The Ancient East: India & China
Essential Question
What great ideas and inventions arose in the civilizations of Asia?
This week the story leaves the Near East to explore the great civilizations of Asia. We meet the mysterious cities of the Indus Valley, the religious world of Vedic India and the rise of Buddhism, and the long, unified story of China from the Shang dynasty to the Han, with its sage Confucius, its Great Wall, and the beginnings of the Silk Road. We treat other religions accurately and respectfully, from a Catholic vantage point, and meet St. Thomas the Apostle, traditionally the first to carry the Gospel to India. The catechism turns to the central mystery of the one God in three Persons.
Liturgical note: Ordinary Time. The feast of St. Thomas the Apostle is July 3 (traditionally December 21 in the older calendar).
Threads at a Glance
What Each Thread Covers This Week
The Indus Valley; Vedic India, Hinduism and the rise of Buddhism; ancient China — Shang to Han dynasties, Confucius, the Great Wall, the Silk Road's beginnings
Catholic colonial America: Spanish missions and New France
Confucius
Asia — India and China; draw the subcontinent, the Himalayas, the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, the Silk Road
Early Chinese and Indian art — the terracotta army, ritual bronzes, early Buddhist sculpture
Music of ancient China and India — the guqin, the pentatonic scale, the idea of the raga
St. Thomas the Apostle (traditional evangelizer of India)
Temperance
YOUCAT — Who is God? The Holy Trinity, one God in three Persons (Q19-Q39, selected)
Verbs II — helping verbs, verb phrases, active vs. passive voice
Compare and contrast paragraph (two ancient civilizations)
Weekly Writing Assignment
Two Ancient Worlds — A Compare-and-Contrast Paragraph
Write one well-organized compare-and-contrast paragraph examining two ancient civilizations you have studied (for example, ancient China and ancient Egypt, or India and Mesopotamia). Choose two or three points of comparison (such as geography, government, writing, or religion) and discuss the same points for both civilizations. Use signal words (both, similarly, in contrast, whereas, unlike) to guide the reader, and open with a topic sentence that names your two civilizations and your main idea.
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- Opens with a topic sentence naming the two civilizations and a clear main idea.
- Compares the same two or three points for both civilizations (not random facts).
- Uses compare/contrast signal words correctly (both, similarly, whereas, unlike, in contrast).
- Details are accurate and specific to each civilization.
- Sentences are complete and correctly punctuated; the paragraph is unified and indented.
The Week
Four Days of Learning
- St. Thomas the Apostle — Apostle to India10m
- Ancient India and China — From the Indus to the Han30m
- YOUCAT — Who Is God? The Holy Trinity15m
- Notebook Wrap — Foundations5m
- Temperance — Mastering Our Desires10m
- Spanish & French North America: The Catholic Frontier20m
- Early Asian Art — The Terracotta Army, Ritual Bronzes, and Buddhist Sculpture25m
- Notebook Wrap — Culture Day5m
- Catechism Review & Prayer5m
- Verbs II — Helping Verbs, Verb Phrases, and Active vs. Passive Voice20m
- Asia — Drawing India, China, the Himalayas, and the Silk Road30m
- Notebook Wrap — Skills Day5m
- Confucius — The Teacher Who Shaped a Civilization15m
- Music of Ancient China and India — The Guqin, the Pentatonic Scale, and the Raga20m
- Writing Workshop — Compare and Contrast (Two Civilizations)20m
- St. Thomas — Reflection & Week Synthesis5m