Why Early Asian Civilizations are Important:

This domain will introduce students to the continent of Asia and its two most populous countries, India and China. Students will learn about the early civilizations in India and China and how they were both able to form because of mighty rivers. Students will once again hear about the important features of early civilizations, to which they were introduced in the Grade 1 Early World Civilizations domain. These features include the advent of farming, establishment of cities and government, and other practices such as writing and religion.

Students will first learn about early India and will be introduced to the basics of Hinduism and Buddhism—two religions from this area—as major forces shaping early Indian civilization. They will also hear two works of fiction originally from India: “The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal” and “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” Then, students will learn about early Chinese civilization and the many contributions made by the early Chinese, including paper, silk, and the Great Wall of China.

The content in this domain is reinforced through the informational/explanatory writing genre.

This domain will lay the foundation for further study of Asia in later grades and will help students better understand world history in later years.