Indian History Activities

Caste System Role Play

Each student is assigned a level of the Indian caste system to research.

* Technology Extension: Students will gather information concerning their caste’s religious duties, daily activities, and interaction with other castes.

Once the information is gathered, students will get together in groups with the other students who were assigned the same group and create a play based on their research to introduce their caste to the other students in the class.

* Each group should have between 3 and 5 students.
* All members of the group must participate in the skit in some way.
The groups will brainstorm various ways to demonstrate what life was like for those in their assigned caste and choose the idea that they like best.
* Students will then write a short script of what they plan to do and say.
* Skits should last between 2-5 minutes and may include props, scenery, and/or music.

Standard GS-1.4 Explain the impact of religion in classical Indian civilization, including Hinduism and the effects of its beliefs and practices on daily life, changes that occurred as a result of Buddhist teachings, and the influence of religion on culture and politics.

Students are expected to understand the basic beliefs of the two major world religions that emerged in ancient India, Hinduism and Buddhism. They also must apply this knowledge of the basic beliefs to describe the impact they had on culture, politics, and daily life. I decided to introduce the two religions through a song that outlines the basic similarities and differences between the two faiths. It is set to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” since most students are familiar with it. The words are as follows:

India has 2 religions
Hinduism and Buddhism
Both believe in karma, dharma,
ahimsa, and reincarnation

Hinduism is the oldest one
with thousands of gods but no founder
3 of the most important are
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

Unlike Hinduism,
Buddhism rejects the caste system
They offer hope to all who
want to achieve nirvana

India has 2 religions
Hinduism and Buddhism
Both believe in karma, dharma,
ahimsa, and reincarnation

Students then take the information from the song and learn what each key term means and how they relate to the major beliefs and characteristics of that religion. Once they have learned the meanings of all the lyrics they then organize their information into a Venn diagram. Students will eventually use this information to write a formal essay comparing and contrasting the two religions.

Standard GS-1.4 Explain the impact of religion in classical Indian civilization, including Hinduism and the effects of its beliefs and practices on daily life, changes that occurred as a result of Buddhist teachings, and the influence of religion on culture and politics.

Once students have learned the basics for Hinduism and Buddhism they will be asked to review the information they have learned through poetry. Students will take the letters that spell the two religions and write them down the left side of a piece of paper to create a framework for an acrostic poem. Students will write phrases or sentences about that religion beginning with each letter that spells out the word. The following is a compilation of some of the statements that my students came up with for Hinduism:

H indus believe in reincarnation
I ndia is where Hinduism was born
N on-violence is called ahimsa
D harma is the divine law
U nion through yoga
I ndividual souls are reborn in different forms after death
S hiva, Brahma, and Vishnu are three major gods
M oksha is escape from the cycle of rebirth


B uddha is the Enlightened One
U nderstanding suffering in the Four Noble Truths
D harma is not connected to the caste system
D o not believe in violence
H ope of Nirvana for all
I ndia is where Buddhsm began
S acred text called Tripitaka
M iddle Way or Eightfold Path