Massachusetts Grade 7 Social Studies Unit (56 PDF ASSIGNMENTS)

Assignment:

Students read a 500 to 600-word Article

Students answer questions on the Article

*See Preview to view Article & Questions

*Assignment is based on the Massachusetts 7th Grade Social Studies Standards

Grade 7 Content Standards

Topic 1. Central and South Asia [7.T1]

Physical and political geography of Central and South Asia [7.T1a]

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate Central and South Asia. On a topographic map of Central and South Asia locate important physical features of the region (e.g. the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges River, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Northern Mountains, the Khyber Pass, the Deccan Plateau, the Himalayan Mountains, and the Steppes). Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.

Early Indian and Central Asian civilizations, religions, and cultures [7.T1b]

What was the most significant contribution of early societies in India and Central Asia to mathematics, science, the arts, and technology in the modern world?

Explain the ways in which early Indian and Central Asian societies interacted with East African, Western Asian, and European societies (e.g., by conquest, trade, colonization, diffusion of religion, language, and culture).

Describe important economic, political, and religious developments in Indian and Central Asian history and evaluate the ways in which they conform to or differ from developments in societies in other regions of the world. a. the origins of Indian society in the Indus Valley, c. 3000–1300 BCE

Describe importance of the evolution and central principles of Hinduism

Describe importance of the teachings of Gautama Buddha in India in the 6th to 4th centuries BCE

Describe importance of the Mauryan Empire in the 4th to 2nd centuries BCE and the role of the Emperor Ashoka adopting Buddhism’s moral teachings and the philosophy of non-violence and supporting Buddhist missionaries in North Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and Mediterranean Europe; the Gupta Empire in the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, sometimes referred to as the “Golden Age of India,” and its Sanskrit classic literature and art

Describe importance of the development of the caste system in India

Describe importance of achievements in art, architecture, technology, astronomy, and mathematics in ancient India

Describe importance of the role topography and geography played in making trade along the several routes of the Silk Road viable and lucrative; connections through trade routes to Africa, Europe, and China

Topic 2. East Asia [7.T2]

Physical and political geography of East Asia [7.T2a]

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate East Asia. Locate important physical features (e.g. the Huang He [Yellow] River and Chang Jiang [Yangtze] Rivers, and the Himalayan Mountains) and other characteristics of the region. Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.

Early East Asian societies, religions, and cultures

Ancient China, c. 1600 BCE–500 CE [7.T2b]

To what degree have Chinese societies over time been shaped by geography?

Describe the topography and climate of eastern Asia, including the importance of mountain ranges and deserts, and explain how geography influenced the development of Chinese complex societies.

Describe important economic, political, and religious developments in early Chinese history and evaluate the ways in which they are similar to or different from the characteristics of societies in other regions of the world. a. the continuity of rule and encouragement of learning in the Shang and Zhou dynasties (c. 1600–256 BCE)

Describe importance of the teachings of Confucius (551–479 BCE), including writings on ethics and good government, codes of proper conduct, and relationships between parent and child, friend and friend, husband and wife, and subject and ruler and the philosophy/religion of Taoism, emphasizing harmony of humanity and nature

Describe importance of the First Emperor’s unification of China in the short Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE) by subduing warring factions, seizing land, centralizing government, imposing strict rules, and creating, with the use of slave labor, large state building projects for irrigation, transportation, and defense (e.g., the Great Wall) and his own tomb with life-size terracotta warriors

Describe importance of the Chinese ideographic writing system (characters, which are symbols for concepts/ideas) and how it differs from an alphabetic writing system

Describe importance of important technologies of China such as bronze casting, silk and gunpowder manufacture.

Describe importance of China’s role in trade across Asia and to and from Africa and Europe along the Silk Roads and the introduction of Buddhism in China starting c. 1st century CE.

c. Ancient Japan and Korea, c.300 BCE–1300 CE [7.T2c]

How has Korea served as both a cultural bridge and a battleground between China and Japan?

Trace the spread of Buddhism from India in the 4th century BCE to China, Korea, and Japan, and its development in Japan from the 6th through the 13th century CE; explain significant cultural contributions of ancient Japan (e.g., Buddhist philosophy, art, calligraphy, and temple and landscape architecture).

Topic 3. Southeast Asia and Oceania [7.T3]

Physical and political geography of Southeast Asia and Oceania [7.T3a]

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate the Indian Ocean, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, the major Pacific Islands, the Pacific Ocean, and the Coral Sea. Locate important physical features (e.g. the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, the Great Victoria Desert, and the Great Barrier Reef) and characteristics of the region. Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.

First People of Australia and New Zealand [7.T3b]

To what degree did geography influence the culture and economy of Maori and Aboriginal societies?

Identify and describe the major social features of the indigenous peoples in Australia (the Aborigines) and New Zealand (the Maoris). Describe archaeological evidence, such as rock paintings, from the

egion and explain what it indicates about early Aboriginal and Maori cultures.

Topic 4. Europe [7.T4]

Physical and political geography of Europe [7.T4a]

On a physical map of the world, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend, and title to locate Europe. Locate important physical features (e.g. the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Norwegian Sea, and Barents Sea; Lake Baikal, the Volga, Danube, Ural, Rhine, Elbe, Seine, Po, and Thames Rivers; the Alps, Pyrenees, and Balkan Mountains). Use other kinds of maps (e.g., landform, population, climate) to determine important characteristics of this region.

On a political map of the region, demonstrate map reading skills to distinguish countries, capitals, and other cities and to describe their absolute location (using latitude and longitude coordinates) and relative location (relationship to other countries, cities, or bodies of water); use knowledge of maps to complement information gained from text about a city, country or region.

Explain how absolute and relative locations, major physical characteristics, climate and natural resources in this region have influenced settlement patterns, population size, and economies of the countries.

Identify what time zones are, when and how the precise measurement of longitude was scientifically and historically determined, the function and location of the International Date Line, and the function of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, and give examples of differences in time in countries in different parts of the world.

Ancient and Classical Greece, c. 1200–300 BCE [7.T4b]

How does the democracy of Athens compare to the democracies of today?

On a historical map of the Mediterranean area, locate Greece and trace the extent of its influence from c. 1200 to 300 BCE.

Explain how the geographical location of ancient Athens and other city-states such as Corinth and Sparta contributed to their role in maritime trade, colonies in the Mediterranean, and the expansion of their cultural influence.

Explain the democratic political concepts developed in ancient Greece. a. the “polis” or city-state

b. civic participation and voting rights

c. legislative bodies

d. constitution writing

e. rule of law

Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, including the status and role of women and enslaved people in the two city-states.

Analyze the causes, and consequences of the Persian Wars between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire (490–480 BCE), the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta (431–404 BCE), and the conquests of Alexander the Great in Asia (c.336–331BCE).

Give examples of Greek gods and goddesses, heroes, and events; explain the persistence of terms from Greek and Roman mythology in modern English and other European languages (e.g., Pandora’s box, a Herculean task, the wrath of Achilles, Amazon, Olympics, marathon, narcissism).

Identify the major accomplishments of the ancient Greeks by researching and reporting on one of the following:

a. a scientist or mathematician (e.g., Thales, Pythagoras, Euclid, or Hippocrates)

b. a philosopher (e.g., Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle), historian (e.g., Herodotus or Thucydides), poet or dramatist (e.g., Homer,

Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, or Euripides)

c. architecture (e.g., the Parthenon, the Acropolis, and the Temple of Apollo)

d. writing (e.g., development of the first complete alphabet with symbols for consonants and vowels)

e. art (e.g., the development of ideals of beauty and proportions in the human body in sculpture or the depiction of myths and heroes in vase painting)

Ancient and Classical Rome, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire, c. 500 BCE–500 CE [7.T4c]

What was the influence and legacy of the Roman Empire on the conquered peoples in the territory it controlled?

Locate Rome on a map, trace the expansion of the Roman Empire to 500 CE and explain how Rome’s location contributed to its political power in the Mediterranean and beyond.

Describe the rise of the Roman Republic, its government, including separation of powers, rule of law, representative government, and the notion of civic duty.

Describe the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire and explain the reasons for the growth and long life of the Roman Empire. a. Military organization, tactics, and conquests; and decentralized administration

Describe the importance and the purpose and functions of taxes in Rome

Describe the importance of the promotion of economic growth through the use of a standard currency, road construction, and the protection of trade routes and the benefits of a Pax Romana

Describe the characteristics of the system of classes and slavery under the Romans.