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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 10 of 14

Ancient India & China

Dynasties, beliefs and inventions

What your child practices

The Indus Valley and Yellow River, Chinese dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven, Confucius, Hinduism and Buddhism, and inventions such as paper and zero.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 7.12; 7.13 · the Indus Valley and early India, and the dynasties of ancient China

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Early cities grew in the Indus Valley (planned streets and drains) and along China’s Yellow River.
  2. Chinese dynasties ruled by the Mandate of Heaven; Confucius taught respect and duty. Hinduism and Buddhism began in India.
  3. Inventions: paper and silk from China; zero and decimal numbers from India.

Example: Which invention came from ancient China: paper, the alphabet or the wheel? The alphabet came from Southwest Asia, and the wheel from Mesopotamia. Paper was invented in China. Answer: paper

Ancient India & China in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 10 of 14 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Empires of the Americas & Africa and before Greece & Rome.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which wall was built over many centuries to protect northern China?

    • The Western Wall
    • The Berlin Wall
    • Hadrian's Wall
    • The Great Wall

  2. Question 2

    The Gupta Empire is often called a golden age of India because of advances in…

    • Television
    • Car making
    • Space travel
    • Maths, science and art

  3. Question 3

    Emperor Ashoka of India is remembered for…

    • Writing the Twelve Tables
    • Inventing paper
    • Building the Great Wall
    • Turning to Buddhism and nonviolence after a bloody war

  4. Question 4

    The Mandate of Heaven was the Chinese idea that…

    • Only farmers could rule
    • Rulers were elected
    • Heaven gave a ruler the right to rule, and could take it away from a bad ruler
    • The emperor could never lose power

  5. Question 5

    Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are famous for…

    • Roman roads
    • Great walls
    • Pyramids
    • Planned streets and drains

  6. Question 6

    How did geography isolate ancient China?

    • It was in Europe
    • It was an island
    • Mountains, deserts and oceans made travel hard
    • It had no rivers

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