Ancient Civilizations Settlement Survival Game for 6th grade

Bring Ancient Civilizations and early human survival to life with this hands-on Settlement Survival Game! This print-and-play activity helps students explore how geography, resources, and environmental challenges shaped early settlements—key concepts in both state social studies standards and the C3 Framework for Social Studies.

✨How to Play:

Students select an environment, choose their resources, and navigate real-world challenges using Challenge Cards based on environmental events like drought, flooding, migration, extreme heat, cold weather, and more. As they gain or lose survival points, learners practice critical thinking, reasoning, and historical decision-making.

👥 Game Details

• Players: 1–6 (great for homeschool or classroom use)
• Time: 20–35 minutes
• Ages: Upper Elementary–Middle School

🌍 What’s Included

• Environment Cards (River Valley, Forest, Plains, Desert, Coast, Mountain)
  
• Resource Cards (water, grains, hides, wood, fire, stone, salt, etc.)
  
• Challenge Cards (natural disasters, food shortages, migration, conflict, disease)
  
• Printable Scorecards
  
• Step-by-step gameplay instructions
  

No additional supplies needed!

⭐ Why Teachers Love It

• Zero-prep and easy to implement
• Highly engaging, strategic, and interactive
• Fits Ancient Civilizations, Early Humans, Geography, or Environment units
• Works for homeschool, small groups, whole class, or independent play
• Perfect for centers, review days, sub plans, or enrichment
• No additional supplies needed

🎯 Skills & Standards Alignment

This activity supports key social studies standards across grades 3–6, but specifically, 6th-grade Ancient Civilizations.

📘 Common State Social Studies Standards (State- Example California)

6.1.1- Hunter-gatherer societies and early tools

6.1.2- Human migration and adaptation

6.1.3- Agricultural Revolution and early settlements

The game directly supports these standards by requiring students to analyze environments, adapt to geographic challenges, manage resources, and recognize cause/effect in survival scenarios.

📘 Common State Social Studies Standards

Because every state frames social studies slightly differently, this game aligns with widely used state concepts taught in grades 3–6:

Geography & Environment

• Human–environment interaction
  
• Physical vs. human characteristics of regions
  
• How geography affects where and how people live
  
• Natural resources and settlement patterns
  
• Environmental challenges (storms, heat, drought, etc.)
  

Early Civilizations / Early Humans

• How early humans adapted to their environments
  
• How resources shaped early settlements
  
• How geography influenced food, shelter, and survival
  
• Development of early communities and cooperation
  

Cause & Effect / Critical Thinking

• Understanding the consequences of environmental events
  
• Decision-making based on limited resources
  
• Comparing environments and their advantages/disadvantages
  

These state standards correspond to frameworks used in:
✔ California (Geography, Environment & Early Civilizations standards)
✔ Texas (Early Civilizations & Geography TEKS)
✔ Florida (SS.3–5 Geography & Human-Environment standards)
✔ New York (World Communities & Geography standards)
✔ And many more states with similar content

*This is an activity from Stories in History's full-year Ancient Civilizations course for 6th grade, coming Spring 2026.