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4 worksheets · 2 answer keysPlan only

Grade 6 · Quarter 2 · Week 14

Athenian Democracy & the Golden Age

Pericles, the Parthenon, and the world's first democracy.

Standards this week

  • · 6.EE.B.5
  • · 6.EE.B.6
  • · RI.6.2
  • · W.6.2
  • · MS-LS1-6
  • · C3 D2.Civ.6.6-8

Packet contents

  1. Daily lesson plans (Mon–Fri)
  2. Friday weekly review
  3. Parent digest summary
  4. Worksheets (4)
  5. Teacher answer keys (2)

Materials to gather before Monday

Sharpened pencil & eraser

Day's notebook (one section per subject)

Anchor text or passage handout

Sketching pencils & ruler

Vocabulary notebook

Lab notebook

Microscope & prepared slides

Craft supplies (clay, cardstock)

Lined paper

SixthGrade · Binder packetPrint once Monday morning — file in the week's tab

Daily plans

Monday

Pericles & Direct Democracy

Social StudiesThe Assembly, Council of 500, juries; how citizens governed daily.
MathEquations as questions: which value makes 3x = 12 true? (6.EE.B.5).
ELARead Pericles' Funeral Oration excerpts; central idea (RI.6.2).
SciencePhotosynthesis as energy capture (MS-LS1-6) — model with arrows.

Today's worksheets

  • · [1B] Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
  • · [Q1] Assessment: Q1 ELA Assessment

Tuesday

The Parthenon & Acropolis

Social StudiesPhidias, ratio in architecture, civic pride in stone.
MathUse variables to represent unknown numbers (6.EE.B.6).
ELAVocabulary: democracy, oration, citizen, demagogue.
ScienceLeaf chromatography lab: separate pigments.

Today's worksheets

    Wednesday

    Limits of Athenian Democracy

    Social StudiesWho counted as a citizen? Women, metics, enslaved people excluded.
    MathWrite expressions for word problems with one variable.
    ELACompare ancient and modern democracy; what changed? (RI.6.2).
    ScienceInvestigation: leaf surface area and light absorption.

    Today's worksheets

    • · [1B] Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
    • · [Q1] Assessment: Q1 ELA Assessment

    Thursday

    Drama at the Festival of Dionysus

    Social StudiesTragedy and comedy as civic events; Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes.
    MathSolve one-step equations using inverse operations.
    ELABegin reading an Antigone scene; theme work.
    ScienceCompare photosynthesis equation with cellular respiration.

    Today's worksheets

      Friday

      Golden Age Workshop

      Social StudiesBuild a mini-Parthenon column model; explore Greek orders.
      MathMixed practice: write & solve one-step equations.
      ELAInformative paragraph: 'Why is Pericles' Athens still studied?' (W.6.2).
      SciencePhotosynthesis quick-quiz; portfolio entry.

      Today's worksheets

      • · [Writing 1] Writing prompt: Informative Essay
      • · [Q1] Assessment: Q1 ELA Assessment
      • · [Writing 2B] Writing prompt: Theme Analysis

      Friday weekly review

      Theme: River-valley civilizations & ratios

      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 "Read Pericles' Funeral Oration excerpts"."

      Vocab to use at dinner: democracy, oration, citizen, demagogue

      Math

      "Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of equations as questions: which value makes 3x = 12 true?." Teaching it back is the fastest way to lock it in."

      Science

      "Ask: "What did you observe today, and what do you think it means?" Encourage your child to draw a labeled sketch of "Photosynthesis as energy capture (MS-LS1-6) — model with arrows" 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 "The Assembly, Council of 500, juries"."

      Worksheets (4)

      1. [1B] ELA · Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
      2. [Q1] ELA · Q1 ELA Assessment
      3. [Writing 1] ELA · Informative Essay
      4. [Writing 2B] ELA · Theme Analysis

      ELA · G6-ELA-PKG

      1B

      Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)

      Standards: RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.6

      Name:  
      Date:  
      Score:  

      __________________

      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

      Name:  
      Date:  
      Score:  

      __________________ Score: _____ / 20

      Part 1: Reading comprehension (5 points)

      Re-read this short excerpt before answering.

      ELA · G6-ELA-PKG

      Writing 1

      Informative Essay

      Standards: W.6.2·Time: 3–4 days

      Name:  
      Date:  
      Score:  

      __________________

      Prompt:

      Write a multi-paragraph informative essay (4--5 paragraphs) titled: "Three Things to Know About Mesopotamian Scribes."

      Requirements:

      • An introduction with a thesis statement that previews the three things you will discuss.

      • Three body paragraphs, each focused on one of the three things, with at least one specific fact per paragraph.

      • A conclusion that briefly summarizes and ends with a thought-provoking observation.

      • Use at least 2 facts from Reading Passage 1B ("Scribes of Mesopotamia") and cite them.

      • Smooth transitions between paragraphs.

      Use the 4-Point Writing Rubric from the front of this package. You will be scored on Ideas, Organization, Evidence, and Conventions.

      ELA · G6-ELA-PKG

      Writing 2B

      Theme Analysis

      Standards: W.6.2, RL.6.2·Time: 3–4 days

      Name:  
      Date:  
      Score:  

      __________________

      Prompt:

      Choose one major theme from Black Ships Before Troy (suggestions: the cost of glory, the power of fate, the limits of strength, the meaning of homecoming). Write a 3--4 paragraph informative essay explaining how Sutcliff develops this theme across the novel.

      Requirements:

      • Introduction that names the theme and previews two or three key episodes.

      • Body paragraphs each focused on one episode. Quote at least one passage per paragraph.

      • A conclusion that reflects on what the theme suggests about the ancient Greek world or about life today.

      Use the 4-Point Writing Rubric.

      Teacher section — remove before giving to student

      Answer keys

      2 of 4 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

      SixthGrade · Quarter 2 · Week 14 · Binder packetsixthgrader.org

      Part of the K–6 Homeschool Curriculum series · Grade 6 · Eastern Hemisphere & Ancient Civilizations