Laurie4b Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 We're taking a break from the 4 year history cycle this year and are doing a survey of world history, spending half our time on modern history of a certain region and half our time on ancient-early modern. We'll be doing India next. We'll watch the movie Ghandi, but I don't have any other resources like living books (either good non-fiction or historical fiction) or other films. Have you come across something that would be suitable for a 7th and 8th grader? Thanks for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 We're taking a break from the 4 year history cycle this year and are doing a survey of world history, spending half our time on modern history of a certain region and half our time on ancient-early modern. We'll be doing India next. We'll watch the movie Ghandi, but I don't have any other resources like living books (either good non-fiction or historical fiction) or other films. Have you come across something that would be suitable for a 7th and 8th grader? Thanks for any help! Set all Afire by Louis de Wohl covers the life of St. Francis Xavier as he travels through Asia (India, Malaysia, Japan, to China) Obviously any biography on Mother Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 We're taking a break from the 4 year history cycle this year and are doing a survey of world history, spending half our time on modern history of a certain region and half our time on ancient-early modern. We'll be doing India next. We'll watch the movie Ghandi, but I don't have any other resources like living books (either good non-fiction or historical fiction) or other films. Have you come across something that would be suitable for a 7th and 8th grader? Thanks for any help! India: The People India: The Culture The Broken Tusk: Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha The Little Book of Hindu Deities The Jungle Book -Kipling Amy Carmichael is another religious figure to study alongside India. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 We're taking a break from the 4 year history cycle this year and are doing a survey of world history, spending half our time on modern history of a certain region and half our time on ancient-early modern. We'll be doing India next. We'll watch the movie Ghandi, but I don't have any other resources like living books (either good non-fiction or historical fiction) or other films. Have you come across something that would be suitable for a 7th and 8th grader? There's a wonderful 6-part documentary series called The Story of India which covers Indian history from Ancient to Modern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 (edited) We did the same wonderful break from history with the same ages -- doing a comparative religions/world cultures/world geography of Eastern Hemisphere nations as our "break" from history. Alas, India was the country I struggled the most with to find works that were not British-based (Colonial India); were Christian missionary biographies (which was important for us as a Christian family, but it is viewing the country through very western eyes); or were appropriate for the ages. We made sure we covered Pakistan and Bangeldesh while covering India, as they are the nations on the northern corners of India to the west and east (respectively), and only became nations separate from India after WW2, so they were both part of India's long history until then. I did think "Inside Hinduism" was quite helpful and grade appropriate. It is non-fiction, with end of chapter questions, geared for grades 5-8. We had 2 boys, so the girl-heavy "Royal Diaries: Jahanara, Princess of Princesses (Lasky), and "Shiva's Fire" (Staples) were not really options for historical fiction -- plus, I felt VERY uncomfortable using such works, which are not exactly entirely truthful, as they skip the very ugly side for young girls at Hindu temples of the past. (Amy Carmichael's ministry in India in the 1800s often helped these girls escape the slavery, beatings, and sexual abuse that occurred at the Hindu temples.) Finally, I compromised and used a mix of Colonial India works; books of myths/legends/folktales; several picture books on Buddha (who was Indian), Krishna and other religious stories; a really interesting non-fiction work on the tigers in NE India/SW Bangeldesh; and some of the works used in the Sonlight 5 core. The majority of these works were at a gr. 4-5 reading level. I will say that the Bobby Kalman books on India used in the Sonlight 5 core, while written at a gr. 4-5 level, have *wonderful* photos, which get across so much of the color and culture without words. Here are books we used, or considered using: "COLONIAL INDIA" - "Rikki Tikki Tavi"; The Jungle Book; Just-So Stories (Kipling) MYTH/FOLKTALE/RELIGIOUS TALES - Jataka Tales of India (Babbitt) - The Gifts of Wali Dad: A Tale of India and Pakistan (Shephard) - The Elephant Prince: A Story of Ganesh (Novesky) - The Adventures of Young Krishna: The Blue God of India (Clayton) - Rama and Sita: A Tale of Ancient Java (Weitzman) NON FICTION - Inside Hinduism (Milliken Publishing Company) - What You Will See Inside a Hindu Temple (Jani) - What Makes Me a Hindu (George) - The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans (Montgomery) - India: The People (Kalman) -- SL5 - India: The Culture (Kalman) -- SL5 - Teresa of Calcutta -- SL5 - Gandhi (Bains) -- SL5 One last thing we enjoyed was the movie "Bride and Prejudice", which is set in modern-day Ameritsa in the north of India (heavily populated by Sikhs, and site of the Golden Temple). It is a musical/"Bollywood" version of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"; the colors, costumes, singing and dancing are quite a treat. There is a subtle portrayal of Westerners and one of the Indian daughters as having loose morals, but nothing too overt, as it is a PG movie. BEST of luck in your trek through India! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited September 25, 2010 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 There's a wonderful 6-part documentary series called The Story of India which covers Indian history from Ancient to Modern. This series also has a website (google it) that has teacher resources, etc. I had planned on having my children watch it but it was a little too old for them. Probably perfect for the Junior High crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 We are presently reading "Where soldiers Lie" by John Wilson. It is a novel set at the time of the Sepoy Mutiny (colonial India). We would love to find a copy of Mangal Pandey: The Rising about the same period of time, but all we can find on You Tube is a copy in Hindi, no subtitles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Thanks for a great list! I don't have girls either, so a boy-oriented reading list works for us. You reminded me of many wonderful books on our own shelves! My 3rd grade teacher read Rikki Tiki Tavi to us and I remembered it years later and bought it for one of my sons as a bday present. :) And we have the Jungle Book and some missionary biographies. Thanks for the new books to explore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Set all Afire by Louis de Wohl covers the life of St. Francis Xavier as he travels through Asia (India, Malaysia, Japan, to China) Obviously any biography on Mother Theresa Mother Theresa , of course! Why isn't there a hitting yourself in the forehead emoticon? Thanks for the tip on the Xavier book as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 We are presently reading "Where soldiers Lie" by John Wilson. It is a novel set at the time of the Sepoy Mutiny (colonial India). We would love to find a copy of Mangal Pandey: The Rising about the same period of time, but all we can find on You Tube is a copy in Hindi, no subtitles. Is the novel written from a British or Indian pov? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 There's a wonderful 6-part documentary series called The Story of India which covers Indian history from Ancient to Modern. Oh goody! It's now in my Netflix queue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Sonlight is sponsoring a 5 week program called "My Passport to India" to help support a mission in India. It looks pretty interesting and you don't have to be a Sonlight user to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 There's a wonderful 6-part documentary series called The Story of India which covers Indian history from Ancient to Modern. I loved this. Did you see this thread? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 This series also has a website (google it) that has teacher resources, etc. I had planned on having my children watch it but it was a little too old for them. Probably perfect for the Junior High crowd. Thanks. It looks like the site will be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Sonlight is sponsoring a 5 week program called "My Passport to India" to help support a mission in India. It looks pretty interesting and you don't have to be a Sonlight user to participate. Well, that's handy! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 I liked the book Kim by Rudyard Kipling. It is a coming-of-age story of a white-boy-gone-native, but offers glimpses of life in colonial India. BTW if you can learn to write Ghandi as Gandhi, that will be a lesson in itself :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 I loved this. Did you see this thread? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191248 Thanks. Great thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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