Sixth Grade Core Knowledge History & Geography Organization Guide

Ready to homeschool sixth grade social studies? This guide will help you get organized and prepared to teach your student using the History and Geography curriculum from Core Knowledge.

Free Resources

How-to Videos: Watch the videos to learn to use the CKHG curriculum to homeschool. Please be sure to watch these videos prior to starting to use the curriculum. The information in this organization guide as well as in the Unit-Specific Prep Checklist (see below) assumes you have viewed the videos and are familiar with the layout of the curriculum including how to effectively use the Teacher’s Guides.

Unit-Specific Prep Checklist: Includes notes for each unit of the curriculum including which activity pages to print, library books that may be needed, required advanced preparation broken out by lesson, as well as a list of additional unit-specific supplies. Click here to view the CKHG Sixth Grade Unit-Specific Prep Checklist.

Daily Schedule: A free daily schedule for homeschooling sixth grade using the Core Knowledge curriculum can be viewed by clicking here.

Primary Materials

Units: There are 9 units in the Grade 6 CKHG curriculum. All students start with Unit 1 and progress through the units in order. You will download each unit separately from the CK website. Each unit will be downloaded as a file folder containing multiple files including the Teacher’s Guide and Student Reader.

Teacher’s Guide: This is the primary resource for history and geography lessons. When you are ready to start a lesson with your student, you will simply open the PDF file for the Teacher’s Guide on your tablet or laptop, navigate to the lesson indicated on the daily schedule, and work through the instructions in the Teacher’s Guide for that lesson. If desired, physical copies of the teacher’s guides can be purchased directly from the CK website.

Student Reader: This reader contains both images and text and is used on most school days. This reader can be accessed as a PDF file on your student’s device. Student readers can also be printed. If desired, physical copies of the readers can be purchased directly from the CK website.

Timeline Cards: This file is included for most history units. The Teacher’s Guide will specify when to use the Timeline Cards in a lesson. Information on how Timeline Cards are used can be found on pg. 10-14 of the Unit 2 (Ancient Greece and Rome) Teacher’s Guide. While printing and displaying the Timeline Cards is ideal, the file can also be accessed and reviewed periodically instead. If desired, physical copies of the time line cards can be purchased directly from the CK website.

Online Resources Website: Many lessons call for accessing this website which contains additional lesson resources:
https://www.coreknowledge.org/curriculum/history-geography/ckhg-online-resources/

To find a specific resource, click on the name of the unit and click on the chapter number. Save this website so you can access it easily during lessons.

Getting Organized

Activity Pages: Activity pages (and the answer key) for each unit are found in the back of the Teacher’s Guide for each unit. More information will be available in the Unit-Specific Prep Checklists. Activity pages are often used over multiple school days. Save all activity pages until you have completed the unit.

Unit Assessments: Each unit ends with a day for student assessment. The assessment document and answer key are found in the back of the Teacher’s Guide in the Teacher Resources section. You will need to print the assessment pages.

Organization & Time-Saving Tip: Print the assessment and activity pages for all 9 CKHG units at the beginning of the school year (these pages are always located in the back of the Teacher’s Guide). Place all the pages in a binder together or have the pages spiral-bound at your local office supply store. This not only saves you from having to print pages at the beginning of every unit, it also ensures you always have previous activity pages handy as many pages (particularly maps) are used throughout a unit.

Performance Task Activity: Each unit’s Teacher’s Guide contains a Performance Task Activity at the end of the unit to reinforce what was learned in the unit. These activities are scheduled on the daily schedule for the end of each unit. The materials for this activity are located in the Teacher’s Resources section in the back of the Teacher’s Guide. While useful learning opportunities, these activities are optional.

Combined Unit Documents: The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Card files for Unit 3 (The Enlightenment) and Unit 4 (The French Revolution and Romanticism) are combined. The first part of each file covers Unit 3. For example, the Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-92 are for Unit 3 and pg. 92-239 are for Unit 4. Similarly, the Student Reader pg. 1-55 are for Unit 3 and pg. 57-161 are for Unit 4. If you downloaded the Units 3 and 4 materials separately from the CK website, these files are duplicates.

The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Card files for Unit 7 (The Making of America: Immigration), Unit 8 (Industrialization and Urbanization in America), and Unit 9 (Reform in Industrial America) are combined. The first part of each file covers Unit 7. For example, the Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-81 are for Unit 7, pg. 83-199 are for Unit 8, and pg. 201-330 are for Unit 9. Similarly, the Student Reader pg. 1-50 are for Unit 7, pg. 51-149 are for Unit 8, and pg. 151-245 are for Unit 9. If you downloaded all three unit’s materials from the CK website separately, these files are duplicates.

Important Tips

Independent Reading: If you’ve used CKHG for previous grade levels, you will notice a shift in the Teacher’s Guides starting here in 6^th grade. Students will be instructed to read independently at times. While not all students are ready for that level of responsibility, I would encourage you to actively build those skills with your student.

Library Books: The introduction section for most units includes a list of recommended books and websites. Whenever possible please select several of the recommended books and request them from the library in advance. This is particularly important as students move through middle school grades where they increasingly benefit from a diverse range of viewpoints of historical events. These library books can be assigned as independent reading as time allows or can be left out for your student to read on their own in their free time.

Art History: Art history is incorporated into a number of history lessons throughout the school year. The Teacher’s Guide will instruct you how to access artistic images and guide you through discussing them.

Globe and Maps: Many lessons suggest using a globe, world map, and/or US map. If you do not have one, most CKHG Teacher’s Guides have at least one world map in the back with the student pages. Units covering US history typically have a US map in the back of the Teacher’s Guide. Alternatively, you can Google map images and save the links for future use.

White Board: Many lessons suggest using a white board, chalk board, or board/chart paper. If you do not have one available, you can use a plain piece of paper to write out or draw the information called for in the activity.

Classroom-Based Activities: Some activities in this program are clearly designed for a classroom setting. Please adjust the activity as needed for your situation. For example, for an activity that suggests students work in teams, you can act as your student’s teammate or you can make it a family activity and involve siblings, etc.

Topic Duplication: You may notice what appears to be duplication between topics in the CKHG lessons and the CKLA lessons. This is intentional and provides the opportunity to reinforce key concepts by approaching them from multiple perspectives. For example, your student will be studying ancient Greece and Rome early in the year and social justice and the ongoing fight for equal rights later in the year in both the history and language arts curriculums. Occasionally there is direct overlap of activities and I have attempted to call out those instances and suggest alternative activities. Please refer to the Unit-Specific Prep Checklists for more information.

Time Constraints: This is a very full social studies curriculum. While I have attempted to schedule as many activities as possible, there are simply more activities listed in the Teacher’s Guide than can reasonably be completed in a standard number of school days. The daily schedule lists what are generally the most important activities for each chapter but as a homeschooling parent, you are free to swap out chapter activities as needed to meet the needs of your student. Activities that don’t end up happening during the standard school year can also be used over the summer break as opportunities for review. Please do not feel pressured to complete all the available activities. No one, including private and public school teachers, have enough time to complete them all.

Unit Specific Prep Checklist

This checklist will help you prepare for each new unit of the Core Knowledge Sixth Grade History and Geography curriculum. Please refer to the specific unit list prior to starting a new unit. It will guide you through what what documents to print, when a library book is needed, unit-specific supplies that should be gathered, and special notes for lessons in that unit.

Unit 1: World Deserts

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-16

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 59-84
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 85

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 16 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Chapter 1: The first two days of this unit use the Additional Activity (“World Geography”) listed for Chapter 1. It is a long activity so it is scheduled for two days. Completing this map work prior to the Chapter 1 Core Lesson on day three, will help orient your student. Please refer to the daily schedule.
  • Chapters 2-6: For each chapter, the student will continue to add information to the “Hot and Cool Facts About World Deserts” activity page (AP 2.2).
  • Chapter 6: You can complete both additional activities or choose only one of the activities. If you choose to play the quiz game, it’s set up as a classroom activity so you’ll need to make quiz cards in advance so your student can play the game.
  • Performance Activity: Optional, but useful to do if time allows. See TG pg. 65-69.
  • Unit Assessment: Included in the assessment and activity pages you printed in preparation for this unit. The answers are found in the back of the TG.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • An orange (Chapter 1)
  • A globe (Chapter 1, Chapter 5)
  • Red, blue, and yellow markers, crayons, or colored pencils (Chapter 1)
  • Photos from the internet, see TG pg. 44 for list (Chapter 5)
  • Index cards (Chapter 6)
  • Dark colored markers (Chapter 6)

Unit 2: Ancient Greece and Rome

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-20

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 161-204
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 205

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 160 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 20 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.
  • If your student is not familiar with Greek Mythology, that topic would be an important one to prioritize using library books, not only to bring richness to this history unit, but also to lay important groundwork for the upcoming language arts unit focusing on Greek stories.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Chapter 1: The first day of this unit uses the geography activities listed for Chapter 1. Completing this map work prior to the Chapter 1 Core Lesson on day two, will help orient your student. Please refer to the daily schedule.
  • Chapter 2: If you are also using the Grade 6 CKLA curriculum, you will find that the additional activities for this CKHG chapter duplicate what your student is learning in language arts (Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey). Options for these days:
    • If your student isn’t using the Greek Stories language arts unit this year, please refer to the TG and prioritize “The Works of Homer” activities listed on pg. 44-45. These are culturally important literary works.
    • Use library books (see TG pg. 20 for options) to learn about relevant topics those two days. (This is the option I have formally listed on the daily schedule.)
    • Shift the schedule and plan a day for mock Olympic Games with your family, neighbors, or local homeschool group. Information on setting up your own Olympics can be found on TG pg. 58.
  • Chapter 6: The activity using the video Crucible of Civilization is separated into two days. The TG breaks out what to do each day.
  • Chapter 13: If you are also using the Grade 6 CKLA curriculum, you will find that the additional activities for this CKHG chapter duplicate what your student is learning in language arts (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). Consequently, I have not scheduled the activity for this chapter. However, if your student isn’t using the Julius Caesar language arts unit this year, please refer to the TG and prioritize the “William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar” activity listed on pg. 124-126. This is a culturally important literary work. You may have to move some things around on the schedule to fit this in.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • Large index cards or sentence strips, each with one of the following dates: 753 BCE, 100 BCE, 44 BCE, 1 BCE, 1 CE, 100 CE, 300 CE, 476 CE (Chapter 1)
  • Two colors chalk or markers (Chapter 1)
  • Image of Discobolus (The Discus Thrower) by Myron, see pg. 57 (Chapter 4)

Unit 3: The Enlightenment

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-16

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 64-90
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 91

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 16 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Cards for this unit are combined with Unit 4 (The French Revolution and Romanticism)
  • Chapter 1:
    • Complete the activity “A Walk Back in Time” before moving on to the Core Lesson. This activity requires prep work (cutting AP 1.3 into individual cards), see TG pg. 19
    • The Core Lesson is divided into two days. The first day covers reader pages 2-7. The second day covers pg. 8-13. See the bottom of TG pg. 23 for information on where to break apart the two days. The second day you will end the lesson by using AP 1.4 (“Thinkers of the Enlightenment”). Your student will continue to fill out AP 1.4 for the remainder of the unit.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • A ball (Chapter 1)

Unit 4: The French Revolution and Romanticism

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 95-111

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 211-236
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 237

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 210 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 111 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Cards for this unit are combined with Unit 3 (The Enlightenment)
  • A video is needed for activities for Chapters 3 and 6. At the time this checklist was assembled, it is possible to watch the video via a 7-day free trial via Amazon.com (see below). I have moved the schedule around to accommodate watching both parts of the video within a 7-day period.
  • Chapter 8: The video A Tale of Two Cities is scheduled over two days.
  • Chapter 10: The History Channel’s The French Revolution is scheduled over two days.
  • Chapter 12: There are a number of excellent activities suggested in this chapter. The daily schedule does tend to get a bit crowded toward the end of the unit so feel free to drop an activity or start an activity early, etc.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • Internet access to Amazon’s MHz network or DVD series Paris: The Great Saga, please see TG pg. 139 for more information (Chapter 3 and 6)
  • Internet access, movie streaming service, or Man in the Iron Mask DVD and (optional) abridged version of book (Chapter 3)
  • If internet access is not available, rent or borrow a DVD of the 1980 version of A Tale of Two Cities, starring Chris Sarandon and Alice Krige (Chapter 8)

Unit 5: The Industrial Revolution

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-15

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 104-128
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 129

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 103 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 15 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Chapter 7: The musical Oliver! (based on the book Oliver Twist) is scheduled to be watched over two school days. The move is approximately 2 hours long and you could also choose to watch it as part of a family movie night.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • The musical Oliver! On DVD or accessed via the Internet (Chapter 7)
  • Dollar bill (Chapter 10)

Unit 6: Independence for Latin America

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-23

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 96-120
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 121

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 23 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • Chapter 1: The first day of this unit uses the geography activities listed for Chapter 1. Completing this map work prior to the Chapter 1 Core Lesson on day two, will help orient your student. Please refer to the daily schedule.
  • Chapter 2: The Core Lesson is divided into two days with SR pg. 10-20 scheduled for Day 1 and SR pg. 33-39 scheduled for Day 2.
  • Chapter 3: The Core Lesson is divided into two days with SR pg. 26-33 scheduled for Day 1 and SR pg. 20-25 scheduled for Day 2.
  • Chapter 5: The Core Lesson is divided into two days. The TG will prompt you where to divide the lesson.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • Large paper or poster board (Chapter 4)
  • Assorted art supplies (Chapter 4)

Unit 7: The Making of America: Immigration

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-15

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 66-80
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 81

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 65 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 15 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Cards for this unit are combined with Unit 8 (Industrialization and Urbanization in America) and Unit 9 (Reform in Industrial America)
  • Chapter 3: The virtual tour of the Tenement Museum in NYC activity has been divided into two days. If you find the activity itself only takes your student one day, you can use the following options on the additional day:
    • Do further research on the topic via the internet
    • If you are not using the Grade 6 CKLA curriculum, download the free Grade 6 CKLA student reader Blessings of Liberty, Volume 1 and read the chapter about tenement buildings (if you are using CKLA, that chapter is already scheduled as part of those lessons)
    • Use a library book to learn more about this topic or another topic in this unit.
  • Chapter 4: The Additional Activity “Interactive Game: City of Immigrants” can be played online as time allow through the remainder of the unit.

• Gather the Unit-Specific Supplies:
  • Large paper or poster board (Chapter 4)
  • Crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc. (Chapter 4 and 5)
  • White construction paper (Chapter 5)

Unit 8: Industrialization and Urbanization in America

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 85-98

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 174-197
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 198

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 173 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 98 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Cards for this unit are combined with Unit 7 (Immigration) and Unit 9 (Reform in Industrial America)

Unit 9: Reform in Industrial America

• Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 203-218

• Print the Assessment and Activity Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 305-328
  • Answers found on: Teacher’s Guide pg. 329

• Print the Fiction Excerpt(s): See Teacher’s Guide pg. 304 for a list (optional)

• Choose Additional Resources: See the list on pg. 218 and request library books to be assigned as independent reading or to be available for free reading during the unit.

• Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
  • The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and Timeline Cards for this unit are combined with Unit 7 (Immigration) and Unit 8 (Industrialization and Urbanization in America).
  • Chapter 2: Two days have been scheduled for the Additional Activity “Modern-Day Muckrakers” so students can choose several individuals on the list to research.
  • Chapter 3: Please read through the Additional Activity “Immigrant Challenges Today” in advance. There are a number of ways to conduct this activity including research via the internet or library books. If possible, interviewing someone in your community who can speak directly to the immigrant experience and the challenges faced would be ideal. Two days are scheduled for this activity to allow time for students to write up a simple report or make a poster showing what they have learned.
  • Chapter 5: The Core Lesson is divided into two days. The TG will prompt you where to divide the lesson.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase an item, we will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. These small commissions help offset the costs of producing and hosting this content.

Core Knowledge, CKMath, CKLA, CKHG, and CKSci are registered trademarks of the Core Knowledge Foundation.