Social Sciences: History
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Reg. No.: 2011/011959/07
Social Sciences
Study guide: History
Grade 6
Learning objectives
What learners should know at the end of the lesson according to CAPS requirements.
Lesson elements
Important terminology
New terminology to assist with the understanding of the subject as part of the lesson.
Define
Definitions of concepts to understand the content.
Activity
Questions to complete to test learners’ knowledge of the completed lesson.
Tips
Any information other than the content, to guide learners through the learning process.
SAMPLE
Core content
Emphasise the core of the content; in-depth explanation of a specific section of the lesson; learners must understand this content.
Study/Revision
Time spent studying the content at the end of the unit and to prepare for a test or examination.
For the curious Encouragement to do in-depth research about the content. Expand the activity and exercise to such an extent that learners are encouraged to explore. For gifted learners: expanded exercises. For Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN): Explain the need to complete the basic questions to achieve a pass mark.
G06 ~ Social Sciences: History
Preface
What is History and how is it presented?
History is the study of change and development in society over time. History will enable you to see how past human action has an impact on the present; and to evaluate and understand how it influences the future.
History is a process of investigating and asking questions about the past:
● What happened?
● When did it happen?
● Why did it happen?
● What was the impact of events and decisions on society?
When people know what happened in the past, they can learn from past mistakes and prevent it from happening again. This is especially important when social, political and economic decisions are made in any society.
The specific aim of History is creating the following:
● An interest in and enjoyment of the study of the past.
● Knowledge, understanding and appreciation of things that happened in the past.
● The ability to participate in a historical enquiry, to participate in research and projects throughout the year.
SAMPLE
● To develop cognitive and other skills necessary for holistic educational development.
● To help us understand the present and even predict future events.
● To ensure responsible citizenship.
You should learn how to apply history knowledge and skills in source-based questions and longer questions like paragraphs and essays. Sources may include cartoons, articles, case studies, comprehension tests, photos and pictures. To be able to interpret sources, you should not only memorise facts and content but learn to apply knowledge as well. Additional sources like CAPS prescribed textbooks may also be used in conjunction with this study guide.
Year plan
Keep the following in mind when planning your year:
● Be realistic and flexible
● Keep your other subject timetables in mind
● Allow for enough time to study for tests and examinations
Term Unit and lesson
1
2
Date started Date completed
Unit 1: An African kingdom long ago in Southern Africa
Lesson 1: Changes in the society in the Limpopo Valley
Lesson 2: Settlements before Mapungubwe – K2 and Schroda
Unit 2: Mapungubwe – the first state in Southern Africa
Lesson 3: The king and his holy leadership
Lesson 4: The first rock-walled palace
Lesson 5: The importance of Mapungubwe Hill
Lesson 6: The first formal village
Lesson 7: Social classes of Mapungubwe
Lesson 8: The Golden Rhinoceros and other artefacts
Lesson 9: Trade across Africa and the Indian Ocean
Lesson 10: Trade goods
Unit 3: Change and continuity in East Coast trade
Lesson 11: Great Zimbabwe
SAMPLE
Unit 4: European explorers in Asia
Lesson 12: Marco Polo
Lesson 13: Marco Polo’s influence on European traders
Unit 5: European explorers discover Southern Africa
Lesson 14: Reasons for European exploration
Lesson 15: Leonardo da Vinci
Lesson 16: Galileo Galilei
Lesson 17: New ideas and knowledge
Lesson 18: Inventions – gunpowder, the compass and caravels
2
Unit 6: Trade and profit
Lesson 19: European trade routes to the East via Southern Africa
Lesson 20: Bartolomeu Dias meets the Khoikhoi
Lesson 21: Vasco da Gama’s voyage
Lesson 22: The Dutch East India Company
Unit 7: Democracy and citizenship
Lesson 23: How people govern themselves in a democracy – our national government
Lesson 24: 1994 – the first democratic South African government
Lesson 25: Parliament’s role
Lesson 26: The importance of rules and laws
Lesson 27: The legal system and equality according to the law
3
4
Lesson 28: Citizens’ rights and responsibilities in a democracy
Lesson 29: The Constitutional Court
Unit 8: Children’s rights and responsibilities
Lesson 30: The Children’s Charter of South Africa
Unit 9: National symbols since 1994
Lesson 31: The coat of arms
Lesson 32: The national flag
Lesson 33: The national anthem
Unit 10: Medical science over the years
Lesson 34: Indigenous healing in South Africa
Lesson 35: Identification and training of new healers
Unit 11: Modern Western healing
Lesson 36: The fight against smallpox and Edward Jenner’s role
Lesson 37: The relationship between germs and diseases and Louis Pasteur’s role
Lesson 38: Germs that cause tuberculosis and Robert Koch’s role
Lesson 39: The first antibiotics and Alexander Fleming’s role
Unit 12: The link between holistic and Western healing
Lesson 40: The difference between holistic and Western healing
Eenheid 1 Unit 1
An African kingdom long ago in Southern Africa
Learning aims
After completing this unit, you must be able to do the following:
● Know and understand basic concepts.
● Understand and explain the changes in the Limpopo Valley between 900 and 1300.
● Know about settlements in the Limpopo Valley preceding Mapungubwe.
● Study Mapungubwe – inhabitants’ social structure and lifestyle.
● Understand archaeology and the importance of archaeological studies and preservation of historic artefacts.
● Describe the trade that took place.
● Continuously exercise various cognitive levels: define, describe, explain, evaluate, analyse, etc.
Introduction
This term and in this unit, you will learn about kingdoms in Southern Africa. It is about how communities became part of a bigger world through trade.
As you learn, try to summarise the work in order to tell your facilitator the story of Mapungubwe at the end of the unit. This is a fun way to learn!
Important terminology
BC | AD | BCE | CE
c. (Circa)
Archaeologist
Artefact
Define
Lesson 1
Changes in the society in the Limpopo Valley
AD (Anno Domini): (literally: ‘in the year of our Lord’) the way of referring to dates after the birth of Jesus, e.g. Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 AD
BC (Before Christ): the way of referring to dates before the birth of Jesus, e,g, Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC
BCE (Before Common/Current Era): replaces BC as a neutral, non-religious term
c. (circa): (literally: ‘approximately’) used when the specific date is unknown, e.g, Shaka was born c. 1790 (exact date of birth unknown)
SAMPLE
CE (Common/Current Era): replaces AD as a neutral, non-religious term
Note: We no longer use BC/AD in History, but rather BCE/CE.
Core content
Big changes occurred in South African farming communities between 900 and 1300. Farming communities were initially small groups of people who lived together, but when other farmers saw how well crops grew there and that there was an abundance of food, more and more people moved to the Limpopo Valley.
We are going to learn about places such as K2, Schroda, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. The map gives us an indication of where the small villages in the Limpopo Valley were situated. The map shows where Mapungubwe is as well as two other points – K2 and Schroda. Archaeologists believe that these two settlements merged to form Mapungubwe. A settlement is a place where people live and establish a community.
SAMPLE
K2 and Schroda were two small settlements where black farmers lived. The farmers who lived there were subsistence farmers. That means they planted crops they could eat and kept animals that could provide for their needs. Their cows gave them milk and they could slaughter the animals for their meat. The farmers did not sell their crops to survive.
When the farmers could no longer use the soil, they moved to Mapungubwe. As the farmers moved out of Schroda and K2, the residents of Mapungubwe also moved. Archaeologists have been unable to establish why they moved.
Great Zimbabwe started at about the same time when Mapungubwe had no more residents. It is suspected that they moved to Great Zimbabwe, but we will never be able to say for sure. You will learn more about these places in lesson 2 and unit 2.
Image 1.1: Mapungubwe, K2 and Schroda’s location in Southern Africa
Lesson 2
Settlements before Mapungubwe – K2 and Schroda
Define
Archaeologist: a person who does excavations to find and study prehistoric and historic artefacts or objects to help them reconstruct the past
Artefact: an object that was made and/or used in the past, e.g., furniture, clothes, utensils, tools, jewellery, etc. Artefacts can be very valuable sources of information, especially when historians have no or little access to written information
Core content
Many years ago, there were many kingdoms in Southern Africa, but information about these kingdoms is hard to come by. These people did not record everything they did. Archaeologists only discovered the residents’ artefacts in the 20th century.
We can draw certain conclusions about their lifestyle from the K2 and Schroda residents’ tools, jewellery and buildings. Luckily, there are some of their descendants who can give us more information by telling us their stories and practices. The information we have so far about these two places, is the following:
SAMPLE
During the period between 900 and 1300, there were several small villages in the Limpopo Valley. The farmers who lived in these villages were subsistence farmers. They raised livestock and planted crops to provide for themselves and their families. The farmers used iron to make tools and implements. Therefore, this period in our history is referred to as the Late Iron Age.
These villages were independent from each other, although a group of small villages sometimes formed part of a bigger town. The town was ruled by a chief, and older people were more important than younger people. Men also had more power than women.
K2 and Schroda were a part of the villages in the Limpopo Valley. Large herds of elephant were found in that area, which were hunted. Farmers removed their ivory tusks and started trading them. They traded the ivory for goods like glass beads and decorative ceramic works.
Activity 1
1. Explain, in your own words, what an archaeologist is. (1)
2. Explain, in your own words, what an artefact is. (1)
3. How did archaeologists get information about K2 and Schroda? (1)