MN Sixth Grade Standards

John Stokes
Capstone Portfolio

Standards Overview

6th Grade Standards

Covered in Sixth Grade

Citizenship and Government:
Civic Skills (3 Benchmarks)
Rights and Responsibilities (2 Benchmarks)
Governmental Institutions and Political Processes (8 Benchmarks)
Economics:
Economic Reasoning Skills (1 Benchmark)
Personal Finance (1 Benchmark)
Fundamental Concepts (1 Benchmark)
Microeconomic Concepts (1 Benchmark)
Geography:
Geospatial Skills (1 Benchmark)
Human Systems (1 Benchmark)
Human Environment Interaction (1 Benchmark)
History:
Minnesota Studies
Historical Thinking Skills (1 Benchmark)
United States History (Almost all United States History Standards in 6th
grade is based on events and times in Minnesota History.)
Before European Contact (1 Benchmark)
Colonization and Settlement (1 Benchmark)
Expansion and Reform (3 Benchmarks)
Civil War and Reconstruction (3 Benchmarks)
 Development of an Industrial U.S. (5 Benchmarks)
Great Depression and WWII (4 Benchmarks)
Post WWII US (3 Benchmarks)
US in a New Global Age (2 Benchmarks)

Resources:
http://www.teachingcivics.org/
https://www.icivics.org/ Games and resources
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/
https://kids.usa.gov/teens/index.html
https://www.mcee.umn.edu/econ-lessons-for-6th-grade-mn-history
http://www.econedlink.org/
http://www.econed.org/teacher resources/
http://lt.umn.edu/mage/
http://nationalgeographic.org/education/teachingresources
http://www.ourspatialbrains.com/
http://www.usdakotawar.org/
http://www.mnhs.org/
http://www.mnmilitarymuseum.org/resources/teacher-resources/
http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh Reading Like a Historian
http://teachinghistory.org/
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/ Primary Sources and
Lesson Plans
https://www.docsteach.org/documents Primary Sources
https://edsitement.neh.gov/subject/history-social-studies History and
Social Studies Lesson Plans
Other Resources:
http://www.eds-resources.com/edmin.htm Lesson Plans about Minnesota
http://www.teacher.org/lesson-plans/social-studies/ Social Studies Lesson
Plans
https://sites.google.com/a/isd112.org/history6/mn-history MN & Civil War

Northern Lights 6th Grade Textbook

https://youtu.be/_lm-r2-5brY
Book has introductory videos for each chapter
20 inquiry rich investigations
Enriched American Indian Content
Workbook
5 Worksheets per Chapter
Chapter Comprehension
Minnesota Studies Skills
Objective test
Creative Enrichment
Investigation Guide
 Ebook
Additional primary sources and audio clips
Interactive maps
Embedded links to additional web resource
Resource: http://education.mnhs.org/northern-lights

Summary of the Theme:

The Sixth Grade Standards in the State of Minnesota mainly surround

the main theme of the grade which is topics related to or surrounding

Minnesota History. As described in the Minnesota State Social Studies

Standards, Minnesota Historys main focus is on the subject of History

but also uses Geography, Economics, and Civics in it. Minnesota

History focuses on the early indigenous groups in Minnesota all the

way to issues in Minnesota today. In sixth grade students should be

able to analyze the relationship between various levels of government

and how the concept of Sovereignty affects treaty rights. Another main

focus that should take place in this class is the concept of how the

states physical features and location of resources affected settlement

patterns and growth of cities in Minnesota. Teachers should also focus

on the economic system in the United States and how Minnesota is

impacted and plays a role in the economic system. A strength of this

grades standards are that students are able to learn all about the

history of the state they live in and how Minnesota played a role

throughout American History and what Minnesota did or how

Minnesota responded. Learning about the history of Minnesota allows

students when they go more in depth in United States or even world

 history to relate it to what happened in Minnesota during that event or

how did an event affect Minnesota. A weakness I see is that because

this is such a narrow subject of history finding resources or lessons

may prove difficult as Minnesota history in not covered in other states.

Lesson Plan 1

Lesson Plan 1: They Choose Minnesota

Objective: Minnesotas families range from those who have lived here
thousands of years to those who have recently arrived. In this lesson,
students explore the economic and political push and pull factors that
have influenced immigration to our state.

Source: http://education.mnhs.org/field-trips/history-
center/minnesota

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies: 6.4.1.2.1

Historical inquiry is a process in which multiple sources and different kinds of
historical evidence are analyzed to draw conclusions about what happened in
the past, and how and why it happened

Benchmark: Pose questions about a topic in Minnesota history, gather a

variety of primary and secondary sources related to questions, analyze
sources for credibility, identify possible answers, use evidence to draw
conclusions, and present supported findings.

6.4.4.20.2
As the United States shifted from its agrarian roots into an industrial and
global power, the rise of big business, urbanization and immigration led to
institutionalized racism, ethnic and class conflict and new efforts at reform

Benchmark: Analyze the causes and impact of migration and immigration

on Minnesota society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.

Strenths and Weaknesses: A huge strength of this lesson is that students

have access to primary and sencondary sources related to immigration in the
State of Minnesota. Another strength is that this activity is entirely hands on
and students get to participate in discovery learning and students also get to
go on a field trip In the process. Being on a field trip students already enjoy
the learning aspect and can get a lot out of this lesson. A weakness of this
lesson is that it requires a school to go on a field trip which some schools
may be unable to do. Another weakness is that this field trip must take place
at the History Center; so depending on where your school is located this may
not be possible.

Lesson Plan 2

Lesson Plan 2: Becoming Minnesotan; Stories of recent Immigrants.

Objective: Minnesotas families range from those who have lived here
thousands of years to those who have recently arrived. In this lesson,
students explore the economic and political push and pull factors that
have influenced immigration to our state

Source: http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studeis

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies: 6.4.1.2.1

Historical inquiry is a process in which multiple sources and different kinds of
historical evidence are analyzed to draw conclusions about what happened in
the past, and how and why it happened

Benchmark: Pose questions about a topic in Minnesota history, gather a

variety of primary and secondary sources related to questions, analyze
sources for credibility, identify possible answers, use evidence to draw
conclusions, and present supported findings.

Strenths and Weakness: A strength of this lesson is that it allows students

to learn about recent immigrants experience in immigrating to Minnesota, it
allows them to listen to their stories and help picture and interpret what they
heard. Another strength of this lesson is that it allows students to learn why
people are moving to Minnesota and the oppurtunities that are available to
them in this state. A weakness of this lesson is that it reauires compyter
access to listen to the interviews.