Thursday, February 6, 2014

My Silk Road Journey

Students in Room A-4 today experienced firsthand what it is like to trade, barter, and bargain as they participated in both "modern" and "ancient" types of trade.  Students had previously read about a man who traded a paperclip for a house and then reenacted this concept by bringing a small token from home--from Pokemon cards to bracelets to personalized drawings--to trade with their classmates.  Then, students researched Marco Polo and his travels along the Silk Road and wrote a first person journal entry as Marco Polo describing his experience. The class was then divided into 5 different nations--Europe, China, Africa, Arabia, and India--each with their own set of REAL trade goods that were prominent in that place during the time of the Silk Road trade.  After dividing up the goods amongst their tables, students simulated traveling the Silk Road or sailing by sea to trade their goods with other nations, along the way tracking their trade progress. Finally, students created a PowerPoint presentation visually displaying their trade routes and trade goods, which was all summed up in a written journal entry.  Enjoy the fun below!
Modern Day Trade:




Message board discussion about how "modern" trade went:


"Silk Road" Trade Activity - 
Students choose trade items from the bag:
Students track progress and fairness of trade and places traveled:
Students begin their Silk Road journey and commence trade!





(I apologize that some videos are sideways.)













 Students create a visual map of route and trade items and journal about their journey:


CLICK ON THE SLIDES BELOW TO WATCH NARRATED JOURNAL/MAP OF TRADE:


Other Student Examples:








No comments:

Post a Comment