This Unit is designed to include a series of lessons introducing students to the geography and culture of the Indo-Gangetic rive basin. This unit is designed for students in a ninth grade world geography class and is aligned with the Connecticut Social Studies Curriculum Frameworks.
Lesson 1 Introduction to the Indo-Gangetic Plain
CT State Standards:
Content Standard 1: formulate historical questions and hypotheses from multiple perspectives, using multiple sources.
Content Standard 2: locate the events, peoples and places they have studied in time and place ( e.g., on a time line and map) relative to their own location.
Content Standard 9: all
Objectives: Students will be able to locate Indo-Gangetic Rive Plain on a map and will be able to locate the country of India on a globe. In addition students will be able to locate both the Indus and Ganges rivers and identify through which countries they flow.
Time: One 45 minute lesson
Materials: Globe and world map, political and geographical maps of India and the Indian subcontinent. Computers and projector to show students power point presentation and websites about India. Mapmaker’s Toolkit by Tom Snyder software. Blank maps of India.
Directions: Students will be given a background presentation on the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This presentation will include information on the location of the rivers and the major urban centers on the region. They will be shown the PowerPoint presentation and presented with maps of the region. Students will break into groups and complete blank maps of India in which they will draw the Indus, the Ganges, and the major cities of the region.
Assessment: Students will be assessed on the accuracy of their maps.
Homework: Students will contribute to the class’s knowledge base by finding one website on India and writing a brief review for the class.
Lesson 2 History of the Region
CT State Standards
Content Standard 3: demonstrate an under-standing of the ways that cultural encounters and the interaction of people of different cultures in pre-modern as well as modern times have shaped new identities and ways of life.
Content Standard 4: display empathy for people who have lived in the past.
Objectives: Students will be able identify the major political powers that have dominated this region.
Time: Two 45 minute lessons.
Materials: Each group will need access to a computer with internet access and a word processor.
Directions: Students will be introduced to the major empires and states that dominated the region including both the ancient and modern powers. Students will break into groups of three or four and choose a political entity to study. They will prepare a brief report stating the time period that the political power ruled the region, its capital, the extent of its territory, and how the river basin influenced its society. The groups will then take turns presenting their findings to the rest of the class.
Assessment: Instructor will assess the reports of the students and their oral presentations.
Lesson 3 Importance of the rivers to the people of the region
CT State Standards
CT Standard 11: describe the consequences of human population patterns and growth trends over time.
CT Standard 12: locate at least 50 major countries and physical features on a map or globe.
CT Standard 13: compare the resources used by various cultures, countries and/or regions throughout the world.
Objectives: Students will be able to explain how the river has helped develop cultural and religious aspects of the people in the region. Students will be able to name the major religions of the region. Students will be able to locate major urban areas on a map.
Time: One 45 minute lesson.
Materials: Individual computers for students to use.
Directions: Students will learn about population density of the region and how the fertile land has helped make the regions one of the most highly populous in the world. Students will be shown a map of the region with the major urban areas highlighted. Concepts of crop rotation and how the alluvial deposits of the river helped create a highly fertile farming region. Finally the reverence of the Ganges River in the Hindu river will be explained.
Homework: Students will have to complete a map showing the major urban areas and the population density of the region.
Lesson 4 Ecology of the Region
CT State Standards
CT Standard 12: analyze how human systems interact, connect and cause changes in physical systems; apply concepts of ecosystems to understand and solve environmental problems.
CT Standard 13: compare the resources used by various cultures, countries and/or regions throughout the world; define, defend and predict how the use of specific resources may impact the future.
Objectives: Students will be able to identify the impact that human development has had on the ecology of the Indus-Gangetic river basin, in addition students will be able to expound on at least one impact in greater detail.
Time: One 45 minute lesson
Materials: Computer and projector, Mapmaker software.
Directions: Students will study the effects of human growth have had on the rivers and the environment of the surrounding areas. Specific attention should be paid to pollution, possible water shortages, and populations of animals native to the region particularly the Ganges and Indus river dolphins. Students will be shown pictures and data on the topics from various websites.
Homework: Students will each pick one area to investigate further and prepare a short essay detailing how human involvement has impacted it.
Assessment: Instructor will use homework to assess students understanding of the lesson.
Websites to be used during the Unit Plan:
http://www.waterandfood.org/basins/indo-gangetic-river-basin.html
http://www.animalinfo.org/species/cetacean/platmino.htm
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/OFORIAA/http://www.ecoworld.com/home/articles2.cfm?tid=363
http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/Ganges.
http://www.mapsofindia.com/census2001/populationdensity.htm
http://www.sanatansociety.org/indian_epics_and_stories/the_life_of_ganga.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Gangetic_Plain
http://www.photius.com/countries/india/geography/india_geography_indo_gangetic_plain.html
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/eco/igp.htm
http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthIndia/Indo-GangeticPlain.htm
Software Package to be used
Tom Snyder's Productions, Mapmakers Toolkit
http://www.tomsnyder.com/products/product.asp?SKU=MTKMTK&Subject=SocialStudies
