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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 11

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.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.7.2.18.2; SS.7.3.21.1 · ancient India and China and the beliefs that began there

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 Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 6 of 11 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Mesopotamia & Egypt 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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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 religion began in India and teaches about many gods and goddesses, karma and rebirth?

    • Christianity
    • Judaism
    • Islam
    • Hinduism

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    Buddhism was founded in India by…

    • Confucius
    • Ashoka's grandfather
    • Moses
    • Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha

  4. Question 4

    Emperor Ashoka of India is remembered for…

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

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

    Why did Harappan cities fade around 1900 BCE? Historians think…

    • Changes in rivers and climate may have played a part
    • They moved to Europe
    • Nobody ever lived there
    • Rome conquered them

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