools, and could rise to powerful positions like royal advisor or treasurer. Both civilizations valued literacy and used scribes to record economic and religious life.
Q2 --- Black Ships Before Troy and Ancient Greece