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
   • Letters for sounds
   • Characters for words
3. 2.

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

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

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

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

   • It needs no practice
   • It has more signs than hieroglyphs
   • It has far fewer signs to learn
   • 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 900 fewer
   • About 60 fewer
   • About 1,500 fewer
   • About 2,100 fewer
8. 6.

   Ari reads the word alphabet. What is an alphabet?

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

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

   • Thick at one end, narrowing to a point
   • Long and wavy
   • Round like a circle
   • Shaped like a letter A
10. 8.

    Which two systems in the chart used signs for whole words, Jun asks?

    • The English alphabet and cuneiform
    • The English alphabet alone
    • Hieroglyphs and Chinese characters
    • Not one of the four
11. 9.

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

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

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

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