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Earth's Climate, Human Origins, and Early Migrations

5th Grade · Social Studies · US-MA-SS

10 lessons

Goal

Explain how climate shifts shaped early Earth, describe the African origins of modern humans, and trace global migration pathways.

10 lessons
0 of 10 done
  1. The Pleistocene Epoch: Glaciers, Climate Shifts, and Sea LevelsUp next
  2. How Changing Climates Created Conditions for Human LifeNot started yet
  3. The Cradle of Humankind: East Africa and the Great Rift ValleyNot started yet
  4. The Emergence of Homo Sapiens in AfricaNot started yet
  5. The Out-of-Africa Theory: Routes into Southwest and South AsiaNot started yet
  6. Adapting to the Cold: Human Dispersal into Europe and Northern AsiaNot started yet
  7. Crossing Open Waters: The Peopling of Australia and SahulNot started yet
  8. How Archaeologists Trace Human Migration to the AmericasNot started yet
  9. How New Fossil and Genetic Data Reshape Migration TimelinesYou are here
  10. Synthesizing Early Human Migration on Global MapsNot started yet
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Learning standards covered

us-ma6.T2.2Massachusetts Social Studies Standards · 5th Grade

Identify sites where archaeologists have found evidence of the origins of modern human beings and explain current theories of how human groups moved from Africa over time into the continents now known as Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. Give examples of how ongoing archaeological research adds new data that changes interpretations of how migrations and habitation sites are dated.