NOVICE: EARLY ELEMENTARY
Novice learners (Grade 1 and 2) will take virtual trips to India to see animals, birds, in different regions of India in their natural habitats. As they make virtual trip to India in the East, West, North and the Southern regions students will first get to know their classmates and find out which animals they like and don’t like. They will talk about the pets they have. They will describe their favorite animals and be able to say where they live, how they move, and what they eat. They will learn to describe unique animals living in Indian forests, such as, tigers in Jim Corbett Park and rhinos of Kaziranga National forest. They will be able to say what animals need to survive and thrive. At the end of the program, they will share what they have learned about animals with their parents. Using maps of India and visuals students will learn geographical features, such as, weather, rivers, forests and mountains of selected locations in all the four regions of India. They will participate in dramatic presentations related with animals and birds. At the end of the program, they will share what they have learned about animals with their parents. By end of the units Novice level learners will be able to recognize, read and write topic based characters, words, phrases and sentences in appropriate cultural contexts. They will visit a local community cultural center, where Hindi is spoken, to interact with native speakers and participate in real life social and cultural activities, such as, volunteering at community kitchen.
NOVICE HIGH: GR. 3-8
This curriculum is addressing the second and third groups of third to eighth graders, who have higher speaking skills but lower literacy skills in Hindi. Students will travel virtually in India and will explore local wether, geography, places, people and animals in the wild or where people live. 'My virtual trip to India' is divided into sub-themes of East, West, North and the Southern regions. First, students will make preparations and will pack their backpacks with items they would take along their trip to a region they have chosen. They will also practice greetings so that they can address people that they meet at fairs using appropriate register, titles, courtesy expressions, and gestures. They will learn about typical local animals, brought to the fairs or living in the wild in the specific region. Students will describe where these animals live, how they move, what they eat, and what they need to survive and thrive. At the end of the program, they will share what they have learned about animals from the four regions with their parents. They will visit a local community cultural center, where Hindi is spoken, to interact with native speakers and participate in real life activities, such as, volunteering at community kitchen.
INTERMEDIATE RANGE
This curriculum is addressing the fourth groups of students, mostly returning students, many of whom are fluent in speaking Hindi but eager to work in group to improve their reading and writing skills. They will plan a trip to India under the overarching theme, 'My virtual trip to India', divided into sub-themes of East, West, North and the Southern regions of India. Working in groups they will select a location, explore and research its geographical features, cultural products and practices and share the information to choose a purpose, such as, helping the local community solving their problem. They watch videos, identify problems about conflict between wild animals and villagers, investigate local situations and argue for the best solution to help both villagers and animals. Based on their information they make presentation about how the local population may co-exist with wild animals. They will share information with others in meaningful ways using topic related connected sentences and visuals. By end of the program they share personal stories about how those trips expanded their horizons and why it was a valuable experience. They will visit a local community cultural center, where Hindi is spoken, to interact with native speakers and participate in real life activities, such as, volunteering at community kitchen.