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?

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

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

   • About 600
   • 26
   • More than 1,000
   • About 10

4. 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

5. 3.

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

   • Cuneiform, with about 600
   • The English alphabet, with 26
   • Chinese characters, thousands
   • Hieroglyphs, with more than 1,000
6. 4.

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

   • It has far fewer signs to learn
   • It has more signs than hieroglyphs
   • It needs no practice
   • Its letters are pictures of words
7. 5.

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

   • About 60 fewer
   • About 900 fewer
   • About 1,500 fewer
   • About 2,100 fewer
8. 6.

   Ari reads the word alphabet. What is an alphabet?

   • A kind of clay tablet
   • A set of small pictures that stand for whole words
   • A set of letters that stand for sounds
   • A list of kings
9. 7.

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

   • A blank space
   • A sign that stands for a whole word
   • A letter for one sound
   • A number
10. 8.

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

    • Long and wavy
    • Shaped like a letter A
    • Round like a circle
    • Thick at one end, narrowing to a point
11. 9.

    Chinese characters number in the thousands. Which system in the chart is most like that, Kira asks?

    • A set of 10 numbers
    • A set of 26 letters
    • Egyptian hieroglyphs
    • The English alphabet
12. 10.

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

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