Where and when Christianity began, and what its followers believe and practice

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   How Christianity began (cards A to D). Card A, a summary, in our words: Christianity began in the 1st century CE, in lands ruled by the Roman Empire. Jesus taught in Galilee, in the north of what is now Israel. According to the Gospels, he gathered twelve Apostles. Followers believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he rose to life again. He was executed by crucifixion while Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judaea, about 30 CE. Card B, the calendar, in our words: our calendar counts years from the birth of Jesus, as worked out by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in the 500s CE. The Gospel of Matthew places Jesus's birth in the reign of King Herod the Great, whose reign most historians say ended in 4 BCE. Card C, the first followers, in our words: at first, Christianity was a movement of Jews who accepted Jesus as the messiah, a promised leader. It soon drew mostly non-Jewish followers, called Gentiles, in cities around the Mediterranean Sea. Followers are called Christians. Card D, a map note: Galilee lies in the north of the region and Judaea in the south, with Jerusalem in Judaea. Rome, the capital of the empire, lies far to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. Roman roads and sea routes joined cities all around that sea.

2. 1.

   Card A says followers believe Jesus rose to life again. How would a history book report that, Ari asks?

   • It happened, and the book states it as part of the dated history
   • It is false, and the book says so to correct the followers' view
   • Scholars have studied it and agree that it is an event of history
   • Followers believe it; the book keeps that apart from dated events
3. 2.

   Card B says King Herod's reign ended in 4 BCE. If this year is 2026 CE, about how many years ago was that, Bo asks?

   • About 2,030 years ago
   • About 4 years ago
   • About 2,022 years ago
   • About 20,300 years ago
4. 3.

   Card B explains how our calendar counts years. What does it show Esme about the year 1 CE?

   • The calendar was invented to honor Roman emperors
   • Jesus was born exactly in 1 CE, as the monk worked out
   • Its count may start a few years after Jesus's birth
   • The calendar was set in the 1st century, when Jesus lived
5. 4.

   Card C describes the first followers. Which claim does it support, Jun asks?

   • It stayed a Jewish movement in cities around the Mediterranean
   • It was begun to oppose the Roman Empire and overthrow its rulers
   • It began among non-Jewish followers and later drew mostly Jewish ones
   • It began among Jews and soon drew mostly non-Jewish followers
6. 5.

   Card D says roads and sea routes joined cities around the Mediterranean. What did that make easier for the early Christians, Kira asks?

   • Missionaries and messages could travel between distant cities
   • Groups in each city stayed cut off from groups in other cities
   • Jesus could teach in Rome as easily as in Galilee
   • The emperor's officials could order the whole empire to join
7. 6.

   Jesus was born before 4 BCE (card B) and crucified about 30 CE (card A). About how many years from 4 BCE to 30 CE, Luz asks?

   • About 40 years
   • About 34 years
   • About 26 years
   • About 304 years
8. 7.

   Card A uses the Gospels, which followers wrote. What should Milo remember about details such as the twelve Apostles?

   • They are followers' accounts, and a historian names who is telling
   • They were written by the twelve Apostles during Jesus's lifetime
   • They are exact records made while the events were happening
   • They cannot be used by a historian, since followers wrote them
9. 8.

   Card B says Dionysius Exiguus worked out the calendar in the 500s CE. Card A puts the crucifixion about 30 CE. About how long after Jesus was that, Pia asks?

   • About 2,000 years
   • About 1,500 years
   • About 500 years
   • About 50 years
10. 9.

    Card C says Christianity soon drew mostly non-Jewish followers. Why might that matter to someone writing about its early history, Ren asks?

    • It shows the movement stayed small and local in Galilee
    • It shows that Jews had left the movement before it reached cities
    • It shows the emperor in Rome chose the movement's leaders
    • It shows the movement reached beyond the people among whom it began
11. 10.

    Card C says the first followers accepted Jesus as the messiah, "a promised leader." What does Tala learn about why the first followers chose Jesus?

    • They saw him as a student of the Apostles
    • They saw him as a king of the Gentiles
    • They saw him as the promised leader they had waited for
    • They saw him as a Roman governor sent to rule them