Background: Hinduism Vocabulary & Concepts:

Gods: Brahman and his aspects: Brahma-the-Creator, Vishnu-the-Preserver, Shiva-the-Destroyer. Others are “Devas” including Ganesh, Lakshmi.

Important figures: Krishna and Rama (both avatars of Vishnu) Sita, Ravana. Asuras are evil beings and rakshasas are demons.

Beliefs: ahimsa, Aum, karma, avatar, incarnation, vedas, samsara, reincarnation, dharma, caste, moksha

Holidays: Divali, Holi

Holy Places: Ganges River, Temples and Shrines for Worship Sacred Texts: The Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata (an epic story), Upanishads (sacred teachings)

Symbols to notice in depictions of gods: Gods are often shown with multiple heads or arms to express their power or their many facets. Vishnu often carries a conch shell, scepter, and rides his vehicle which is the Garuda bird.Shiva is often shown with blue skin; other gods might also be shown with blue skin. Shiva may be shown with many arms, third eye, cobra around neck and in a ring of fire. Evil Ravana will have 9 heads and fangs, Hanuman has a monkey face. Rama has bow and arrow.

Possible Questions to explore:

If you look up a listing the “avatars of Vishnu,” how does it provide a more vivid understanding of the sorts of stories that are in Hindu mythology?
How might a belief in ahimsa affect how Hindus behave on a daily basis and conduct their daily activities like eating, work, etc.?
The Ramayana tells an epic story of Rama’s quest to find his wife who has been kidnapped and held in captivity by an evil demon (Ravana.) During that quest, Rama displays certain qualities that make him a “model’ for all men. Sita, his wife, is often held up as an ideal wife/woman. What qualities did each possess and how were they demonstrated in the epic? How might this tale uphold the values and traditions in society and are they all “good” in modern terms?
People have claimed that the teachings of Hinduism enable its followers to tolerate other religions relatively easily… and that might explain how other religions were able to develop in India alongside Hinduism. Can you build an argument with evidence to support that point of view? You might wish to explore the spread of these religions in India: Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism.
Using at least 5-10 of the above vocabulary terms meaningfully, explain what one would expect to see in the behavior of a person who is trying to live the life of a “good, model Hindu” who demonstrates a commitment to Hindu values and is on the way to achieving moksha.

Self-Guided Project, 2017:

Student Instructions: Develop a QUESTION about Hinduism as well as a PRODUCT that answers that question. Project due Thurs. May 3 by beginning of class. Since we want to guide you in the development of this assignment that you are designing for yourself, please get approval for your project proposal ASAP, but by the end of class Monday, May 1. Completing your research and project will focus several days of class time and homework time.

Requirements:

1) Anne and Maggie want to make sure you have our feedback on your inquiry project before you leave class on Monday. Question should not be too broad but also not too tiny. This is a short assignment so make use of the chance to ask for help from teachers to craft your question and product design so that it’s a reasonable challenge for the time and skills you have. Submit your project proposal here for feedback. (Google Aps Login Required.)

2) Your PRODUCT must demonstrate thoughtful use of at least 7-10 vocabulary terms (listed on the Research Guide) in a way that forms an EXPLANATION that answers your research question.

3) You are expected to give yourself experience with the curated sources in the InfoBase database, the Gale World History in Context database, or the library where we have opportunities to interact with published books. It is advised that you not use the wide open internet, because we want you gaining those important skills and we want you to work with quality, educational resources.

4) You will include a bibliography that lists at least 3 citations of sources with which you interacted on a properly formatted bibliography as discussed at https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/library-home/research/bibliography-how-to-in-mla/ . Yes, you may use NoodleTools to compile it more easily and properly. (The InfoBase World Religions database has “cut and paste” citations, but you will need to present them alphabetized and indented correctly in your bibliography.) Maggie’s online bibliography of the books used at stations is being built, too, but only includes the books that students have requested that she add. Are your books there?

5) One of the sources you must place in your bibliography is on the following link, so make good use of it. You are not required to view every minute of all the videos housed on that page, but you might find the links on the right side of that screen very helpful, so don’t miss them. Your welcome! https://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/22?articleId=415286

6) Visit at least 2 appropriate classroom stations to help your learning.

Options: work on your own OR with maximum 1 partner. During your class time in the library, visit at least 2 learning stations that connect to your inquiry. You are free to use NoodleTools to build your citations or bibliography. Copy and paste the MLA citations offered by the databases for fast work!

PRODUCT ideas for demonstrating the answers you learn. Feel free to propose a different product:

a Powerpoint presentation that you’ll give to the class (last slide must record your bibliography; all images used must be documented with a citation in your bibliography.)
a skit, 5-minute lecture or debate that you’ll present to the class
an outline of a very short report (can create on “sources” screen in NoodleTools and then export it as a Google Doc)
a Quizlet
a short video that you’ll present to the class (last screen must record your bibliography)
a piece of creative writing
a book review (of a Hindu Myth) that indicates what the myth seems to be teaching as a “lesson”
a movie review (of a video from the Infobase database)
a simplification of a short section of sacred text from Hinduism (accessed from InfoBase database)
a script of an interview with an expert (fact-based creative writing)
a diagram, poster or layered Powerpoint as a visual display to explain something. Present to the class.
a diary entry of a person of faith
a “breaking news” segment that reports on religious harmony, conflict, holiday celebration. This can be a “news” piece from history or from the present
a “traveler’s scrapbook” made in Powerpoint that displays images and a traveler’s reactions to touring a Hindu “place”
a learner’s JOURNAL. Describe your ‘wander’ through resources and journal about the questions you are exploring and the answers and vocabulary that you are learning. Each day’s research should get its own multi-part journal entry (10-20 sentences) listing citations for sources and describing what they told you. Highlight in BOLD the vocabulary you learn along the way.

Challenges: The Hinduism books cannot be taken from the library, so you need to make use of class time to explore them. (Feel free to take photos of images in those books, though; they are awesome.)

Support: Operating the videos from within articles sometimes doesn’t function perfectly. It is better to use the “videos” link on the right side of the Infobase HOME PAGE. From there, look on right side menu and click open the “Hinduism” videos.
During your two days in the library, you will find these stations with resources available to support your exploration of Hinduism. Make sure you visit a minimum of 2 stations and sign your name when you have completed the work there:

Station 1: Basic Beliefs of Hinduism. Discuss with a partner: is Hinduism monotheistic or polytheistic? Include in your discussion these terms: Brahman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Aum. You may make use of this article to debate your answer with evidence. https://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/22?articleId=415286

Also, since they are important concepts that guide people’s values and beliefs, discuss how dharma might relate to a) karma b) the caste system. These concepts are further explored at Stations 2 and 7.

Station 2: Continue to discuss the basic beliefs of Hinduism by examining the sections marked in these books. They help you to understand that in this religion (older than 4000 years) has evolved across the ages to have new stories added, emphasize different actions and philosophical stances. Across so much development, Hindus have separated and evolved to follow different traditions.

Station 3: The holy scriptures use poems, stories, and philosophical teachings to encourage a certain kind of peaceful living and performing one’s duty (dharma) including their social duty to others who might be “higher” or “lower” status. Explore some of the sayings derived from the Sacred Texts in these small books. Handle the books carefully please to be kind to the generous person who is loaning them to your class. Also, learn the importance of dharma.

Station 4: Who are some of the gods of Hinduism? Our research guide mentions some of the symbols to look for in how the gods are depicted in art and architecture: Gods are often shown with multiple heads or arms to express their power or their many facets. Vishnu often carries a conch shell, scepter, and rides his vehicle which is the Garuda bird.Shiva is often shown with blue skin; other gods might also be shown with blue skin. Shiva may be shown with many arms, third eye, cobra around neck and in a ring of fire. Evil Ravana will have 9 heads and fangs, Hanuman has a monkey face. Rama has bow and arrow.

Station 5: What is “incarnation?” Who are some of the avatars of Vishnu? Do not leave this station before you can define each of those vocabulary terms. Feel free to use the Infobase article which has a glossary on the right hand side: https://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/22?articleId=415286

Station 6: Visit the very last paragraph of this article from Infobase and discuss what VALUES Hinduism teaches: https://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/22?articleId=415286 Discuss: do these values compare to any other religions that you have studied? Worship and prayer help people make sure they don’t lose track of the lessons and values taught by the religion. Spend time with the valuable information marked in these resources to learn more about the impact of belief on the way people live their lives.

Station 7– TAKE YOUR TIME: MANY students in our class want to know how Hinduism affects people’s daily life: private prayer, prayer in temples called a mandir, habits, marriage, and family values. Take your time with the valuable information marked in these resources to learn more. Don’t miss explanation of the Caste System on p. 10 of the Sue Penney book.

Station 8: Explore a Hindu Myth to get a feel for the stories that teach the values of the religion. Does the artwork in the books represent the gods with any of the symbols introduced in Station 4? Show someone. Take your time to peruse the tagged images in this book. Can you come up with a few descriptive phrases that characterize how the gods are portrayed?

Station 9: Explore another Hindu Myth to get a feel for the stories that teach the values of the religion. Does the artwork in the books represent the gods with any of the symbols introduced in Station 4? Show someone.

Station 10: We are a learning community that depends upon each member of our class to help us achieve our best. Find a partner and explain to him or her what you are proposing as your project and which 7-10 vocabulary terms you plan to present about. Ask your partner for critical feedback– ideas for improvements or for creative, clear expression in your project design.

Station 11: Maggie: Do you wish to use NoodleTools to generate this project’s bibliography? If you need help logging in or changing your password, see Maggie now.

Station 12: Anne: Review how to present a bibliography by accessing the library’s web page links.

Checklist for MLA style bibliography at https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/library-home/research/bibliography-how-to-in-mla/
sample MLA bibliography at https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/library-home/research/sample-mla-bibliography/