INDIA UNIT LESSON PLANS
OVERVIEW: The India unit lasts 3 weeks and uses individual work. Desks are separated for the entire unit. Alterations for special needs students are marked as IEP in lesson plans. Extra credit points to those who turn in a recipe with a spice other than salt, pepper, or cinnamon. Extra work may include items on the Taj Mahal, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or religions puzzle page.
*Note on Hindu gods: Trinity = Shiva (destroys evil), Vishnu (guides birth and rebirth), and Brahma (creator of life and universe, 4 heads).
DAY 1: Caste System / Time For Kids – Hist. 2, People 1, 3, Geog. 1-5, Econ 1, Govt. 2, Citizenship 1, SS Skills 1-4
Webquest can be accessed for this lesson from Rock Hill website. Desks are arranged in 4 rows and titled as follows: (4) Brahmin, (4) Kshatriya, (4) Vaishya, (8) Shudra, and (4) Untouchables – outcastes are in the hallway. Students draw from the caste cards to see what caste they were born into. Brahmin have to sit with Brahmin, etc., since different varnas can not associate with each other. Students write down their position and people in each group and use guided reading to learn about the caste system. Release students in caste system order from class each day.
India Time For Kids magazine with map/guided reading worksheet, review front side on first day, back side on the other. IEP: Work on specific portions of TFK – geography, products, Day in the Life of Yoshita VENN diagram, Ganesh. Review answers at end of class.
DAY 2: Map Quiz / Timeline – Hist. 1
Using handouts, students create their own timeline and writing assignment from it. Stapled and turned in will be the following: timeline, written directions of how to create the timeline, grading rubric for timeline.
DAY 3: Hinduism/Buddhism guided movie – Hist. 2, People 1-3, Govt. 2
If extra time, self-grade worksheet.
DAY 4: Compare/contrast religions – History 2, People 1-3
If not finished already, grade Hinduism and Buddhism worksheets. Star similarities on both sides. Using this movie worksheet, write a compare/contrast informative paper between Hinduism and Buddhism. Criteria: 5 paragraphs long (intro, 3 body, closing in 3-5-3 sentence format).
DAY 5 + 6: Society / Vocab / Caste System – Hist. 2, People 1-4, Govt. 2, Citizenship 1, Geog. 2, 5, Econ. 1-2, SS Skills 1-4
Vocab:
Define vocab, then students have option of creating a crossword, memory card game, writing vocab 5 times each.
Society:
Caste System:
Create 2 journal entries from caste papers.
DAY 7: Open binder test / snakes + ladders
EXTRAS: Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Taj Mahal, Yoga, Jungle Book movie.
OVERVIEW: The India unit lasts 3 weeks and uses individual work. Desks are separated for the entire unit. Alterations for special needs students are marked as IEP in lesson plans. Extra credit points to those who turn in a recipe with a spice other than salt, pepper, or cinnamon. Extra work may include items on the Taj Mahal, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or religions puzzle page.
*Note on Hindu gods: Trinity = Shiva (destroys evil), Vishnu (guides birth and rebirth), and Brahma (creator of life and universe, 4 heads).
DAY 1: Caste System / Time For Kids – Hist. 2, People 1, 3, Geog. 1-5, Econ 1, Govt. 2, Citizenship 1, SS Skills 1-4
Webquest can be accessed for this lesson from Rock Hill website. Desks are arranged in 4 rows and titled as follows: (4) Brahmin, (4) Kshatriya, (4) Vaishya, (8) Shudra, and (4) Untouchables – outcastes are in the hallway. Students draw from the caste cards to see what caste they were born into. Brahmin have to sit with Brahmin, etc., since different varnas can not associate with each other. Students write down their position and people in each group and use guided reading to learn about the caste system. Release students in caste system order from class each day.
India Time For Kids magazine with map/guided reading worksheet, review front side on first day, back side on the other. IEP: Work on specific portions of TFK – geography, products, Day in the Life of Yoshita VENN diagram, Ganesh. Review answers at end of class.
DAY 2: Map Quiz / Timeline – Hist. 1
Using handouts, students create their own timeline and writing assignment from it. Stapled and turned in will be the following: timeline, written directions of how to create the timeline, grading rubric for timeline.
DAY 3: Hinduism/Buddhism guided movie – Hist. 2, People 1-3, Govt. 2
If extra time, self-grade worksheet.
DAY 4: Compare/contrast religions – History 2, People 1-3
If not finished already, grade Hinduism and Buddhism worksheets. Star similarities on both sides. Using this movie worksheet, write a compare/contrast informative paper between Hinduism and Buddhism. Criteria: 5 paragraphs long (intro, 3 body, closing in 3-5-3 sentence format).
DAY 5 + 6: Society / Vocab / Caste System – Hist. 2, People 1-4, Govt. 2, Citizenship 1, Geog. 2, 5, Econ. 1-2, SS Skills 1-4
Vocab:
Define vocab, then students have option of creating a crossword, memory card game, writing vocab 5 times each.
Society:
- Add social pyramid to caste paper.
- Under trade, discuss the use of cotton, indigo, iron and steel, and ivory. SPICES should also be discussed. Resource at http://www.indianspices.com/ and guided reading paper for spices can be used or discuss spices using recipes that have been brought in. Look at samples of the different spices from the area (saffron, tumeric, curry, cardimum, mustard, pepper, cayenne, dill, cumin, celery, and tons of others from website above can be used).
- Discuss daily life and customs including the following: bindi (dot on forehead) - dot anyone with a boy friend with red paint, sari and dhoti (clothing) - dress one female with cloth, henna (Arabic word for body art) or mehndi (Hindu word) - each student creates a hand outline with mehndi for hallway if extra time.
- Discuss cow/goat milk only being available in the springtime (after calves were born) until late summer, therefore Indians made yogurts and cheese to last longer. Sample yogurt, chapattis (flat bread), curry, lemons, cucumbers, eggplant, mangoes, while playing snakes and ladders game or tchuka ruma game if time permits.
Caste System:
Create 2 journal entries from caste papers.
DAY 7: Open binder test / snakes + ladders
EXTRAS: Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Taj Mahal, Yoga, Jungle Book movie.