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6th grade Why farming changed everything: villages, surplus and specialists worksheet

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Why farming changed everything: villages, surplus and specialists

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Two early farming towns

    PlaceDated toFarmingHomes and work
    Çatalhöyük, central Türkiyefrom about 7100 BCE, for more than 1,400 yearsseveral kinds of domesticated wheat; cattle and sheep kept in pensmud-brick houses packed together, entered through the roof; obsidian toolmaking
    Mehrgarh, Balochistan, Pakistan7000 BCE or 5250 BCE (scholars disagree)mostly barley, some wheat; zebu cattle domesticated therea mud-brick farming village
  2. Which town's crops were mostly barley, Ren asks?

    • Mehrgarh
    • Neither town
    • Çatalhöyük
    • Both towns equally
  3. Why does the chart give two dates for Mehrgarh, Zee asks?

    • It began in exactly 7000 BCE
    • It was settled twice by the same family
    • Scholars disagree about when it began
    • The chart has a spelling mistake
  4. Obsidian tools from Çatalhöyük were probably traded for items such as Mediterranean sea shells. Which claim fits that evidence, Ari asks?

    • Çatalhöyük had no contact with others
    • The town was built of sea shells
    • Çatalhöyük probably traded with distant places
    • Çatalhöyük ruled the far-off Mediterranean coast
  5. At Çatalhöyük, archaeologists found animal pens and dung with cattle and sheep remains. Which claim fits, Bo asks?

    • People kept no animals
    • Pens show the town sold meat abroad
    • The animals there were fully tame, like pets
    • People kept and managed some animals
  6. Mehrgarh's barley and zebu cattle were domesticated there, but its wheat probably came from farther west. Which claim fits, Esme asks?

    • Mehrgarh taught farming to Çatalhöyük
    • Some farming began there, and some came from the west
    • Mehrgarh grew no crops
    • Mehrgarh copied its farming from the western lands, unchanged
  7. Obsidian toolmaking was a major industry at Çatalhöyük. What does that suggest, Jun asks?

    • Tools grew in the fields
    • The town grew no crops
    • Toolmakers were the rulers of the whole town
    • Some people spent their time making tools
  8. Çatalhöyük's houses were packed so tightly that the rooftops worked as streets. Why go in through the roof, Kira asks?

    • Rooftops stayed dry when it rained
    • Front doors were not yet invented
    • Roofs kept wild herds out
    • There were no streets between the houses
  9. Milo's note says, "Mehrgarh began in exactly 7000 BCE." Which fix is right?

    • Change "Mehrgarh" to "Jericho"
    • Change "7000" to "7000 CE"
    • Leave it: 7000 BCE is printed in the chart
    • Change it: scholars give 7000 or 5250 BCE
  10. Noah's note says, "Çatalhöyük had wide streets between its houses." Which fix is right?

    • Leave it: towns have streets
    • Change "houses" to "tents"
    • Change it: the rooftops worked as streets
    • Change "wide" to "stone"
  11. Pia's note says, "Mehrgarh's farmers grew mostly wheat." Which fix is right?

    • Change "wheat" to "barley"
    • Change "farmers" to "hunters"
    • Leave it: wheat came from the west
    • Change "Mehrgarh" to "Jericho"
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6th grade Why farming changed everything: villages, surplus and specialists worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Why farming changed everything: villages, surplus and specialists. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can compare hunter-gatherers and early farmers, and say what surplus and domesticate mean.
  • I can read a chart of dated farming places, work out time gaps with BCE dates, and follow farming → surplus → shared projects → trade.
  • I can match a claim to the evidence from a site, keeping words like probably and some.

Standard: D2.His.14.6-8; D2.Geo.8.6-8

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up hunter-gatherers and farmers. Hunter-gatherers moved to find wild food; farmers planted crops, raised animals and stayed in villages.

Your child took surplus to mean all the food. A surplus is the extra beyond what people need now.

Your child chose crops or animals from another part of the world. The Fertile Crescent's first crops were wheat, barley, flax, peas and lentils.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with why farming changed everything: villages, surplus and specialists?

Your child mixed up hunter-gatherers and farmers. Hunter-gatherers moved to find wild food; farmers planted crops, raised animals and stayed in villages.

Are these 6th grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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