THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM IN EAST ASIA

RATIONALE: The purpose for the creation of this mini unit is to teach students about the spread of Buddhism across the region of East Asia. In my classroom students will learn about Buddhism during our South Asia unit so this series of lessons will focus more on the spread of Buddhism to China, Japan, and Korea and how it took shape in these countries.

LESSON 1: Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana Schools of Buddhism

GUIDING QUESTION: Why are different schools of Buddhism created as Buddhism grows and spreads out of India?

OBJECTIVE(S): Note: The objectives used are from the Massachusetts seventh grade history frameworks.

Content: Trace the spread of Buddhism from India in the 4th century BCE to China, Korea, and Japan

Practice: Organize information from multiple sources.

Literacy: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. 

LESSON SEQUENCE: 

Do Now: Buddhism Review - Ask students to think back to South Asia and remember some of the main things about Buddhism. Brainstorm student ideas on board.

Ask these questions to steer discussion

• Who was the Buddha?

• What are the three noble truths?

• What are the four noble truths?

• What is the eightfold path

Centers Activity: Set up three stations in your classroom and split your students into three groups. Assign a school of Buddhism to each station. Hand out graphic organizers to students. Have students travel from station to station filling in their graphic organizers as they go.

Review Graphic Organizers: As a class review the graphic organizers, helping students fill in any information they missed.

Writing Activity: Have students compare and contrast the three schools of Buddhism.

Exit Ticket: Ask students to explain why they believe different schools of Buddhism were created.

ASSESSMENT: To assess student learning you could use the graphic organizers and writing samples they produce to see if they understand the differences in the schools of 

MATERIALS:

• Information on different schools of Buddhism (The information in this document was taken from tricycle.org, a website on Buddhism)

• Graphic organizer (I created this graphic organizer)

LESSON 2: MAPPING THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM THROUGH EAST ASIA

GUIDING QUESTION: Why did Buddhism spread so quickly in East Asia?

OBJECTIVE(S): Note: The objectives used are from the Massachusetts seventh grade history frameworks.

Content: Trace the spread of Buddhism from India in the 4th century BCE to China, Korea, and Japan

Practice: Argue and explain conclusions using valid reasoning and evidence.

Literacy: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, quoting or paraphrasing as appropriate. 

LESSON SEQUENCE:

Do Now: Ask students to think-pair-share the question “What about Buddhism contributed to its quick spread and adoption throughout East asia?” Once students have had time to talk to their peers, have students share out answers in a whole class discussion. 

Map Analysis: Have students work in pairs to complete the Map Analysis activity of how Buddhism spread through East Asia.

Document Analysis: Have students read and answer the questions that accompany the document about the spread of Buddhism. Once students are done, discuss the questions as a class.

Exit Ticket: Have students write an argument to answer the question “Why did Buddhism spread so quickly in East Asia?” Make sure students cite specific evidence from the reading to support their claim.

ASSESSMENT: To assess student learning you can use the map activity, document analysis, and argument writing sample to understand what your students learned during this class period.

MATERIALS:

• Map Activity (The map used in this activity was created by Gunawa Kartapranata, I created the questions in this activity.)

• Spread of Buddhism Reading (Reading was taken and edited from studybuddhism.com)

LESSON 3: INFLUENCE OF BUDDHISM IN EAST ASIA

GUIDING QUESTION: How did Buddhism take shape in different parts of East Asia?

OBJECTIVE(S): Note: The objectives used are from the Massachusetts seventh grade history frameworks.

Content: Trace the spread of Buddhism from India in the 4th century BCE to China, Korea, and Japan

Practice: Develop focused questions or problem statements and conduct inquiries. 

Literacy: (1) Present  findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence and well-chosen details. (2) Integrate multimedia components and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest

LESSON SEQUENCE:

Do Now: Ask students to answer in writing the question “Why do you think religion takes different forms in different regions as it spreads?” When students are done, discuss students' answers as a class. 

Main Class Activity: Inform students that today they will be teamed up with some of their peers to investigate how Buddhism took shape in different places in East Asia. Split your class up into three groups and assign each group a country from East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea). Once students are in their groups you can inform them that their task is to create a presentation (Google slides, powerpoint, Prezi, ETC.) that explains how Buddhism took shape in their assigned country. Give them access to the document that has resources for each country. Let them know they have about thirty minutes to complete the brief presentation which they will then share with the class once the time is up. 

Questions students need to answer in their presentations…

• When and How did Buddhism reach their country?

• Why was Buddhism so appealing to the people of their assigned country?

• How did Buddhism take shape in their assigned country?

• How powerful did Buddhism become in their country?

• Is Buddhism still an important aspect of their assigned country’s culture today?

Exit Ticket: Ask students to explain inwriting if their minds have been changed since completing the do now. In essence, have them contemplate the answer they gave at the beginning of class to the question  “Why do you think religion takes different forms in different regions as it spreads?” Have them explain why they have or have not changed their mind and if it has what is their new opinion and why did it change.

ASSESSMENT: To assess student learning you can use the student presentations students created as well as do nows and exit tickets.

MATERIALS:

• List of resources for students