WideH Ancient India

Ancient India-WideHorizon Education Resources

What is the connection between these two monuments?
When studying ancient India students need to understand the importance of the ruler Asoka and the time of the Mauryan Empire.

One way to introduce this lesson is to ask students, “What is the connection between these two monuments?” The connection, of course, is that they are both national symbols.

The Statue of Liberty, one of America’s national symbols and the lion capital of Asoka, adopted as modern India’s state symbol.

This introduction leads naturally on to the next questions.
1. Who was this ruler Asoka, whose lion capital was chosen to be modern India’s emblem.
2. Where did he live and what was the Mauryan Empire?
3. What kind of ruler was he?
4. Why do modern day Indians value a symbol from his time?

Asoka, Mauryan Ruler
Module 2 introduces students to this unusual king of the ancient world. He was an emperor who, instead of basking in the glory of a victorious battle, was shamed and distressed by the bloodshed, slaughter, and misery of the defeated people.

Rubrics are supplied with the assignments for teacher assessment or student self-assessment.

Buddhism and Hinduism – In Module 2 of the WER Unit on India, Buddhism is introduced before the lesson on Asoka so that students are able to understand the ruler’s conversion to Buddhism.

Hinduism is also covered in detail; both Buddhism and Hinduism being taught through activities, stories and drama. Students, armed with an understanding of both beliefs, are able to make an informed comparison between the two.

Venn Diagrams
A Venn diagram is an ideal format within which to organize a compare and contrastassignment of Buddhism and Hinduism. A large, poster size Venn diagram could accommodate contributions from many students and would look attractive with illustrations added.

WideHorizon Education Resources-Ancient India
Module 1: Indus Valley Civilization
Module 2: Later Empires

Example of content from Module 1 Lesson 2
Through the creation of a class poster entitled A Moment in Time the Indus Valley civilization is compared with civilizations prospering in other parts of the world at that time. Students create seals in clay similar to those found in the Indus Valley and compare them with the seals of Mesopotamia.
Mapping Skills: Students work with outline maps, developing geographic skills and learning geographic terms.
Creative Skills: Creative Skills are developed in the hands-on activity of making personal seals.
Critical Thinking Skills: Students compare and contrast societies. They examine these societies to see if each one meets the criteria to be called a civilization.
Presentation Skills: Students present their civilization orally, with illustrations, to the rest of the class.
India (2 Modules) includes 3 stories with readability levels, 4 guided reading assignments, 1 drama with readability level, 1 readers theatre, 16 activity sheets, 2 assignments targeted for monitoring and assessment, 3 map activities, 21 illustrated information sheets, 9 blackline masters, 3 review exercises, 2 colored reproductions, 8 teacher lesson guideline sheets, 2 monitoring and assessment guideline sheets.

Starter Packs
WideHorizon Education Resources (WER) material is in two formats. Firstly  as a Starter Pack. Secondly as a Classroom Pack. Both Packs include a Teacher Guide containing all the material from the MLA Teaching Packs, with occasional refinements for the USA market. The ONLY difference between a Starter Pack and a Classroom Pack is that the Starter Pack contains just one Student Reference Book (SRB) while a Classroom Pack contains 35 (thirty-five) SRBs. The Starter Pack is available as a pdf (no postage or processing fee). A physical copy (postage/processing fees apply) can be provided at additional cost.  Classroom Packs are ONLY available as physical copies and only for USA teachers. All physical copies are in USA and cost of sending abroad is prohibitive but please contact MLA if you have any queries (contact details at bottom of page).

WideHorizon Education Resources (WER) Teaching Packs are designed to appeal to the heart, head and hands. Original material is the Mollet Learning Academy (MLA) Teaching Packs (written initially for New Zealand teachers). On request from USA teachers, monitoring and assessment procedures were added and renamed WER Teaching Packs to distinguish them from MLA Teaching Packs.

Early Humankind, Ancient Israelites, Ancient India, Ancient China – USA $59.95
Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Kush, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome USA $79.95
Classroom Packs
Early Humankind, Ancient Israelites, Ancient India, Ancient China – USA $199.95
Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Kush, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome
USA $299.95
Sets
Set of Nine Starter Packs – USA $599.95
Set of Nine Classroom Packs – USA $1999.95
Set of 10 non-consumable SRBs – Prehistory, Israelites, India, China – USA $59.95
Set of 10 non-consumable SRBs – Egypt, Kush, Greece, Rome – USA $79.95
Set of 10 non-consumable SRBs – Mesopotamia – USA $89.95
7% S&H applies unless other arrangements made – thanks.

Dr. David Mollet davidmetis@gmail.com
NZ: h 09-555-2021 m 022-101-1741, 41 Hilling St, Titirangi, Auckland 0604
USA: 619-463-1270, 6656 Reservoir Lane, San Diego, CA 92115 (Skype waldorfedu)

1) The material was initially written for New Zealand teachers but on request from USA teachers, monitoring and assessment procedures were added. To view this material please visit https://molletacademy.com/
WideHorizon Education Resources (WER) https://molletacademy.com/widehorizon-2/ Waldorf Education Resources (WER) https://molletacademy.com/waldorf/
2) MLA is also involved in researching on an international basis, what works and what doesn’t work. Most of the research results can be seen at https://molletacademy.com/research-reports/ while a draft of a book The Task for New Zealand Education is at https://molletacademy.com/the-task-for-nz-education/
3) Blogs at http://www.molletlearningacademy.blogspot.co.nz/
4) Business Plan at http://molletlearningacademy.com/corporate/MLABusinessPlan.pdf
5) Papyrus https://molletacademy.com/papyrus/

If you wish to subscribe to MLA Newsletter please do so at https://molletacademy.com/Thanks and take care, David