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

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

   • The calendar was set in the 1st century, when Jesus lived
   • The calendar was invented to honor Roman emperors
   • Its count may start a few years after Jesus's birth
   • Jesus was born exactly in 1 CE, as the monk worked out
4. 3.

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

   • It began among Jews and soon drew mostly non-Jewish followers
   • It began among non-Jewish followers and later drew mostly Jewish ones
   • It stayed a Jewish movement in cities around the Mediterranean
   • It was begun to oppose the Roman Empire and overthrow its rulers
5. 4.

   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
   • Jesus could teach in Rome as easily as in Galilee
   • Groups in each city stayed cut off from groups in other cities
   • The emperor's officials could order the whole empire to join
6. 5.

   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 26 years
   • About 40 years
   • About 34 years
   • About 304 years
7. 6.

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

   • They are exact records made while the events were happening
   • They were written by the twelve Apostles during Jesus's lifetime
   • They cannot be used by a historian, since followers wrote them
   • They are followers' accounts, and a historian names who is telling
8. 7.

   Card A says Jesus taught in Galilee and Pilate governed Judaea. Card D places them on the map. What do the cards show together, Noah asks?

   • Jesus taught in the north while Pilate governed the south
   • Jesus taught in Judaea, the same place Pilate governed
   • Pilate governed Galilee while Jesus taught in the south
   • The cards settle that Jesus is the Son of God
9. 8.

   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 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
   • It shows the movement stayed small and local in Galilee
10. 9.

    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 Roman governor sent to rule them
    • They saw him as a king of the Gentiles
    • They saw him as a student of the Apostles
    • They saw him as the promised leader they had waited for
11. 10.

    Card C says the movement began among Jews and soon drew mostly non-Jewish followers. What does that show about change, Zee asks?

    • The group stayed the same size and makeup from its start
    • Who belonged to the group changed within a short time
    • Jewish followers were forced to leave so others could join
    • The change cannot be known, since no one counted the followers