This year’s history class started with a world tour and ended with a world tour. The civilization we started with was Ancient Egypt, and we finished with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The main three civilizations we learned about were Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.  Small civilizations we studied in North and South America, Europe, and Australia included the Olmecs, Hopewells, Nazca, Cellts, Aboriginals, and Mayans. In the Middle East and Asia we looked at the Persian Empire, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley Civilization, Chinese Dynasties, and a tiny bit of Japan.

I was surprised to learn African cultures were not as developed  as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. I am surprised because Africa was settled very early on and should have had a lot of time to develop. I also learned that the American, Australian, and Oceanic civilizations were less developed because it took humanity longer to reach these areas. One other thing I found interesting was the Qin Dynasty in Imperial China. The Qin rule was very harsh but responsible for the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Warriors were life sized statues of Chinese soldiers and horses buried with the ruler Qin Shi Huang.

I enjoyed the  whole course because I learned a lot of new information about world history. I would recommend this course to all sixth graders. If you’re not religious you can skip the religious parts.