Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Ashoka: India's Philosopher King

Teacher guide prepared by: our staff.
Note:   UCLA's National Center for History in the Schools has published a unit of study for grades 7 and up: Emperor Ashoka of India: What Makes a Ruler Legitimate? It contains an overview, five lessons, and reproducible handouts. This is available from Cobblestone Publishing (ISBN 0382444671, $11.50), and can also be purchased as a kit with the CALLIOPE^® issue (ISBN 0382445600, $16.00).

If you subscribe to CALLIOPE^®, you may want to have the following issues available for reference: Hinduism, Buddhism, Alexander the Great, Shi-Huangdi, and Charlemagne. Also, encourage students to look up the related sites listed on page 48.

The Mauryan Empire lasted from 323 - 185 B.C.E. Ask students to elaborate on the time line on page 4 by filling in what was happening during this period in other parts of the world (e.g. China, Egypt, Europe).

Use the article on pages 26 and 27 for a brief overview of Hinduism and Buddhism, and encourage students to refer to the two above-mentioned back issues for more information.

As students read through the issue, ask them to make a list of what they like (achievements) and one of what they dislike about Ashoka. Using back issues of CALLIOPE^®, students can compare Ashoka's achievements with those of Alexander the Great, Shi-Huangdi, and Charlemagne.

Ask students to compare Ashoka's dhamma (a concept close to dharma, which means "that which supports or upholds the universe") with Buddha's teachings. (see page 16 of the Buddhism issue for the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path). Have students write a short essay on how they practice dhamma.

Activity / Art:   Encourage students to make their own edicts.

Have students research, draw, and compare other structures besides Stupas (pages 28-32) that incorporate a dome shape.

Language Arts:   After reading the tale from the Panchatantra on pages 44-47, ask students to compare the style with that of Aesop's fables.

Past and Present:   Review with the class the Arthasastra strategies for dealing with neighboring kingdoms (page 7). Then have students discuss in which way dealings between countries have / have not changed. Ask them to give specific examples. You might have some newspapers and magazines available.

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Updated: 11/20/09 11:45 pm
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