Social studies in Year 6: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 6 of Swedish school (around age 12), Lärkompis practises 18 skills in social studies (geography, history, religion and civics), linked to 30 of 50 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 4–6. The areas are geographical conditions, patterns and processes; sustainable development; methods and tools of geography; cultural encounters and state formation in the Nordic region, approximately 800–1500; population growth, changing power relations and emigration, approximately 1800–1900; religions and other worldviews; ethics and existential questions; religion and society; rights and the administration of justice; decision-making and political ideas; information and communication; and societal resources and distribution. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 4 mini-games, including Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt), Labbet (The Lab) and Kartjakten (Map Hunt).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 4–6), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 6, this means that 11 skills start this year and 7 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 30 of 50 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 6
The 18 skills in social studies in Year 6 are grouped into 12 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Geographical conditions, patterns and processes
- Names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains and deserts in Europe and the world (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- Volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, weathering and tectonic plates Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Sustainable development
- Causes of poverty and ill health, and the work for better living conditions through the UN Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- How choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Methods and tools of geography
- Scale, lines of latitude and longitude, and map keys (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Grid map, two places in the same row or column. Level 5: Rotated map, distances at different scales and a map key.
Cultural encounters and state formation in the Nordic region, approximately 800–1500
- Primary sources, secondary sources, finds and uses of history Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- The Viking Age and runes (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Population growth, changing power relations and emigration, approximately 1800–1900
- Historical sources (parish registers, letters, photographs, minutes) and how history is used in street names, advertising and museums Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
- New power relations in Sweden and the Nordic region: Finland in 1809, the union with Norway, the new elementary schools and the two-chamber Riksdag Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Religions and other worldviews
- Religion, worldview, ritual, prophet and pilgrimage Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Holy scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Ethics and existential questions
- Everyday moral questions, questions about life and how religion is portrayed in the media Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Religion and society
- The importance of Christianity in Sweden, past and present, and religious affiliation today (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Rights and the administration of justice
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and children’s rights (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
- Laws, crimes, prosecutors, courts and penalties Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Decision-making and political ideas
- The Riksdag (Swedish parliament) and democratic elections Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Information and communication
- Using digital media responsibly and seeing different perspectives on social issues (already starts in Year 5) Level 1: Choose from at most three answers. Level 5: Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps.
Societal resources and distribution
- What the municipality, the region and the state are responsible for Level 1: Choose from all the options. Level 5: Mixed, with all the examples.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6 in social studies, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 6. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- How landscapes are formed, where natural resources are found and how the climate affects the way people live.
- The Viking Age and the Middle Ages in the Nordic region, and how children, women and men lived then.
- What a historical source is, for example archaeological finds, texts and stories.
- Rituals, rules for living and holy places in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and the main features of Hinduism and Buddhism.
- Looking critically at information and social issues.
How to help at home with social studies in Year 6
In Year 6, the first end-of-term grades (A–F) are given under the current rules, and there are national tests in maths, Swedish and English. The grade is based on the teacher's overall assessment, so talk about what your child can do and what the next step is, not just about the letter. Follow a news story or a topic for a week and ask “why did it happen, and what happens next?”. Ask your child to show where they read something and why they trust the source.
- Talk about mistakes as information. Say out loud when you make a mistake yourself and how you put it right. Ask your child: “What did you learn from this mistake?” Children pick up on how parents see failure, and it shapes how they see their own mistakes. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- Keep reading together for years. Keep reading aloud, or listening to a book together, long after your child can read on their own. Talk about the text. It builds vocabulary and togetherness. Recent studies suggest the effect is smaller than once thought, but it is still good time spent together. When reading: about 15 minutes.
- Better questions than “how was school?”. Try: “What was the most fun/hardest thing today?”, “What made you laugh?”, “Tell me something you learned that I don’t know.” Give it time and wait. Silence is an answer too. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- Pause when things boil over. Nobody learns anything in the heat of the moment. Say “let’s take a break: water and five minutes”. Come back with a smaller piece. Your relationship is worth more than the homework. When it is hard going: about 5 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 6
- Everyday moral questions, questions about life and how religion is portrayed in the media: Your child can explain what a prejudice is.
- Holy scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Your child can explain how the Tanakh and the Old Testament are related.
- The Riksdag (Swedish parliament) and democratic elections: Your child knows that there is an election every four years.
- Laws, crimes, prosecutors, courts and penalties: Your child can explain what a court and a prosecutor do.
Common pitfalls in Year 6
- How choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development: Thinks only individual choices matter, not the choices society makes.
- Scale, lines of latitude and longitude, and map keys: Mixes up lines of longitude and latitude.
- The Viking Age and runes: Thinks everyone in the Viking Age was a warrior.
- The importance of Christianity in Sweden, past and present, and religious affiliation today: Thinks the Church of Sweden is still the state church.
If social studies practice in Year 6 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 6 social studies, Lärkompis uses 4 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 6, the game practises 18 skills: names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains and deserts in Europe and the world; causes of poverty and ill health, and the work for better living conditions through the UN; how choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development; volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, weathering and tectonic plates; and more.
Labbet (The Lab)
Guess first, then find out. The tasks are based on checked facts. In Year 6, the game practises 17 skills: names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains and deserts in Europe and the world; causes of poverty and ill health, and the work for better living conditions through the UN; how choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development; volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, weathering and tectonic plates; and more.
Kartjakten (Map Hunt)
A made-up island with a compass rose, a map key and a scale bar: the map is the task. In Year 6, the game practises 1 skill: scale, lines of latitude and longitude, and map keys.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 6, the game practises 1 skill: new power relations in Sweden and the Nordic region: Finland in 1809, the union with Norway, the new elementary schools and the two-chamber Riksdag.
Questions about social studies in Year 6
What does Lärkompis practise in social studies in Year 6?
Lärkompis has 18 skills in social studies in Year 6, for example “Names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains and deserts in Europe and the world”; “Causes of poverty and ill health, and the work for better living conditions through the UN”; “How choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development”; “Volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, weathering and tectonic plates”; and “Scale, lines of latitude and longitude, and map keys”. Each skill has five levels. In “Names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains and deserts in Europe and the world”, for example, level 1 is “Choose from at most three answers” and level 5 is “Match four pairs, plus ordering tasks with more steps”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What is expected in social studies in Year 6 by the end of the year?
Skolverket's criteria for grade E at the end of Year 6 say, in plain words: your child knows the basics of the subject, can give simple explanations and examples, and can make simple comparisons and search for information. Lärkompis does not replace the teacher's assessment, but it shows you which skills your child is practising in Year 6.
Which mistakes are common in social studies in Year 6?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Thinks only individual choices matter, not the choices society makes” in “How choices made by individuals and by society affect the environment and sustainable development” and “Mixes up lines of longitude and latitude” in “Scale, lines of latitude and longitude, and map keys”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in social studies in Year 6?
Yes. Every exercise in social studies in Year 6 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6; 30 of 50 items in social studies (geography, history, religion and civics) have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise social studies in Year 6 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try social studies in Year 6 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
