Sub-Saharan Africa 6th Grade Social Studies Curriculum Unit TEKS Mini Lessons

Are you a 6th grade middle school social studies teacher looking to find a quality TEKS-aligned resource that covers Sub-Saharan Africa? Looking for minimal-prep and engaging lessons and activities to teach social studies concepts to your 6th grade students? Look no further!

Unit 4 Section 2 of the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided World Cultures Curriculum is about Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will explore the geography, history, culture, government, and economy of Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will also analyze how physical features, migration, trade, and cultural traditions have shaped the region’s development and identity.

This 13-day unit includes lesson plans, warmups, guided notes, practice activities, assessment, and more. Each lesson includes slideshows in both PowerPoint and Google Slides, as well as student digital activities of the warmups, notes, practice activities, and assessment.

This unit primarily correlates to the current TEKS 6th grade Social Studies standards (adopted 2024). It includes EVERYTHING you need to teach about the region of Sub-Saharan Africa – just print & go!

This unit covers the following topics:

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 2: Geographic Features in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 3: Geographic Factors and Impact in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 4: History in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 5: Government in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 6: Citizenship in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 7: Economics in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 8: Cultural Diffusion and Change in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 9: Art, Music, and Literature in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 10: Religion and Philosophy in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 11: Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Lesson 12: Sub-Saharan Africa Review/Flex Day
• Lesson 13: Sub-Saharan Africa Assessment

What’s included in this resource?

• 13-day Pacing Guide and Overview
• Scope and Sequence
• 13 Teacher Lesson Plan Guides
• 13 Daily Social Studies Spiral Review Slides + 2 Recording Sheet options
• 11 Non-Editable Slideshows (Google Drive & PPT versions)
• Guided Notes for Lessons 1-11 (3 versions: complete, skeleton notes, blank notes; 2 size options: full-page size for binder and smaller size for notebooks)
• 11 Practice Activities with a “Think About It” exit ticket at the end of each activity
• Digital and Full-Color Versions of Student Activities
• 1 Study Guide
• 1 Assessment
• Answer Keys for all activities

What makes this Guided Social Studies Curriculum Smart and Simple?

✅ The social studies daily lessons and activities are bite-sized and can easily be implemented in 40-60 minutes.

✅ The social studies curriculum is TEKS-aligned (for Texas) but are still flexible enough to use in any order or with any state curriculum.

✅ Each social studies unit has everything you need to simply teach social studies – easy-to-follow lesson plans, warmups, guided notes, practice activities, and more!

It’s everything you need to implement engaging social studies lessons that students love and teachers enjoy (because it’s comprehensive and easy to prep)!

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