I hadn't been able to get to the library before starting this chapter, so I didn't supplement with any books, only videos. But really, the main supplement this section needed was a map, which the Activity Book provided. And since this section has SO MANY questions, my child actually did fine with it even without more visuals or other supplements, and when we were finished he was interested to learn more about India.
Now, you should know that the Indus River, and the Indus Valley civilization are actually in Pakistan, not India. It USED to be part of India but now it's not. So, if you're looking to study the modern countries where these ancient places are located, that's where you'll want to look.
Paragraph 1
I had my son point to all the rivers mentioned on a world map...he's getting pretty good at spotting them.
Paragraph 2 - 6
For these paragraphs I used the map for this chapter from the activity pages (which lacks the city of Ur and Assur that are in the smaller version in the main book, so I added those). When the imaginary trader from Ur in the book asked "How will you get from Ur to Assyria?" (p 3), I had my son draw a line from Ur to Assur. When it asked "Can you think of another way to get from Ur to Assur?" my son's first thought wasn't routs, but vehicles...he suggested camels because their feet spread out and wouldn't sink in the sand (thank you Wildcrats for that...LOL). I told him that was a great idea and many ancient traders did use camels because of that....but in this case there was an EVEN easier way they could go. I pointed that both Ur and Assur were next to rivers, and traced out the route the book suggested the trader could take by water.
Paragraphs 7 - 8
While I read these paragraphs, I showed my son this aerial video of the Indus River. The video is just aerial video and middle eastern instrumental music...and I sort of felt like one of those documentary narrators with the video and music playing in the background as I read (I have to admit, that is a fun way to read this...I might look for more instrumental photography videos to read with with future texts).
I interrupted the text only to point out the Indus river in the video, and ask "Can you see why they call it The Indus Valley? Look at the mountains around it!"
Paragraph 9 - 10
I switched to a different video for this section...one showing a boat with lateen sails navigating the Arabian sea. I told my son that this was a ship that might have been like what they had back then...but I should have done my research, because those sails, while they did originate in the near east (possibly Persia or Arabia), were not used until much later. If I were doing it again, I might use this video in stead (with the sound turned down).
Videos
Aerial View of Indus (Video We Used)
Arabian Sea - Lateen Sails (Video We Used - Not Period)
Arabian Sea (suggested)
Indus River From Space
- Has narration about the area.
Roadtrip by Indus River (by Wild India)
-This video is taken from a car while driving (but is still very smooth...not shakey video)..only a short amount shows the Indus river before the road then goes inland...but it also shows mud brick houses (still in use TODAY in this area), which might be interesting. There are no words, just techo music in the background.
More Indus River Videos from Wild India
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