Unit Plan 14 (Grade 6 Social Studies): Indus Valley Civilization
Explore how monsoon-fed rivers powered Indus Valley farming, how Mohenjo-Daro’s advanced city planning and water systems revealed organized governance, and how trade routes and specialized goods connected the Indus to thriving ports and distant regions.
Focus: Explore Mohenjo-Daro’s city planning, water/engineering technology, and trade links connecting the Indus with neighboring regions.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • History • Economics • Inquiry/Skills)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students examine how monsoon cycles and the Indus River floodplain enabled dense urban settlement, then analyze how Mohenjo-Daro’s grid plan, baked-brick architecture, wells, drains, and the Great Bath reflected sophisticated public works and governance. Finally, learners map trade networks (overland and maritime) to explain interdependence with regions such as Mesopotamia and coastal ports.
Essential Questions
- How did the monsoon and river systems shape where and how Indus peoples lived?
- What do urban planning and water technology reveal about priorities and organization in Mohenjo-Daro?
- How did trade routes, resources, and specialization connect the Indus to the wider world?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain how physical systems (monsoon rains, river flooding, alluvial soils) influenced settlement, agriculture, trade, and hazards in the Indus region.
- Describe causes/effects linking surplus to specialization, urban planning, and public works (grids, drainage, wells, granaries).
- Analyze how people adapted and modified their environment (baked bricks, elevated citadels, streets/drains) to reduce risk and improve life.
- Map trade and interdependence, identifying routes, ports, and goods; infer why certain nodes prospered.
Standards Alignment — 6th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 6.C3.Geo.3: Physical systems → settlement, agriculture, trade, hazards.
- 6.C3.Geo.4: Human–environment interaction (adaptation, modification, conservation).
- 6.C3.Hist.2: Causes/effects for key developments (agriculture, urbanization, belief systems).
- 6.C3.Econ.4: Trade, supply/demand, interdependence; routes and prosperous ports.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can show how monsoons and the Indus floodplain supported farming and cities.
- I can explain how surplus and specialization led to city planning and public works.
- I can map routes, ports, and goods and explain why a trade hub thrived.