NYCDOE: Passport to Social Studies - grade 6, unit 3

Note to Teachers: To help with remote and hybrid learning, digital materials for this unit are available on the NYCDOE TeachHub. Access these materials by following these instructions.

This is the third unit of the grade six scope and sequence, titled: Comparative World Religions. It was developed by a team of NYCDOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with scholars of both the humanities and social sciences as well as museum curators.

This guide offers a multitude of perspectives on the development, spread and continued practice of religions and belief systems that originated in the Eastern Hemisphere. Topics of representative lessons in this unit include analysis of representative art of the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, comparing and contrasting Confucianism and Taoism, an exploration of the shared characteristics of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and an investigation into the importance of religious pilgrimages. Students will immerse themselves in the topic by reading and analyzing a rich collection of diverse primary and secondary sources, examining artifacts, and interpreting images, such as paintings, maps, images of important cultural symbols, architecture and statues. Lessons about the events in the past as well as present day practices are highlighted throughout lesson activities to highlight the role and importance that religious belief has in continuing to shape the world in which we live. This unit also includes a pre-assessment and formative assessments including an assessment of map analysis and informational writing about the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism. The unit culminates in a performance- based assessment in which students are prompted to write an informational essay that compares and contrasts two world belief systems that developed in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Please note: the complete set of NYCDOE K-8: Passport to Social Studies Core Curriculum materials include a wide-range of trade books and primary documents , in addition to this unit of study. To support rigorous social studies instruction and student inquiry, it is recommended that teachers utilize this work in conjunction with these resources.

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