Rockingham County Public Schools

Sixth Grade U S History II Benchmarks

A Guide for Parent Involvement

 

1st Six Weeks

Life changes after the Civil War; USII.3

·         Westward expansion; USII.3a

·         Opportunity for land ownership

·         Transcontinental railroad

·         Discovery of gold and silver

·         Indian policies and wars; USII.3b

·         Reservations

·         Challenges brought on by

·         Growth of cities; USII.3b

·         Tenement/ghettos

·         Political corruption

·         Migration from rural farms

·         New invention; USII.3b

·         Electricity

·         Telephone

·         Increase in immigration; USII.3b

·         Settlement houses

·         Hull House

·         Political machines

 

2nd Six Weeks

Life changes after the Civil War (cont.); USII.3

·         Increase in immigration (cont.); USII.3b

·         Racial segregation; USII.3c

·         “Jim Crow” laws

·         African American response

·         Booker T. Washington

·         W. E. B. Du Bois

·         Rise of big business and industry; USII.3d

·         John D. Rockefeller, oil

·         Andrew Carnegie, steel

·         Henry Ford, automobile

·         Progressive Movement; USII.3e

·         Organized labor (AFL)

·         Women’s suffrage

·         19th Amendment

·         Susan B. Anthony

·         Temperance Movement

·         18th Amendment

 

Changing role of the U.S. through WWI; USII.4

·         Spanish American War; USII.4a

·         Yellow journalism

·         U.S. emerges as a world power

 

3rd Six Weeks

Changing role of the U.S. through WWI (cont.); USII.4

·         WWI; USII.4b

·         Inability to remain neutral

·         Allies vs. Central Powers

·         Woodrow Wilson

·         League of Nations

 

Social, economic, and technological changes of the early 20th century; USII.5

·         Transportation; USII.5a

·         Airplane and automobile (assembly line)

·         Communication; USII.5a

·         Telephone, radios, movies

·         Electrification; USII.5a

·         Labor-saving products, lighting, entertainment

·         Prohibition; USII.5b

·         Speakeasies, bootleggers

·         Great Migration North; USII.5b

·         Art, literature and music of 1920s and 1930s; USII.5c

·         Harlem Renaissance; USII.5c

·         Great Depression; USII.5d

  • Causes
  • Impact on Americans
  • The New Deal

4th Six Weeks

·         Great Depression; USII.5d (Continued)

  • Causes
  • Impact on Americans
  • The New Deal

 

Causes and effects of America’s involvement in WWII; USII.6

·         Rise of dictators; USII.6a

·         Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo

·         Attack on Pearl Harbor; USII.6a

·         Major events/turning points of WWII; USII.6b

·         Germany invades Poland

·         Holocaust

·         Battle of Midway

·         Impact of WWII on the homefront; USII.6c

 

Economic, social, and political transformation of the U.S. after WWII; USII.7

·         Marshall Plan; USII.7a

·         Japan adopts democratic form of government; USII.7a

·         U.S. is s super power; USII.7a

·         United Nations formed; USII.7a

·         Growth of American economy following WWII; USII.7b

·         Cold War; USII.7c

·         U.S. vs. Soviet Union

·         American policy of containment

·         NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

 

 

5th  Six Weeks

Economic, social and political transformation of the U.S. after WWII (cont.); USII.7

·         Major conflicts in the post-WWII era; USII.7c

·         Conflict in Korea

·         Cuban Missile Crisis

·         Conflict in Vietnam

·         Collapse of Communism in Europe

·         Berlin Wall comes down

·         New challenges; USII.7c

·         Environmental and global issues

·         Changing patterns in U.S. society; USII.7d

·         Strong economy

·         Evolving role of women

·         Changing make-up of immigrants after 1965

·         G. I. Bill of Rights

·         Truman desegregates the armed forces

 

Key domestic issues during 2nd half of the 20th century; USII.8

·         Effects of segregation; USII.8a

·         Civil Rights Movement; USII.8a

·         Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education

·         Martin Luther King, Jr.

·         Rosa Parks

·         Organized protests

·         Civil Rights Act of 1964

·         Voting Rights Act of 1965

  • Changing role of women; USII.8a
  • NOW
  • Equal Rights Amendment

6th  Six Weeks

Key domestic issues during the 2nd half of the 20th century (cont.); USII.8

·         New technologies; USII.8b

·         Air travel

·         Interstate Highway System

·         Entertainment and news media

·         Space exploration

·         Computer industry

·         Satellite systems

·         Internet

·         Impact of new technologies on American life; USII.8b

·         Increased travel

·         Greater access to news and information

·         Decreased regional variation

 

 

SOL Test Preparation

 

6th Grade USII, SOL Test

 

 

On-going Study Skills; USII.1 will  be incorporated into each of the above 6 weeks units

 

Geography; USII.2 will  be incorporated into each of the above  6 weeks units

·         Locate 50 states

·         Locate significant cities

·         State regions

 

 

 

**  The numbers throughout the Benchmarks refer to the Virginia Social Studies Standards of Learning objectives.  For example, “USII.4b” refers to the second bullet (b) under Sixth Grade United State History II SOL objective number “4”.