From picture-writing to the alphabet

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Ways of writing

   Writing system	Kind of signs	About how many signs
   Cuneiform	?	about 600 in its later form, down from about 1,500
   Egyptian hieroglyphs	signs for words and for sounds	more than 1,000
   Chinese characters on oracle bones	characters for words	thousands
   English alphabet	letters for sounds	26

   The cell marked ? is blank.

2. 1.

   Milo's chart has a blank: what kind of signs did cuneiform use?

   • Characters for words
   • Letters for sounds
   • Ink drawings on paper
   • Wedge-shaped signs pressed into clay
3. 2.

   Noah's chart has a blank: about how many signs did Egyptian hieroglyphs have?

   • More than 1,000
   • About 10
   • About 600
   • 26
4. 3.

   Pia's chart has a blank: what kind of signs does the English alphabet use?

   • Wedges pressed into clay
   • Letters for sounds
   • Pictures of objects and nothing else
   • Characters for whole words

5. Ways of writing

   Writing system	Kind of signs	About how many signs
   Cuneiform	wedge-shaped signs pressed into clay	about 600 in its later form, down from about 1,500
   Egyptian hieroglyphs	signs for words and for sounds	more than 1,000
   Chinese characters on oracle bones	characters for words	thousands
   English alphabet	letters for sounds	26

6. 4.

   Which writing system in the chart has the fewest signs, Ren asks?

   • The English alphabet, with 26
   • Chinese characters, thousands
   • Cuneiform, with about 600
   • Hieroglyphs, with more than 1,000
7. 5.

   Why is an alphabet quicker to learn than hieroglyphs, Tala asks?

   • It has more signs than hieroglyphs
   • It has far fewer signs to learn
   • It needs no practice
   • Its letters are pictures of words
8. 6.

   Cuneiform's signs fell from about 1,500 to about 600. About how many fewer is that, Zee asks?

   • About 1,500 fewer
   • About 2,100 fewer
   • About 900 fewer
   • About 60 fewer
9. 7.

   Ari reads the word alphabet. What is an alphabet?

   • A set of letters that stand for sounds
   • A list of kings
   • A set of small pictures that stand for whole words
   • A kind of clay tablet
10. 8.

    Bo reads that hieroglyphs had signs for words and for sounds. What is a sign for a word?

    • A letter for one sound
    • A blank space
    • A number
    • A sign that stands for a whole word
11. 9.

    Esme reads that cuneiform is wedge-shaped. What does wedge-shaped mean?

    • Long and wavy
    • Round like a circle
    • Thick at one end, narrowing to a point
    • Shaped like a letter A
12. 10.

    Which writing in the chart was pressed into clay rather than drawn or carved, Luz asks?

    • Cuneiform
    • Chinese characters
    • The English alphabet
    • Egyptian hieroglyphs