Teaching the history of India to American-Indian kids

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Teaching the history of India to American-Indian kids

by Ms.Soandso

Mar 1, 2012

I am starting a unit on the history of India for my 6th grade class. About half of my students have parents from India and have been to India many times. I am looking for suggestions about how to use the wonderful materials they have (comic books of the Mahabharata for example) without overwhelming the other half of the classroom with the complicated details. They are eager to share their stories of the gods and goddesses which I want to encourage, but I don't know about them taking over the class too much with their very complicated and detailed knowledge. They have already pointed out the overgeneralizations of the textbook and how outdated it is ("people don't really dress that way in Gujarat"). I really appreciate any suggestions, many of the materials and lesson plans I have found are directed to American kids with little knowledge or understanding of other cultures. Thanks!

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Vet Teacher On 3/01/12, Ms.Soandso wrote: Don't use the textbook then. You can print out materials from the online. Xerox one of the comic books and have all the class read it. The gods and goddesses are more complicated - these are in the Hindu faith really all manifestations of God - as they see it. Don't make the mistake of thinking Hindus are polytheistic....See More

Mar 8, 2012

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Jah Corpuz On 3/08/12, Vet Teacher wrote: > On 3/01/12, Ms.Soandso wrote: > Don't use the textbook then. You can print out materials from > the online. Xerox one of the comic books and have all the > class read it. The gods and goddesses are more complicated - > these are in the Hindu faith really all manifestations of God - > as they see i...See MoreOn 3/08/12, Vet Teacher wrote: > On 3/01/12, Ms.Soandso wrote: > Don't use the textbook then. You can print out materials from > the online. Xerox one of the comic books and have all the > class read it. The gods and goddesses are more complicated - > these are in the Hindu faith really all manifestations of God - > as they see it. Don't make the mistake of thinking Hindus are > polytheistic. > I'd stay off the Hindu faith just because the seeming talk > about 'gods and goddesses' will make some parents very > uncomfortable - who needs that? > > Will the Indian mothers bring in food? Samosas are not spicy - > and are delicious. Kids might like them. Let a child teach > their classmates how to count to ten in Hindi. Teach them > hello and goodbye. You can give each Indian child a small task > like that - let each one teach another word or two in Hindi. > > Will a mother come in her sari? Indian women are the most > beautifully dressed women in the world - even the poor women > look beautiful in their saris. > > Have fun. >> I am starting a unit on the history of India for my 6th >> grade class. About half of my students have parents from >> India and have been to India many times. I am looking for >> suggestions about how to use the wonderful materials they >> have (comic books of the Mahabharata for example) without >> overwhelming the other half of the classroom with the >> complicated details. They are eager to share their stories >> of the gods and goddesses which I want to encourage, but I >> don't know about them taking over the class too much with >> their very complicated and detailed knowledge. They have >> already pointed out the overgeneralizations of the textbook >> and how outdated it is ("people don't really dress that way >> in Gujarat"). I really appreciate any suggestions, many of >> the materials and lesson plans I have found are directed to >> American kids with little knowledge or understanding of >> other cultures. Thanks!

>>>JAH: I have this professor who teaches Seminar in Education. Then, we came to this topic where we are to watch a movie about Mother Teresa of Calcutta (India). In this video, you can see what it is to live in India-- a glimpse of history of India, what is Indian culture, what "poor" meant to Indian people, and what it is to be a humane person under the persona of Mother Teresa. Maybe, this movie would help you motivate the students at the same time "tone down" the overgeneralizing of these students of yours so they can extract their thoughts as simple as they could as they witness what the movie is all about in relation to the topic in your class. i hope this small thing could help :

Mar 14, 2012

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