What does a student learn in StateNew Mexico,GradeGrade 6,SubjectSocial Studies?

Students write their own follow-up questions to dig deeper into a bigger topic they are studying. Good supporting questions point toward specific evidence that helps answer the main question.

Students learn to tell the difference between a firsthand source (a diary, a letter, a speech) and a secondhand source (a textbook, an article written later). They look at who wrote it, what kind of document it is, and when it was published compared to the event it describes.

Students sort and arrange important people, events, and ideas from history using timelines and charts that show either the order things happened or how ideas connect to each other.

Students sort their research questions into two groups: the big central question driving an investigation and the smaller questions that help answer it.

Students practice asking history questions that don't have one right answer, so they can dig into the same event from more than one angle.

Students find sources on a topic, then judge whether each one is reliable and useful before using it as evidence.

Students practice finding the right sources for a research question, whether that means a library database, a map, or a firsthand account. The goal is knowing where to look, not just what to search.

Students learn to tell the difference between a fact that can be checked, a personal opinion, and a conclusion backed by evidence. They also look at who wrote a source and ask what that person might want them to believe.

Students look at several different world maps and compare how each one stretches or shrinks countries and oceans. They learn that every flat map distorts the globe somehow, and that the choices a mapmaker makes can shape how readers see the world.

Students look at where information comes from and ask why it was written. They decide whether a source is trustworthy enough to use in their work.

Students write a clear statement that takes a position on a topic, then back it up with facts and details from sources they've read or studied.

Students pick a question about a historical topic, gather facts from original documents and secondhand accounts, and write a clear answer backed by that evidence.

Students pick a claim and back it up with evidence from more than one source, showing they considered different points of view before landing on their answer.

Students find specific sentences or passages in original documents and other sources, then use those details to back up their analysis. The goal is to show where an idea actually comes from, not just assert it.

Students read firsthand accounts and outside sources on the same topic, then compare what different people believed, experienced, or argued about it.

Students share their findings with others and explain the reasoning behind their conclusions. They also review and question other students' work, giving specific feedback on what holds up and what needs more support.

Students choose a tool like slides, a map, or a chart to present what they found in their research. The goal is to match the format to the information so the audience can follow it.

Students turn their research into a map, chart, or infographic that shows what they found. The goal is a clear visual someone else can read and learn from.

Students pick a real issue they studied, decide what they think should happen, and do something about it, like writing a letter, making a poster, or speaking up in class.

Students think about who they are, where their family comes from, and how those roots connect to the history and cultures of people around the world.

Students look at real historical problems and explain why solving them was hard, what options people had, and what happened when someone took action. The focus is on decisions, trade-offs, and results.

Students learn what governments, political parties, and civic organizations do and how they relate to each other. This covers the basic building blocks of how communities and countries make rules and decisions.

Early humans lived in small groups with defined roles, like who hunted, who gathered food, and who led the group. Students learn how those social structures helped early people survive.

Students study how ancient societies in Asia and the Middle East organized their governments and daily life, looking at who held power, how laws worked, and how religion and tradition shaped the way people lived.

Students examine how ancient Greek and Roman societies organized their governments and daily life, looking at who held power, how laws worked, and how culture shaped the way people lived together.

Students look at how ancient governments, like Athenian democracy or Roman republicanism, were set up and compare them to how the U.S. government works today, noting what changed and what stayed the same.

Civic life means taking part in your community beyond just following rules. Students learn what it looks like to vote, serve on a jury, volunteer, or speak up at a town meeting.

Students learn who gets a voice in different governments and what that means in practice. They compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens and noncitizens across systems like democracies, monarchies, and republics.

Students study how societies change over time while some traditions and structures stay the same. They look at historical events in context, examining cause and effect across different eras.

Students examine the ideas, inventions, and art that came out of ancient Greece, Rome, India, and China, then explain how those contributions still shape medicine, government, mathematics, and architecture today.

Students look at what made ancient civilizations like Greece, Rome, and China succeed, including geography, trade, and government. They explain why some societies grew powerful while others did not.

Students examine inventions and discoveries from European, African, and Asian civilizations and explain why those breakthroughs mattered. Think paper, algebra, the compass, or early medicine.

Religion and philosophy shaped how people governed, built cities, and treated one another. Students explain how belief systems like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism reshaped societies across Europe, Asia, and Africa after the fall of ancient empires.

Students look at examples of conflict and oppression from Medieval times, such as war, conquest, or persecution, and study how people pushed back or responded to those abuses.

Students trace how one event or decision led to another, explaining what caused something to happen and what changed as a result.

Students examine how early farming changed the way people lived, from following animals and wild food sources to settling in one place, growing crops, and building permanent communities.

Students learn why thinkers in the ancient world developed new ideas about government, justice, and how to live, tracing those ideas back to real political turmoil and social tensions of the time.

Students compare how ancient empires like Rome, China, and Persia kept control over large territories. They look at strategies like military force, trade networks, and local governance to see what worked and why.

Students compare what caused three major empires to fall: Rome, Han China, and the Gupta Empire in India. They look for patterns across all three, such as invasion, weak leadership, or economic strain.

Students learn what drove medieval Europe toward feudalism: weak central governments, constant invasions, and the need for local protection pushed lords and peasants into a system where land was traded for loyalty and military service.

Students study how the Black Death spread across Europe and Asia in the 1300s and what it changed: governments collapsed, trade routes shifted, and millions of people died, reshaping nearly every part of daily life.

Students examine whose voices and viewpoints show up in the historical record and whose are left out. They practice asking why a source was created, who benefits from the story it tells, and what perspectives are missing.

Students look at how Christians, Muslims, and Jews viewed each other during key historical moments and what those encounters changed, for individual people and for whole communities.

Students explore how people develop a sense of who they are through culture, family, and community, and how that identity shapes the way they see and interact with the world around them.

Students look at how people from different backgrounds see the same event or issue differently, and how shared experiences can bring those views closer together.

Students examine how a person's background, culture, and experiences shape the way they see history and whose stories get told.

Students connect moments from their own lives to larger events in history. They practice seeing how personal stories and historical events shape each other.

Students examine what makes a community fair or unfair and explore practical steps people have taken to close gaps in resources, opportunity, and representation.

Students study how ancient civilizations treated different groups, such as enslaved people, conquered peoples, or religious minorities, and explain how that treatment shaped the customs, beliefs, and identities those groups carried forward.

Students study how major religions and philosophies, such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, shaped how people in Europe, Asia, and Africa governed themselves, treated one another, and built their cultures during the ancient world.

Students weigh the costs and benefits of a financial choice before deciding, recognizing that choosing one option means giving up another.

Students learn how land, food, and wealth were divided unequally under feudalism, where kings and lords controlled most resources while peasants at the bottom received very little.

Trade routes connected distant civilizations, letting them swap not just silk, spices, and coins but also religions, technologies, and languages. Students explain how those exchanges shaped the cultures on both ends of the route.

Trade connects societies to goods they couldn't make or grow on their own. Students explain how buying and selling between communities helped ancient and modern societies grow, specialize, and build wealth over time.

Students learn how money works as a tool for buying and selling, and how prices are shaped by what people want and what's available to buy.

Students compare how geography shaped the tools and routes people built for travel and trade. A coastal region developed ships; a mountainous one built roads through passes.

Students learn how buying, selling, and producing goods connects countries around the world, and how a decision made in one country can affect prices and jobs in another.

Students examine how ancient civilizations grew faster when they produced more food and goods than they needed. A reliable surplus meant people could specialize in jobs beyond farming, build cities, and trade with neighbors.

Students learn how money works in real life: earning, saving, spending, and borrowing. This standard covers the basics of budgeting and making financial decisions that affect everyday life.

Spending choices are shaped by more than preference. Students examine how things like job loss, rising prices, or a change in family size can push different households to spend more, less, or differently.

Students name real financial risks people face, like losing a job, getting sick without insurance, or having a car break down. The goal is recognizing that unexpected costs happen and that planning for them matters.

Maps, charts, and graphs are tools for understanding the world. Students read and interpret these representations to explain geographic patterns, such as why people settle where they do or how climate shapes a region.

Students read and build maps, globes, and graphs to find patterns in geographic data and explain what those patterns mean.

Students compare the rivers, landforms, and climates that drew early humans to settle in certain places, looking at why some locations supported farming and communities while others did not.

Maps show how trade routes, exploration, and cultural exchange connected distant places across the ancient and medieval world. Students trace those links to explain what moved between regions and why it mattered.

Students learn to describe where places are, what makes them distinctive, and how areas with shared features form a region. Geography is more than a map. It is a way of asking why places look and feel different from one another.

Natural forces like volcanoes, rivers, and wind slowly reshape the land around us. Students learn how those forces created the mountains, valleys, and coastlines that define different regions of the world.

Students trace how people, goods, and ideas move between places and how those flows shape where populations settle and how economies work.

Students trace how major religions and philosophies, such as Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, spread from their origins across continents. They compare what drove that movement, whether trade, conquest, or migration.

Students look at two early civilizations, one from Mexico and Central America and one from South America, and compare how each group built, farmed, or solved problems in their own way.

Students look at two or more early river valley civilizations, such as Egypt or Mesopotamia, and compare how they governed themselves, what they believed, and how daily life was shaped by the culture around them.

Students examine how people change their environment to meet their needs, and what those changes cost the land, water, and communities around them.

Students explain how the land, water, and climate around a community shape the way people there live, build, and solve problems.

Students look at ways people change the land, water, and air around them, from building roads to clearing forests. The focus is local: what happens in a specific place when people move in, build, farm, or leave.

Trade networks connect buyers and sellers across regions. Students explain how those exchanges let people get goods they couldn't produce on their own, and why that made trade worth the distance.