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This page was last updated August 4, 2005.
World Cultures to 1500: India
This introduction is from Professor Richard Hooker's online course, Traditions and Memory: World Cultures to 1500. Go to Contents for clear, contextual information on Indian history and religion as well as a glossary of Indian terms and historical maps.
Ancient India - The British Museum
The British Museum's online offerings are impressive. The Ancient Civilizations websites highlights achievements of some remarkable world civilizations and explores cross-cultural themes of human development. Explore the people, culture, beliefs, and history of ancient India using animations, 3D models and objects from The British Museum's collections.
Exploring Ancient World Cultures: India
Another fine introduction to Ancient India, though some links are broken. The most interesting features are an article entitled "The Historical Context of The Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious Doctrines, and an online translation of The Bhagavad Gita. You can also find a whole slew of images of Harrarpa.
Daily Life in Ancient India
Teacher Don Donn of the Corkran (Maryland) Middle School provides complete units on various historical topics with daily lesson plans and resources. The numerous lesson plans and resources available at this popular site have been developed by Mr. Donn and other contributors. Lessons cover: The Mysterious Indus Civilization 3000-1500 BCE, Aryan Civilization Daily Life 1500-500 BCE, Vedic Period 1500-1000 BCE, Epics Period 1000 - 500 BCE, and Age of Empires Daily Life 500 BCE-700 CE. Lessons are most appropriate for students in grades 5-8.
Ramayana
The Ramayana provides insights into many aspects of Indian culture. This site includes a brief (and long) synopsis of the Rama story as well as many images, such as the "God Posters" or images of Hindu gods in the style of popular Indian posters and calendars. Consider the five lessons on "Moral Dilemmas." They include useful questions for the classroom to help students understand the moral dilemmas in the story and define outcomes and consequences. There is also an article on The Oral Tradition and the Many "Ramayanas."
History of the Sikhs
The purpose of this website is to provide details about Sikhism. The site appears with mesmerizing music and has many categories, which are Sikh Gurus and Gursikhs, Great Sikh warriors and martyrs, major historical events, modern Sikh personalities, and famous Sikh institutes. There are many engaging features at this site, including a discussion forum, an education site that provides basic instruction of the Punjab alphabet and language, a selection of literature and poetry and links to several other sources of Punjab reading material, a news site, a greeting card site. This unique feature offers an extensive selection of photographs and Sikh art that can be personalized, either in English or Punjab, put to a selection of music, and emailed to your friends and family.
Harappa
This is a very helpful site for learning about the Indus Valley and the Indus culture. It has many slide shows, pictures, photographs, and details concerning the culture and heritage and places of the Indus Valley. Three are six category links named Images, Indus news 3, Movies, Sound, Indus Valley, and Bazaar.
Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport: India and the Himalayas
Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport helps kids browse the world in his virtual classroom. He introduces you to many civilizations with clear explanations, engaging graphics for kids, and "cool links". His study guides, homework assignments and exams are free and available for you to print or to edit.
BBC: India Facts
A concise "fact box" that includes information on India's population, religions, languages, etc.
"Hindu-Muslim Violence Imperils India," TIME.com
A good description of the historical significance of the holy site in Ayodhya, and how extreme violence has been justified by both Hindus and Muslims in the name of preserving holy sites for their people.
India&China
Provides helpful comparisons and background information on India and China
Classroom Activities about India
Classroom Activities about India are written by Fullbright scholars who traveled to India in 1998. Some of the lesson topics (Arranged Marriages, Education in India) compare/contrast Indian and American cultures and should appeal to students. In the Arranged Marriages lesson you'll find interesting Indian advertisements for brides. "What is Sacred?" compares and contrasts the places considered sacred in US and Indian culture. Eye for an Eye is about teaching Modern Indian History through the film Gandhi. Education in India examines four Indian schools the scholars visited. There is also a "Self-Directed Exploration of Hindu Mythology" aimed at younger students.
AskAsia Lesson Plans: India
Gandhi Speaks Through Clothing
Chronology of Gandhi's Life
Artha: Strategies for Survival, Success, and Power
How Much Is There to Eat?
Devi: The Great Goddess (from the Smithsonian Institution)
Nataraj: Shiva as Lord of the Dance
Rama and the Ramayana: Lessons in Dharma
Understanding Karma, Dharma and Samsara
What Can We Learn About India From A Ten Rupee Bank Note?
What Should Arjuna Do?
Women in Rural India
Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion (from the Smithsonian Institution)
IndoLink: Kids Corner
In this "Kids Corner" section of the INDOlink site, there are stories from Indian mythology, famous people and more. For a
Experiencing India's Caste System
After taking on the role of a person from Ancient India (3000 yrs ago) including status in a specific caste, students create three journal entries and share them with the class. There are links to sites on caste, a glossary of terms, as well as an Inspiration worksheet on caste.
Grade 6 WebQuest.
Daily Life in India
Don Donn of the Corkran (Maryland) Middle School provides a complete unit with daily lesson plans and unit test for sixth graders. There are also links to multiple K12 lesson plans.
The Ramayana in Southeast India
Grade 6 students are instructed to write a shadow puppet scene drawn from a Southeast Asian variant of the Ramayana to perform in class and to work collaboratively on a class sewing project to construct a Ramayana story cloth in the tradition of Southeast Asia.
Ramayana: An Enduring Tradition
During a 1997 summer institute, program participants designed related material to provide an entry for teachers and students into the study of this tradition. The institute was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities; the American Forum for Global Education and Syracuse University collaborated on the program
Askasia:Instructional Resources
AskAsia's instructional resources section features a rich collection of readings, lesson plans, and many other teaching aids developed by educators and scholars.
The World's History: Hinduism and Buddhism
The online guide to Howard Spodek's The World's History features quizzes (multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, interactive review questions), primary sources, maps, a bulletin board, a Live Chat,web links, and faculty resources for each chapter/topic. Professor Spodek identifies the categories historians can deal with: the sanctification of time, of space, of language and literature, of artistic and cultural activity, as well as the creation of religious organizations.
The World's History: India
The online guide to Howard Spodek's The World's History features quizzes (multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, interactive review questions), primary sources, maps, a bulletin board, a Live Chat,web links, and faculty resources for each chapter/topic. India developed into a single loosely-unified but persistent cultural region through the operation of what Professor Spodek calls "intermediate" institutions. He discusses political disunity in this chapter and the forces of cultural unity in the next.
The World's History: River Valley Civilizations
The online guide to Howard Spodek's The World's History features quizzes (multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, interactive review questions), primary sources, maps, a bulletin board, a Live Chat,web links, and faculty resources for each chapter/topic. This chapter focuses on the civilizations which developed in the Nile valley of Egypt and the Indus River valley of India/Pakistan.
Brief Review in Global History and Geography: Document Based Essays and Practice Tests
PH@School's Brief Review in Global History and Geography Web site provides multiple-choice questions from actual Regents exams. You can also practice your test-taking skills on document-based essay questions (DBQs), with the option of e-mailing answers directly to your teacher for review.
India&China
This web site introduces the content, approach, texts and topics used in a three-year professional development program on India and China for school teachers. The site features variety of segments from the program such as the two Summer Institutes. A photo gallery is added to provide a more human glimpse of the spirit and scope of the program. Also provided here are links to select internet sites on or about Asia.
