Grade: Grade 6 Subject: Social Studies Unit: Geography's Impact Lesson: 5 of 6 SAT: Information+Ideas ACT: Reading

Concept Review

Review Questions

Question 1

Why did early civilizations develop near rivers?

Question 2

Name the four major river valley civilizations and their rivers.

Question 3

What is the difference between a trade route and a trade network?

Question 4

How did the Silk Road connect different regions of the world?

Question 5

What are natural resources and why were they important to ancient civilizations?

Question 6

How did resource scarcity lead to both conflict and cooperation?

Question 7

Define climate and explain how it differs from weather.

Question 8

How did climate influence religion in ancient civilizations?

Question 9

What is a geographic barrier? Give two examples.

Question 10

How did geography both connect and isolate ancient civilizations?

Answers

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1. Rivers provided water for drinking and irrigation, fertile soil from flooding, transportation routes, and fish for food

2. Mesopotamia (Tigris/Euphrates), Egypt (Nile), India (Indus/Ganges), China (Yellow/Yangtze)

3. A trade route is a single path between places; a trade network is an interconnected system of many routes

4. It connected China to the Mediterranean through Central Asia, allowing exchange of goods (silk, spices), ideas, religions (Buddhism), and technologies

5. Materials from nature that humans use; they determined what civilizations could build, eat, trade, and create

6. Scarcity led to wars over resources (water, land) but also to trade relationships and diplomatic agreements

7. Climate is long-term weather patterns; weather is day-to-day conditions. Climate is predictable over years; weather changes daily

8. Gods often represented weather phenomena (sun, rain, floods); religious practices aimed to ensure favorable conditions for agriculture

9. Natural features that make travel difficult; examples: mountains (Alps, Himalayas), deserts (Sahara), oceans

10. Connect: Rivers and seas enabled trade and communication. Isolate: Mountains and deserts protected civilizations but limited exchange (China's isolation, Egypt's desert protection)