Today’s Title: Contributions from
Ancient India
DO NOW
Last Thursday, we learned
about India’s second
religion, Buddhism. Using
5 complete sentences,
summarize the most
important points that you
learned about Buddhism.
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AGENDA
• Glossary Builder
• Contributions from ancient India
– FOLDABLE!
• Exit Slip
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Glossary Builder
• metallurgy: the science of
working with metals
• alloys: mixture of two or more
metals
• Sanskrit: the most important
language of ancient India
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Today’s Lesson
• The people of ancient India
(especially during the Gupta
empire) made great
contributions to the arts and
sciences
• We will focus on the
following:
–
–
–
–
Literature
Mathematics
Medicine
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Metallurgy
Before we begin…let me
tell you a story
• We learned that King Asoka
Buddhism
converted to ____________
and
Buddhism
spread __________
all over
India and the rest of Asia.
• Asoka’s Buddhist empire lasted
for 500 years!
• This empire was called the
Mauryan Empire
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Before we begin…let me
tell you a story
•After the Mauryan Empire
declined, a man named
Gupta unified India
•Gupta rulers helped to create
and spread Hinduism,
literature, medicine, and
science in their empire
•Let’s learn more about these
contributions…
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Main Ideas: Contributions of
Ancient India
1. Sanskrit literature
flourished during the Gupta
period.
2. The Indians made scientific
advances in metalworking,
medicine, and mathematics.
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FOLDABLE!
• To help you learn and take notes
on all the various contributions
made by the ancient Indians, we
are going to make a FOLDABLE!
• I’m going to pass out
construction paper. Once you
receive it, please sit in
professional posture!
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FOLDABLE Directions…
1. Fold hot-dog style
2. Use your four fingers to make three even
dashes where you will cut (I will show you)
3. Using your scissors, make three cuts so you
have four flaps!
4. Label your foldable like my example…
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FOLDABLE Directions…
5. There will be a slide for each flap (one for
each major contribution)
6. You will also receive a second handout with
pictures to glue inside of your foldable to help
you remember
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Literature
• The Aryans provided many
contributions to the ancient
Indian civilization
• One of the most important was
Sanskrit, which was used to
create wonderful pieces of
literature
• During the Mauryan and Gupta
periods in ancient India, a lot of
literature Fiorante
was created!
Literature
• The greatest of the Sanskrit
writings are two religious epics:
Mahabharata
• One of the world’s longest
literary works
• The story of two Indian
families struggling for control
of a kingdom
• Many long passages of Hindu
beliefs and practices
• A poem called the
Bhagavad Gita is found in
the Mahabharata.
Ramayana
• The story of a god,
Vishnu, who has taken
human form
• Written long after the
Mahabharata; contains
models for the ideal
ruler (Rama) and the
ideal mate (Sita)
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Literature- write in your
foldable:
• Many languages and words
spoken in India come from the
ancient language of Sanskrit.
• The Bhagavad Gita is a poem
that means “Song of the Lord.” It
is a sacred Hindu scripture
written in Sanskrit.
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Mathematics- write this
in your foldable
• The Indians invented the
concept of zero and
developed a sophisticated
number system:
– the Hindu-Arabic numerals
– Let’s turn to page ___to
read more about it
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Medicine
• Indians made many
contributions that we still use
today in the field of medicine:
– Using plants and minerals, Indian
doctors made advances in
medicinal science.
– They were among the first to
practice and perform surgery.
– Let’s turn to page 258 to read
more about it
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Metallurgy-write this in
your foldable
• Indians created tools and
weapons by mixing iron and
other metals together
(alloys).
• Metallurgy was used to
create gold and copper coins
honoring their kinds.
– Turn to page ___to learn more
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about metallurgy!
Study Time
• Take the next five minutes to
study your foldable before we
take our exit slip!
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Exit Slip
Exit Slip 6.5.7
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)
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Name:________
Date:_________
Period:____
1. What is the Bhagavad Gita?
A. one of Hinduism’s most
sacred texts meaning
“Ancient Lore”
B. one of Hinduism’s most
sacred texts meaning “Song
of the Lord;” part of the
Mahabharata
C. the Indian version of the
Christian Bible
D. part of the Vedas
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2. Which of the following is a
legacy of Indian mathematics?
A. fractions
B. the abacus
C. Hindu-Arabic numbers, including
zero
D. geometric shapes like squares
and triangles
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3. Which of the following is a
contribution to medicine made
by the Indians?
A. using computer monitors for
scans
B. dentistry
C. eyeglasses
D. performing surgery
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4. What knowledge allowed
Indians to create gold and
copper coins, honoring the
kings?
A.
B.
C.
D.
mining
mathematics
metallurgy
manufacturing
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5. The early language spoken
by the Aryans where many
Indians today get their words
is:
A. Sanskrit
B. the Vedas
C. the Puranas
D. the Mahabharata
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Announcements!
• Ancient India Mini-Test on
Wednesday
• Benchmarks (Greece and India):
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Homework
• Complete the review sheet to
help you study for the Mini-Test
on Wednesday!
– There is a front and back.
– Use your notes and foldable to help
you!
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One more contribution…
• More Literature, Arts and
Entertainment during the Gupta
Empire:
• Turn to pages ______and we
can read together!
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Videos
• What the Ancients Knew-India
– Discovery Education
– http://player.discoveryeducation.co
m/index.cfm?guidAssetId=1090899
2-49E3-4C74-813683917206DF2F&blnFromSearch=1
&productcode=US
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