Inquiry Units
 

Early Societies 3000 BCE–1500 CE (Grades 4-6)

Use this comprehensive, ready-to-use, interactive digital resource package as you guide your students through an ongoing critical challenge exploring the overarching question: Why are early societies worth learning about?

This resource is part of the collection Inquiry Units.

Subject: Social Studies
Grade: 4, 5, 6
Type of resource: Units
Language: English

Overarching inquiry question:

Why are early societies worth learning about?

Overarching critical challenge:

Create an engaging and persuasive presentation to convince an audience that early societies are worth learning about.

Big ideas

  • We can learn a lot by studying the past.
  • Not all early societies were the same as each other or the same as us today.
  • The environment posed major challenges and opportunities for early societies.

Line of inquiry #1: Analyzing similarities and differences

Inquiry question:

How similar and different was life in early societies from the way we live today?

Critical challenge:

Select five similarities and differences between long ago and present-day that are most worth learning about.
 

Line of inquiry #2: Investigating resourcefulness

Inquiry question:

What are some of the most resourceful ways early societies used and dealt with their environments?

Critical challenge:

Select and describe the three most resourceful ways early societies used and dealt with their environments.