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:

Chinese Invention Presentations!

Students presented their Chinese Invention Projects today (see other blog post introducing this project here) and enlightened each other about the history and impact on the world of Chinese inventions such as gunpowder, fireworks, the crossbow, the compass, paper, tea, noodles, the umbrella, the junk (ship), and more!  Enjoy some photos and videos of presentations below:

Watch an attention-grabbing movie-beginning on "tea" here:

Watch full "tea" video here:

Students take notes on "Chinese Invention Trading Cards" during presentations:

Student hand-made paper that was "tested" by table groups!

Fully-functional 3-D model of Chinese repeating crossbow (demo shown via video):

Movie showing spread of inventions:

Students use "VTS" (Visible Thinking Strategies) to interact with audience:

Student-made mechanical clock 3-D model:

Ice cream timeline, 3-D diorama, and taste testing:

Porcelain bowls - VTS, How they were made, & 3-D models:

 
Pagodas - VTS discussion, claymation video, 3-D models, and fortune cookies:

Sails and rudders - 3-D model, demo, and competition!

 Seismograph VTS discussion, 3-D model, and movie:

 Noodle how-to make video and taste testing!

 Kite poster:

 Iced tea testing:

Rating Chinese Inventions:

GoAnimate video and Minecraft construction of Chinese pagodas:

Hanging Coffins - 3-D model, interactive PowerPoint, and quiz!

3-D model and demo of Chinese crossbow:

Guqin instrument movie and music:

Land mine and flamethrower claymation live skit:

Attention-grabbers involving the audience:

Movies created using GoAnimate app on Edmodo:

3-D model of fireworks (rocket):

Poster created showing fireworks color palette:

Interactive PowerPoint explaining stages of a firework:

3-D model of a Chinese crossbow used in a movie:

Chinese umbrella dance attention-grabber:

Quiz time! Interacting with the audience and checking for understanding:

Chinese zodiac movie:

3-D model of a Chinese rocket using bamboo!

3-D model and poster of a Chinese firework:

Real fireworks show filmed on a student's trip to China!

Kite live demos:

Jeopardy game quizzing the class on kites:

3-D model and demo of the Chinese junk ship:

Students use "VTS" (Visible Thinking Strategies) to interact with audience:

Last by not least, enjoy a comic book about toilet paper (read from right to left):