Please find your name and sit on the
floor in or near your trading post
 Antioch
 5. Kashgar
 Dunhuang
 1.Keaton
 1.Joe
 1.Jacob
 2.Taylor
 2.Harrison
 2.Gabriel
 3.Tyler
 3.Collin
 3.Nathan
 4.Erik
 4.Jillian
 4.Marissa
 5.Brianna
 5.Hannah
 5.Cobie
 Ctesiphon
 Kucha
 1.Sydney
 1.Dylan
 2.Shawn
 2.Hailey
 3.Mason
 3.Faith
 4.Julia
 4.Kaitlyn
 5. Jordan
 5.Brandon
Please find your name and sit on the
floor in or near your trading post
 Antioch

Kashgar
 Dunhuang
 1.Nick
 1.Jan
 1.Harlan
 2.Kyle
 2.Jacob D.
 2.Peyton
 3.Rose
 3.Kayleigh
 3.Cain
 4.Julian
 4.Jasmyne
 4.Deven
 5.Garrett
 5.Kenzie
 5.Brad
 Ctesiphon
 Kucha
 1.Drew
 1.Michelle
 2.Mariah
 2.Eric
 3.A.J.
 3.Brooke
 4.Azelin
 4.Alyssa
 5. Jacob R.
 5.Emily
 6. John
 6. Hannah
 6. Jack
Please find your name and sit on the
floor in or near your trading post
 Antioch

Kashgar
 Dunhuang
 1.Aurianna
 1.Xiana
 1.Haylee
 2.Stephen
 2.Rylee
 2.Adriana
 3.Brandi
 3.Angelika
 3.Alusha
 4.Abbie
 4.Danielle
 4.Isaac
 5.Henry
 5.David
 5.Elizabeth
 Ctesiphon
 Kucha
 1.Ardyn
 1.Autumn
 2.Brooke M.
 2.Saul
 3.Jacob
 3.Brook W.
 4.Taylor
 4.Kayla
 5. Emily
 5.Hope
 6. Lorenzo
Please find your name and sit on the
floor in or near your trading post
 Antioch
 5. Kashgar
 Dunhuang
 1.Keaton
 1.Joe
 1.Jacob
 2.Taylor
 2.Harrison
 2.Gabriel
 3.Tyler
 3.Collin
 3.Nathan
 4.Erik
 4.Jillian
 4.Marissa
 5.Brianna
 5.Hannah
 5.Cobie
 Ctesiphon
 Kucha
 1.Sydney
 1.Dylan
 2.Shawn
 2.Hailey
 3.Mason
 3.Faith
 4.Julia
 4.Kaitlyn
 5. Jordan
 5.Brandon
Bellringer
Describe what you see on the map?
Predict what the red line indicates
Objectives
 Students will be able to…
 Cite the locations of the trans-Eurasian “silk roads” in the period
of the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire
 Describe the difficulties of travel along the Silk Road
 Cite the significance of the trans-Euransian “silk roads” in the
period of the Han dynasty
 Describe the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during
the Han dynasty
Questions to Consider

What do you think happened along the Silk Road?

Why do you think it was called the Silk Road?

Which cities can you find along the Silk Road?

How many miles do you think the Silk Road stretched?

What parts of the Silk Road do you think would be most dangerous to travel? Why?
The Silk Road
In the last section you learned about the achievements of the Han dynasty. Under
the Han, trade routes were opened that allowed the Chinese to trade with other
ancient cultures. You are about to explore the great trade route known as the Silk
Road.
The Silk Road was actually a network of smaller trade routes that stretched more
that 4,000 miles across Asia. It reached from Luoyang and the Han capital of
Chang’an in china to Mediterranean ports such as Antioch in Syria. By the fist
century A.D. the Mediterranean region was dominated by the Roman Empire, whose
capital city was Rome (in present day Italy). The Silk Road connected the great
empires of the Han and the Romans.
Both goods and ideas traveled along the Silk Road. The Chinese traded spices from
India and glassware from Rome. New ideas, including Buddhism, also entered China
as a result of this trade.
The Silk Road linked the peoples of the East and the West for more than 1,000 years.
You will learn about the opening of the Silk Road. You’ll discover what traveling the
Silk road was like in the time of the Han. You’ll also learn about the goods and ideas
that were exchanged between the cultures of Asia and the West.
4
1
Danger!
Animals
and
Insects!
Antioch
Animals
Masking
Tape
Danger!
Mountains!
2
Ctesiphon
3
Kashgar
Kucha
Butcher
Paper
Masking
Tape
Desks
Masking
Tape
Danger!
Sandstorm!
Rules of the Game
String
Masking
Tape
5
Danger!
Bandits!
Dunhuang
1. Assign each person in your group a number, starting from 1.You may move only when your number
is called.
2. You may move to only one “trading center,” indicated by a group of four desks, at a time. You may
move in either direction, but you must move only to trading centers that are connected by tape.
3. You must cross certain obstacles when moving from one trading center to another.
1. Dunhuang and Kucha you must crab walk ( to avoid bandits)
2. Kucha and Kashgar you must close your eyes when going over the butcher paper (desert)
3. Kashgar and Ctesiphon you must climb carefully over the desks (mountains)
4. Ctesiphon and Antioch you must hop over the pictures (lion and scorpion)
4. If you fail to follow any of these rules, you much return to the trading center that you started at and
miss your turn to trade.
5. When you arrive at the new trading center, you may trade one of your products for a product
someone else has. Only a new arrival can suggest a possible trade.
6. When you have five different products, wait your turn and then begin your trip back to your home
trading center. On your return trip, you do not have to trade. When you arrive where you began,
raise your hand. I will check your products and give you the next directions.
Debriefing Activity
 Go back to the “trading post” where you started and sit
down.
 I will ask one question at a time, give your group a chance to
discuss and then call a number to have someone share.
 You will use the same number for this activity that you used
in the Silk Road activity
Cont. Debriefing Activity
 What did you like about the activity?
 What didn’t you like?
 What were some of the products that were traded on the Silk Road and








where did they come from?
What did a trader need to begin an expedition?
What were some of the difficulties of traveling the Silk Road?
Which groups had to travel the farthest to get the products they wanted?
What do you think happened to the price of those products when
traders returned home to sell them?
How many of you traveled from one end of the Silk Road to the other?
Why do you think traders did not travel the entire route?
Why might someone say trade along the Silk Road resembled a chain?
How might trading contribute to the rich cultural exchange along the
Silk Road?
Exit Ticket
 On a sheet of notebook paper answer the following questions:
 What were the cities along the silk road?
 Describe the difficulties of travel along the Silk Road.
 Explain the importance of the silk road in the period of the Han
dynasty
 Describe how Buddhism spread northward to China during the Han
dynasty
 J- Justify your
 A- answers by
 G- giving details that
 S- support the answer