Teacher Notes
In the WebQuest Exploring Ancient Buddhist Culture, each team of three student-archaeologists
will write a magazine article about the Ajanta Caves, the Amaravati Stupa, and one other Buddhist
archaeological site of their choosing. Students will research Buddhist culture and the archaeological
sites to explain how three specific elements of each site relate to Buddhist culture. As
archaeologists, students will record their notes in a notebook, which will help them organize and
write their article. Students will conduct research as a team and collaborate to write the
introduction to their article. Then, each member of the team will individually write about one of
the sites.
Students who do exemplary work on this WebQuest will learn
- about Buddhist religion and culture
- about the Ajanta Caves, the Amaravati Stupa, and one other Buddhist archaeological site of their choosing
- how three specific elements at each site reflect Buddhist culture
- how to collaborate as a team
- how to write a magazine article
- how to cite Web resources
When to use this WebQuest
The WebQuest Exploring Ancient Buddhist Culture works best after students have studied Lesson 3 of Chapter 7, "Ancient India." Students should review pages 212–213 and 233–235.
Archaeological teams You can assign teams or have students chose their own teams. It is preferable to have one skilled writer on each team. If the class does not divide by three you can have a team of two students research the Ajanta Caves and the Amaravati Stupa, or a team of four choose an additional archaeological site for their article.
Archaeologist's Notebook The Archaeologist's Notebook will guide students in researching and writing their articles. This worksheet is the same for all teams, so you can print out the worksheets and distribute them to all students.
Writing the article Students will collaboratively write the introduction to their article and then each member will write a part of the article about one of the sites. They should describe three findings at the Buddhist sites and explain what these elements teach them about Buddhist religion and culture. Guide students in using the information on their worksheets, as well as the instructions in Step 3 of the Process and Resources section, to create outlines for their articles before doing the actual writing.
Students will also include a glossary of at least five terms and a bibliography. Students will choose at least 5 terms from their article to create their glossary. Reinforce that the purpose of their glossary is help readers better understand Buddhist art, culture, and architecture. Show students some examples of different glossaries and encourage them to use their own words when writing their glossaries to show that they understand the terminology. Also, review examples of bibliographies and how to cite different types of sources.
Review some examples of magazine articles. Although many magazine articles do not have a glossary or bibliography, explain how these elements could help a reader better understand the material.
Archaeological teams You can assign teams or have students chose their own teams. It is preferable to have one skilled writer on each team. If the class does not divide by three you can have a team of two students research the Ajanta Caves and the Amaravati Stupa, or a team of four choose an additional archaeological site for their article.
Archaeologist's Notebook The Archaeologist's Notebook will guide students in researching and writing their articles. This worksheet is the same for all teams, so you can print out the worksheets and distribute them to all students.
Writing the article Students will collaboratively write the introduction to their article and then each member will write a part of the article about one of the sites. They should describe three findings at the Buddhist sites and explain what these elements teach them about Buddhist religion and culture. Guide students in using the information on their worksheets, as well as the instructions in Step 3 of the Process and Resources section, to create outlines for their articles before doing the actual writing.
Students will also include a glossary of at least five terms and a bibliography. Students will choose at least 5 terms from their article to create their glossary. Reinforce that the purpose of their glossary is help readers better understand Buddhist art, culture, and architecture. Show students some examples of different glossaries and encourage them to use their own words when writing their glossaries to show that they understand the terminology. Also, review examples of bibliographies and how to cite different types of sources.
Review some examples of magazine articles. Although many magazine articles do not have a glossary or bibliography, explain how these elements could help a reader better understand the material.