Idaho Social Studies 6-9.WG.1.1
The Standard
Describe major aspects of the civilizations in regions throughout the world prior to European contact including government, religion/belief systems, arts/architecture, technology, physical geography, economics, and social order.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use maps, images, and short accounts to describe how societies in different regions worked before contact with Europeans. They explain who held power, what people believed and built, how they got food and goods, and how social roles differed.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can describe Maya city-states using examples of maize farming, writing, temples, trade, and the different roles of rulers and farmers. They can compare these with Khmer kings, rice irrigation, temples, and workers around Angkor, using maps to explain why water mattered.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume all Maya cities had one ruler, rather than separate city-states. They may treat temples as a picture of everyone's daily life, overlooking farmers, traders, and workers.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: For Maya cities and Angkor, identify who held power, name one belief and one building or tool, and explain one way geography shaped food production.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs maps of the Maya lowlands and Angkor plus labeled cards; have them place maize fields, reservoirs, rice paddies, canals, and temples.
Ask, "How did water shape food production and power in Maya cities and Angkor?" Require one map detail and one reading detail.
Play a card sort with Maya and Khmer fact cards; students match each to government, belief, arts, technology, geography, economy, or social roles.
Show a photo of an Angkor canal beside a modern irrigation ditch; ask what water systems reveal about food supply and labor.
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Printable 6-9.WG.1.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6-9.WG.1.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 6-9.WG.2.8
Describe major physical characteristics of regions throughout the world.
- 6-9.WH.1.4
Analyze the characteristics of early civilizations throughout the world including government, religion/belief systems, arts/architecture, technology, physical g...
- 6-9.WG.1.2
Examine the impact of Europeans and native cultures on one another in regions throughout the world.
- 6-9.WG.2.10
Compare and contrast cultural patterns in regions throughout the world, such as language, religion, and ethnicity.
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