Ancient India

Aim: What contributions did Ancient Indian civilization make?

Do Now: Geography of India

Lesson Overview:

Item	Approx Time
Do Now	3-5 Min
Mini Lesson	15-20 Min
Activity	15 Min
Discussion	5-7 Min

The CCR anchor standards and high school standards in literacy work in tandem to define college and career readiness expectations—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity.

Grades 9 & 10

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3

Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5

Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6

Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7

Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8

Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9

Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Grades 11 & 12

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5

Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6

Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8

Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.10

By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity

Ancient India

Geography:

India is both a Sub-Continent and a Peninsula.

The people of ancient India lived in a land of extremes. The terrain was varied and often presented great challenges. Occasional extremes of weather such as droughts and monsoons were also part of life in this land. However, great civilizations developed and flourished amidst the rivers, mountains, plains and deserts of the subcontinent.

Many rivers also flowed through ancient India making the land fertile. One of the main rivers to be used in ancient times was the Indus river in the north-west (what is now north-western India and Pakistan). It was on the banks of the Indus river that the earliest civilization in India to use writing, build large buildings and organize cities flourished for nearly one thousand years.

Another important river in ancient India was the Ganges. Settlements, cities and towns developed on the banks of this powerful river from as early as prehistoric times.

Early Civilization:

region of indus civilization,harappa map,indus valley map,indus river valley mapNestled in Indus valley in western India, The Indus Civilization flourished from about 2500 BC to 1700 BC. It covered a larger area than modern Pakistan. The two important cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro each held perhaps 35,000 people at their height. Other cities excavated included Kalibangan; on the west coast bordering Pakistan was almost as large as Harappa or Mohenjo-Daro. These cities had features which made them unique included brick and had well-planned streets, pottery drainage ditches, large granaries, and a large bath for ritual cleansing. Constructed on raised platform most of the major buildings were made from brick. There were some small, two-room structures to large houses with two-storied with courtyards.

The people of Indus civilization traded with Sumer and sent merchant ships to the island of Tilmun in the Persian Gulf. The main items of exports included pottery, inlays, and wood. Sumerian merchants referred to the Indus Valley as Meluhha. They also traded with Mesopotamia and Egypt. Harrappan civilization was the first to turn cotton into yarn and weaving the yarn into cloth. Cotton was first developed around 2000 B.C.The people used to export surplus grain, pottery vases, ivory combs, pearls, precious woods, and semi-precious stones. Indus Valley farmers grew wheat, barley, field-peas, melons, sesame, and dates. They also domesticated humped cattle, short-horn cattle, and buffaloes, and perhaps even pigs, camels, horses, and donkeys. The land was full of water buffalo, tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and enormous forests. Their unique script consisted of 400 symbolic pictures, has not yet been deciphered. The lack of public inscriptions or written historical documents has hindered other information about the civilization.

The Indus civilization declined in 1900 BC under pressure from a new people, the Aryans. The Indo-European speaking Aryans entered the area from eastern Iran by 1500 BC. The Rig Veda the main religious and socio-economic text was written between 1300 and 1100 BC. They settled in different regions of northwestern India. The tribes were called Gana (literally a "collection" - of people). The chief of each tribe held all the powers and it passed from father to son and so on. The people in the Vedic period lived in straw and wooden huts. Some homes were made of wood, but not until later, during the Epics Period. The social life centered on Yagna .The Aryans ate meat; vegetables etc .They also introduced horse and raced chariots. They were religious and prayed to many gods and goddesses. The caste system has its beginning based on occupations. Education was oral and writing was done on bark and leaves which has not left any records. People enjoyed lavish embroidery and embellishments. From then on new people and races entered India and settled here bringing with them diverse ideas, beliefs and traditions and in course of time amalgamated within the Indian civilization.

Caste System

A Caste System is a social class system or social hierarchy (levels) in a society.

The Aryans brought a social class system known as a Caste to Ancient India.

Classwork & Homework

Lesson PowerPoint:

• Ancient India Geography
• The Caste System

Lesson Video: Indus River Valley Civilization

Activity:

• Caste System Worksheet
• Contributions of Ancient Indian Civilization
• Ancient Indian Empires Worksheets

Homework: Assignments