Caregiver handoff · Grade 6
Wednesday · Week 34: Sub-Saharan African Kingdoms — Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe
Mali & Mansa Musa
For the adult running today
You don't need any background to run this day. Each subject takes the time shown. Read the prompt aloud, do the activity together, and use the "done means" check to know when to move on. Skip anything that feels stuck — note it for the regular teacher.
Gather before you start
- Timeline strip
- Calculator (optional)
- Passage: Reading Passage: Mesopotamian Scribal Culture (with comprehension)
- Passage: Reading Passage: Democracy in Athens (with comprehension)
- Passage: Reading Passage: Ibn al-Haytham and the Science of Optics (with comprehension)
- Anchor text or passage handout
Today, in order
1. Math
≈ 45 min
Today's prompt: Percent gold given away on Mansa Musa's hajj — inflation problem.
Say to the student: "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."
Done means: Student can explain how they got the answer, not just write it.
2. ELA
≈ 45 min
Today's prompt: Read an Ibn Battuta excerpt; compare to a textbook account (RI.6.6).
Say to the student: "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"."
Done means: Student wrote at least 3 complete sentences with evidence from the text.
3. Science
≈ 30 min
Today's prompt: Animal adaptations to grassland life.
Say to the student: "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."
Done means: Student recorded an observation and a question in the lab notebook.
4. Social Studies
≈ 30 min
Today's prompt: 1324 hajj to Mecca; Timbuktu as a center of learning.
Say to the student: "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"."
Done means: Student can name one cause and one effect from today's topic.
Note for the regular teacher