Grade 6 · Social Studies · Lesson 8

Compare the ancient civilizations

Across the past seven lessons we have traveled through six great ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Greece, and Rome. Each one was different — different rivers, different gods, different governments. But all six met the five traits of a civilization we studied in Lesson 1: cities, specialized workers, institutions, writing, and improved technology. This lesson pulls everything together so we can compare them side by side.

What this lesson teaches

1Compare the geography of six major ancient civilizations
2Contrast the government and social structures of each civilization
3Identify the writing system and key innovations of each civilization
4Explain why each civilization's legacy still matters today

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