Civilizations and Empires in Ancient India

Grade Level: Middle School (6-8)

Subject: Social Studies

Duration: One class period                

DOK Level: 1 or 2

Indiana Standard: 7.1.1 Identify and explain the conditions that led to the rise of early river valley civilizations* and evaluate how the achievements in art, architecture, written language, and religion of those civilizations influenced their respective forms of government and social hierarchies. *River Valley Civilizations: Nile (Ancient Egypt), Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia), Indus (Ancient India), and Huang He (Ancient China).

Objective:  Students will be able to recall the rise of the Ancient Indus civilization, as well as identify their achievements in art, architecture, written language, and religion. Students will also be able to compare/ contrast the Ancient Indus civilization to either the Ancient Egyptians or the Ancient Sumerians.

Procedure: Students will view a powerpoint presentation over who the Ancient Indus were, as well as the rise of the Mauryan Empire and the Gupta Empire. There will also be a short video for students to view as well. Students are encouraged to take notes over the main concepts and content in both the powerpoint and the video.

Product or Assessment: Students will be completing review questions on the main content and concepts covered in the powerpoint presentation.