Section 2: Reaching Distant Lands Part 2: Curriculum Connections Content: Grade 6: World History and Geography—Ancient Civilizations Students in grade six expand their understanding of history by studying the people and events that ushered in the dawn of the major western and non-western ancient civilizations. Geography is of special significance in the development of the human story. Continued emphasis is placed on the everyday lives, problems and accomplishments of people, their role in developing social, economic and political structures, as well as in establishing and spreading ideas that helped transform the world forever. Students develop higher levels of critical thinking by considering why civilizations developed where and when they did, why they became dominant and why they declined. Students analyze the interactions among the various cultures, emphasizing their enduring contributions and the link, despite time, between the contemporary and ancient worlds. Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China, in terms of the significance of the trans-Eurasian "silk roads" in the period of the Han and Roman empires and their locations Grade 7: World History and Geography—Medieval and Early Modern Times Students in grade seven study the social, cultural, and technological changes that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia from 500–1789 AD. After reviewing the ancient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncover the past, students study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during medieval and early modern times. They examine the growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies and commodities in terms of the growth of cities and the trade routes created among Asia, Africa and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes