INDIA     Teacher's Guide   


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Content and Possible Activities
During your Visit

  • Students will receive a guided tour of the exhibition, with detailed explanations of the objects on display.
  • Students will have an opportunity to create individual works of art.
  • Students will have an opportunity to see and hear a storyteller.
  • Students will have an opportunity to engage in a dress-up activity.
  • Students will learn about the link between Indian art and the many belief systems which can still be found in India today.

To Prepare Your Students

(Suggested Pre-Visit Activities)

  • Look at a map of India with your students. Tell them they will be going to the Museum to see an exhibition of art which has been influenced by artistic techniques developed in India.
  • Indicate that some of these works were created a long time ago, and some quite recently.
  • Indicate that some of the pieces were made by people who live in India, and that other pieces were made by Canadians and others of Indian descent.
  • Refer to the sheet of techniques provided by the Museum.
  • Discuss the different types of art that the students will see (pottery, cloth, jewellery, storytelling, sculpture, weaving, posters, paintings, puppets, etc.).
  • Prepare your students for the thematic layout of the exhibition. Encourage students to think about the different environments that make up everyday life in India (the home, the court, the city, etc.).
  • During free time, allow students to visit the Museum's Web site at: www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cultur/inde/indinte.html.Encourage them to choose an interesting piece of art from the Web site that they can later locate when they go to the Museum.
  • Provide each student with a copy of Chart A. Familiarize students with the chart. Indicate to students that they will be expected to:
    • pay attention to the guide when walking through the exhibition, and
    • document their (i.e. five) favourite techniques on the chart provided.
  • This chart can be taken back to the classroom. You can then use the chart to assess and evaluate your students' ability to pay attention and make connections, as well as to assess their Language skills. This exercise ensures that students are engaged, rather than passive, during their visit.

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