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Grade 6 · Quarter 4 · Week 34 · Wednesday

Mali & Mansa Musa

Sub-Saharan African Kingdoms — Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe — Gold, salt, and the trans-Saharan trade.

Week standards: 6.RP.A.3 · 6.G.A.1 · RI.6.2 · W.6.2 · MS-LS2-5 · C3 D2.Geo.4.6-8

Suggested timing

8:30 Morning meeting · 8:45 Social Studies · 9:30 Math · 10:15 break · 10:30 ELA · 11:30 Science · 12:15 lunch · 1:00 specials & wrap-up

Social Studies

40 min

1324 hajj to Mecca; Timbuktu as a center of learning.

Learning target: I can explain 1324 hajj to Mecca.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): 1324 hajj to Mecca.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): Timbuktu as a center of learning..
  4. Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.

Check: Exit ticket: name two specific details (place, person, date, or cause) and explain why they matter.

Home tip: 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 "1324 hajj to Mecca".

Homework: Read tonight's textbook section (10–15 min) and add three new facts to your notebook timeline.

Resources to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenStax World History Vol. 1 — Ch. 11 'The Rise of Islam' — OpenStax (https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/11-introduction)
  • Article: Islamic Golden Age — overview — World History Encyclopedia (https://www.worldhistory.org/Islamic_Golden_Age/)
  • Video: Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars (11 min) — Crash Course World History #13 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8)
  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenStax World History Vol. 1 — Ch. 15 'Medieval Africa' — OpenStax (https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/15-introduction)

Math

50 min

Percent gold given away on Mansa Musa's hajj — inflation problem.

Learning target: I can percent gold given away on Mansa Musa's hajj — inflation problem.

Step-by-step

  1. Number talk (5 min): mental-math warm-up tied to today's concept.
  2. Mini-lesson (12 min): worked example of "Percent gold given away on Mansa Musa's hajj — inflation problem" with the teacher modeling thinking out loud.
  3. We do (10 min): class works two problems together; students explain each step.
  4. You do (15 min): students try 4–6 problems independently or with a partner; teacher confers.
  5. Closure (5 min): one student presents a solution; class critiques the reasoning.

Check: Exit ticket: 2 problems — one procedural, one word problem — graded for accuracy and reasoning.

Home tip: Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of percent gold given away on Mansa Musa's hajj — inflation problem." Teaching it back is the fastest way to lock it in.

Homework: Practice set: 6–8 problems mirroring class work. Show steps; circle the answer.

Resources to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: Illustrative Mathematics — Grade 6 (free, CCSS-aligned) — Illustrative Math (Kendall Hunt OER) (https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/index.html)
  • Video: Khan Academy — Grade 6 math — Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math)

ELA

45 min

Read an Ibn Battuta excerpt; compare to a textbook account (RI.6.6).

Learning target: I can read an Ibn Battuta excerpt.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): Read an Ibn Battuta excerpt.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): compare to a textbook account ..
  4. Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.

Check: Exit ticket: one quoted sentence from today's text + one sentence explaining what it shows.

Home tip: 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 an Ibn Battuta excerpt".

Homework: Independent reading 20 min + log title, pages, and one sentence of reaction.

Resources to teach from

  • Article: CommonLit — Grade 6 free reading library — CommonLit (https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts?grade_levels%5B%5D=6)
  • Article: ReadWorks — Grade 6 passages + questions — ReadWorks (https://www.readworks.org/find-content#!q:/g:6/t:/dt:/sb:relevance)

Science

45 min

Animal adaptations to grassland life.

Learning target: I can animal adaptations to grassland life.

Step-by-step

  1. Phenomenon (5 min): show an image, video, or demo and ask, "What do you notice? What do you wonder?"
  2. Mini-lesson (10 min): teacher introduces the science of "Animal adaptations to grassland life" with a labeled diagram.
  3. Investigation (20 min): students gather data — observe, measure, model, or run the lab.
  4. Sense-making (8 min): students record a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response in the lab notebook.
  5. Share-out (2 min): one group presents data; class compares results.

Check: Exit ticket: one claim + one piece of evidence from today's investigation, with units where relevant.

Home tip: Ask: "What did you observe today, and what do you think it means?" Encourage your child to draw a labeled sketch of "Animal adaptations to grassland life" on a sticky note.

Homework: Finish lab notebook entry (sketch + CER paragraph) if not done in class.

Resources to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenSciEd — free NGSS middle-school units — OpenSciEd (https://www.openscied.org/access-the-materials/)
  • Interactive / simulation: PhET Simulations (free, classroom-ready) — PhET — CU Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/filter?subjects=earth-science,biology,physics,chemistry&type=html)

Materials & worksheet checklist

Bring every day

  • Sharpened pencil & eraser
  • Day's notebook (one section per subject)

Social Studies

  • Timeline strip

Math

  • Calculator (optional)

ELA

  • Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension) [1B]
  • Passage: Reading Passage: Democracy in Athens (with comprehension) [2C]
  • Passage: Reading Passage: Ibn al-Haytham and the Science of Optics (with comprehension) [4B]
  • Anchor text or passage handout

End-of-day reflection (student)

One thing I learned today:

One question I still have:

SixthGrade · Quarter 4 · Week 34 · WednesdayPrinted for classroom use

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