To gain an understanding of what it was like to live under India's caste system, class members engage in a role-playing activity that assigns group members to four different groups, each with different rules for behavior.

Concepts

the caste system, india, the history of india, role playing

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Before beginning the debriefing, emphasize again that the roles were assigned randomly
• Extend the debriefing period to ensure that all members have an opportunity to talk about the experience
• Use the activity to launch a more-in-depth study of the caste system

Classroom Considerations

• The activity concludes with a reading and discussion of a passage from the Christian Bible; however, this reading and discussion need not be included in the activity
• As with any role-playing activity that involves discrimination it is essential to prepare participants by explaining the purpose of the activity and why it is important that the roles be assigned randomly 

Pros

• The roles are assigned randomly
• The focus of the post-activity discussion is how members of the various groups felt about their roles

Cons

• None