Download Unit 5- India - Edward R. Murrow High School

9th Grade Semester One
Unit 5: India
Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Topic / Unit Title: India
NYS Content Standards
Common Core Skills
Key Idea 1: The study of world history requires an
understanding of world cultures and civilizations,
including an analysis of important ideas, social and
cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. This study also
examines the human condition and the connections and
interactions of people across time and space and the
ways different people view the same event or issue from
a variety of perspectives.
 Key Idea 2: Establishing timeframes, exploring different
periodizations, examining themes across time and within
cultures, and focusing on important turning points in
world history help organize the study of world cultures
and civilizations.
 Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the
ability to investigate differing and competing
interpretations of the theories of history, hypothesize
about why interpretations change over time, explain the
importance of historical evidence, and understand the
concepts of change and continuity over time.
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Understandings:
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Reading-Social Studies (RH)
1. Use relevant information and ideas from documents to support
analysis
2. Determine the main idea of a document
Speaking and Listening (SL)
1. Initiate and participate in collaborative discussion
Language (L)
1. Demonstrate appropriate grammar usage in writing and speaking
(sentence complexity)
Essential Questions:
India’s geographic and topographic setting is unique and
has an impact on the needs and wants of their early
civilizations (Mauryan and Gupta)
Mauryan society unites northern India and makes
advancements in military, government, religion
The Guptas improve on the advancements of the
Mauryan and flourish in the arts and cultural life given
their geographical location.
Hinduism shapes all of Indian society
The Buddha followed a long path of self-discovery to
create a new religion
How did geography influence the history of Ancient India?
Describe some of the culture achievements of India. How would the world
be different without the achievements of India?
Describe the social class of India. How did the social class affect the
people of Ancient India? Would this type of social structure work today?
What are the basic beliefs of Hinduism (India), Buddhism (India & China),
and Confucianism (China)?
Describe trade in India. How did trade influence the development of this
civilization?
Who were important Rulers that ruled Indian? How did they influence
Indian society (describe some of their accomplishments)?
Stage 2: Assessments and Tasks
Common Core Literacy Task
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Exit Card: Has geography been a friend or foe to India?
Write one paragraph that include 4-5 details about
India’s geography
Free Write: Students will reflect on the ideas of
Hinduism and if Hinduism could fit into their own lives.
Student will identify major beliefs of Hinduism and use
them as an evaluation tool.
Quick Write/Self Reflection: Students will reflect on the
ideas of Buddhism, and determine if Buddhism can be a
way to find inner peace, harmony and true happiness.
Museum Card: Using an index card, students will
determine which exhibit piece in the walk makes the
Gupta Empire a Golden Age, using 4-5 facts and details
to support their answers
Performance Task(s) – Other Evidence
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List and describe 3-5 key geographic features of India (including
monsoons). Understand the difference between a religious belief and
practice.
Compare and contrast the beliefs and practices of Hinduism vs.
Buddhism.
List and explain the contributions of the Mauryan and Gupta Empire
Skill: Synthesizing content with supporting facts and details.
Complete a thematic on either a) elements of civilization b) religious
beliefs c) geographic/topographic features and their impact on
development.
How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?
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Handouts will contain self-assessment quizzes such as 5-7 true false questions about the topic, 2-3 multiple choice questions related to the
topic.
Students will take the quiz toward the end of class, the quiz will only be based on that days lesson.
The instructor will spot check individual students responses and provide feedback to individuals as well as the whole class.
Rubrics specified for all common core literacy tasks.
Product
Process
Content
Accommodations: Scaffolds and Differentiation
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Modify primary source texts (variety, complexity, length)
Incorporate alternative materials (visual, video, audio, internet)
Provide supplementary resources for supports
Group with a purpose
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Model skills, task and/or product
Utilize graphic organizers / note taking template
Provide individual or group intervention and support
Re-enforce vocabulary / concept development
Provide choice / variety of activities or tasks
Group with a purpose
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Assign specific, purposeful assessments to individuals or groups
Allow students to choose from a variety of assessments
Provide scaffolds / supports (outlines, templates, models)
Provide extension activities to expand thinking or understanding
Group with a purpose
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Instructional Activities and Materials (W.H.E.R.E.T.O.)
Aim: Has geography been a friend or foe to India?
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Identify/define: monsoon, subcontinent, cultural diversity
Locate and identify the major physical characteristics of the Indian subcontinent (including the Himalaya Mountains, Thar Desert, Deccan
Plateau, Hindustan Plain, Indogangentic Plain, major river systems, etc.).
Explain how these geographic features have affected the settlement and development of India as well as the movement of people and
ideas (cross-cultural contact) throughout the subcontinent.
Explain the impact of the monsoons on the daily lives of people on the Indian subcontinent.
Evaluate whether geography has been a friend or foe to the economic and social development of India and has encouraged or
discouraged cultural diffusion
throughout the subcontinent.
Aim: Are Hindus monotheistic or polytheistic?
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Identify/define: monotheism, polytheism, incarnation, Hindu Trinity, Brahman Nerguna/Supreme God, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva,
Upanishads
Explain the Hindu concept of Brahman Nerguna.
Explain the roles of the other gods in the Hindu Trinity.
Compare and contrast the concept of the Hindu Trinity with the Christian Trinity and ideas in Judaism and Christianity about prophets,
saints and angels.
Evaluate whether Hindus are monotheistic or polytheistic.
Aim: Does Hinduism answer life’s great questions?
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Identify the following terms: polytheism, dharma, karma, samsara/reincarnation, ahimsa, moksha, and caste.
Explain the main beliefs and practices of Hinduism including the concepts of dharma and karma.
Explain how various written works (Vedas, Upanishads, epic poems) have provided guidance and inspiration to the Hindus.
Assess the role and impact of Hinduism on the lives of its followers in India.
Discuss the reasons for the survival of Hinduism in India throughout the ages.
Assess the extent to which Hinduism stimulates both unity and diversity in India.
Aim: Can laws eliminate discrimination? (caste system) OR Can religion be used as a tool of social control?
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Identify/define: caste, varna, jati, harijan (Children of God), Pariah/untouchable, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisyas, Sudras
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Explain the caste system and assess how it affects Hindus in their daily lives.
Assess the extent to which the caste system creates order in Indian society.
Examine the relationship between the caste system and the economy in India to determine its effects on Indian economic and social life.
Discuss the extent to which the Indian Constitution and the government have been successful in eliminating discrimination based on
caste.
Evaluate whether the caste system stimulated stability or stagnation in traditional India.
Evaluate whether laws can eliminate discrimination.
Aim: Does Buddhism offer a way to find true happiness?
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Identify the following: Siddhartha Gautama, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Sutras, nirvana.
Discuss the life of Siddhartha Guatama in the development of Buddhism.
Explain the basic ideas of Buddhism: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and nirvana.
Compare and contrast the beliefs of Buddhism with those of Hinduism.
Evaluate whether Buddhist ideas are a means of finding inner peace and harmony in one’s life and in ending suffering.
Aim: Can Buddhism being peace to the world?
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Identify/define: Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, bodhisattva, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, mandala, meditation, Lotus
Sutra, Five Precepts
Explain how Buddha wanted people to live.
Explain the differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.
Explain how Mahayana teachings reflect Buddha’s life story.
Evaluate whether Mahayana teachings increased the appeal and led to the spread of Buddhism.
Discuss how and why Buddhism spread to China.
Explain how Buddha’s teachings mesh with Confucianism and Daoism.
Evaluate whether following the teachings of Buddhism can bring about world peace.
Aim: Should the Mauryan empire be considered an example of good government?
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Discuss the economic, political, and social achievements of the Mauryan Empire.
Describe the features of Chandragupta Maura’s centralized government which united all of northern India (the Indus Valley, the Ganges
Valley, the southern Himalayas): military rule, government bureaucracy, spy network.
Explain how the “enlightened policies” of Asoka united the diverse empire.
Evaluate if the Mauryna Empire (strong centralized rule) is an example of good government.
Aim: Was the Gupta empire a Golden Age in India?
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Describe how the Gupta Empire was founded.
Explain how the Gupta’s support for Hinduism stimulated an explosion of religious art and culture.
Explain why the Gupta period has been called India’s “classical age” with great advances in art, literature, mathematics, and science.
Describe the organizational structure and gender relationships of Gupta society.
Explain the reasons for the decline of the Gupta Empire.
Evaluate if the Gupta Empire was a “golden age” in India.
Teacher Reflection for Future Planning
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Evaluate student work and response to questions during discussion
Will explore test results and essay writing skills on class exams to shape future writing lessons
January 2009
Theme: Geography
Geographic factors have affected the development of nations and regions. These factors have also promoted or
hindered cultural diffusion.
Task: Select two different geographic factors and for each
● Explain how the geographic factor affected the development of a specific nation/region
● Discuss how that geographic factor promoted or hindered cultural diffusion
You may use any geographic factor from your study of global history. Some suggestions you might wish to
consider include deserts, rivers, mountains, plains, islands, irregular coastlines, straits, climate and location.
Multiple Choice
Base your answer to question 1 on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.
... Monsoons are relied upon throughout the country to provide water for growing crops. Heavy monsoons, however,
can bring floods that often have a high death toll. These floods have
been exacerbated [made worse] by deforestation of the hills for industrial and agricultural purposes. It is a fine
balance between having plenty of water to flood the rice fields and having too much so that crops, homes, and even
lives are lost. The alternative to the floods may be famines. However, India’s infrastructure can now deal
successfully with these: When the monsoon fails in one area, the army is able to move supplies to the droughtstricken area. As a result of this organization, few lives were lost in the Maharashtra famines of 1965–66 and 1974–
75, while more than two million people died in the Bengal famine of 1943.
—Louise Nicholson, National Geographic Traveler: India , 2007
1 Based on this passage, how have the negative effects of the monsoons been reduced in recent years?
(1) The army is building dams to hold back the floods.
(2) Farmers have begun to grow crops that require less water.
(3) Home construction in flood areas has been controlled by government regulations.
(4) An improved infrastructure makes it possible to bring supplies to areas in need of help.
2 Which major geographic feature has hindered cultural diffusion between India and China?
(1) Himalaya Mountains
(2) Deccan Plateau
(3) Gobi Desert
(4) Great Rift Valley
3 Which geographic feature would have most likely hindered the expansion of the Guptas into what is modern-day China?
(1) Thar Desert
(2) Deccan Plateau
(3) Himalaya Mountains
(4) Bay of Bengal
4 The Thar Desert, Ganges River, and Deccan Plateau are all geographic features of
(1) Japan
(3) India
(2) China
(4) Indonesia
5 Believers of Hinduism are expected to
(1) fulfill their dharma for a favorable reincarnation
(2) complete a pilgrimage to Mecca
(3) obey the Ten Commandments
(4) follow the Eightfold Path to achieve enlightenment
6 One way in which apartheid in South Africa and the caste system in India are similar is that both systems
(1) allowed for educational opportunities
(2) determined roles based on gender
(3) revolved around central religious beliefs
(4) enforced different sets of rules for distinct groups of people
7 One way in which the caste system in traditional India and the Estates system of pre-revolutionary France are similar is
that
(1) occupations were attained by merit
(2) social mobility was very limited
(3) status was determined by education
(4) impact on the daily lives of people was minimal
8 One way in which the ancient city-state of Athens and the Gupta Empire are similar is that both
(1) allowed universal suffrage
(2) developed matriarchal societies
(3) promoted art and literature
(4) established plantation agriculture
9 The use of the decimal system, advancements in medicine, and construction of Hindu temples are most closely
associated with the golden age of the
(1) Abbassid dynasty
(2) Han dynasty
(3) Gupta Empire
(4) Roman Empire
10 In India, for which achievement is the Gupta Golden Age best known?
(1) adoption of the printing press
(2) invention of the iron foot stirrup
(3) use of gunpowder
(4) development of the concept of zero
11 A study of the Gupta Empire would include information about
(1) Egyptian conquests
(2) Muslim architectural influences
(3) medical and mathematical achievements
(4) the British East India Company’s trading posts
12 The Golden Age of India’s Gupta Empire is known for its
(1) development of gunpowder
(2) sea trade routes to Europe
(3) acceptance of Christianity as an official religion
(4) advancements in mathematics and medicine
13 In the practice of religion, the Ten Commandments are to Christianity as the Eightfold Path is to
(1) Buddhism
(3) Islam
(2) Daoism
(4) Shinto
14 The Ten Commandments, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Pillars of Faith each serve to
(1) provide followers with a guide for living
(2) establish systems of justice
(3) establish distinctions between social classes
(4) provide regulations for government workers
15 The treatment of untouchables in India, the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, and the treatment of Chinese
student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square are all examples of
(1) fascist policies
(2) extraterritoriality
(3) excommunication
(4) human rights violations