Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Ohio Standards
Connection:
People in Societies
Benchmark A
Compare cultural practices,
products and perspectives
of past civilizations in
order to understand
commonality and diversity
of culture.
Indicator 2
Explain how the Silk Road
trade and the Crusades
affected the cultures of the
people involved.
Economics
Benchmark B
Explain why trade occurs
and how historical patterns
of trade have contributed to
global interdependence.
Indicator 2
Describe the growth of
cities and the establishment
of trade routes in Asia,
Africa and Europe; the
products and inventions
that traveled along these
routes (e.g., spices, textiles,
paper, precious metals and
new crops); and the role of
merchants.
Lesson Summary:
Students will use research skills and visual aides to gain an
understanding of how trade on the Silk Road affected the
cultures of the people involved. By taking on the role of a
Silk Road merchant, students will investigate the trade of
items through cities in Asia and Europe and create
“postcards” documenting the spread of ideas that resulted
from this trade.
Estimated Duration: Three hours
Commentary:
This lesson combines indicators in Economics and People in
Societies to provide students with an in-depth look at the
impact of the Silk Road. The opening activity creates a
sensory connection as students imagine the sights and
sounds of the Silk Road. Students will show evidence of
their learning through the creation of “postcards”,
representing items traded along the Silk Road. These
activities are designed to lead students to an understanding
of the effect the Silk Road had on the people of the time.
One teacher commented, “This lesson allowed students to
personalize the impact of the trade route on the actual lives
of people living then. It brought things down to a very
humanistic level which was more meaningful to them.”
Pre-Assessment:
 Distribute the Pre-Assessment, Attachment A.
 After students complete the questions, discuss suggested
answers.
 Use the pre-assessment results to modify instruction as
appropriate.
Scoring Guidelines:
Five or six correct items:
Four correct items:
Fewer than three correct items:
Student is familiar with the
indicator.
Student shows some
understanding of the
indicator.
Student shows little or no
understanding of the
indicator.
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Pre-Assessment Suggested Answers:
1. Europe and Asia
2. trade
3. mountains and deserts
4. spices, dried fruits, metals, etc. (accept reasonable answers)
5. Rome
6. China
Post-Assessment:
Have students imagine they are traders on the Silk Road. Explain that they will each create a
book of “new” products found along the Silk Road. See student directions on Attachment C.
Step One: Select a role: Italian trader or Chinese artisan
Step Two: Create four “postcards” of new items encountered while trading along
the Silk Road.
Step Three: Write a one-paragraph description on the back of each postcard
explaining the new item, where it came from and how you will now use
it.
Step Four: Put your “postcards” together in a book documenting your discoveries.
Step Five: Create a cover page for your book showing the role you selected.
Scoring Guidelines:
Use the rubric provided on Attachment C, Post-Assessment.
Instructional Procedures:
Day One
1. Conduct the Pre-Assessment, Attachment A.
2. Have students fold a blank piece of paper lengthwise into two columns. Have students
label the columns “Sights” and “Sounds.” They should then divide the paper into four
sections for the four slides to be shown.
3. Show the students four images of the Silk Road from an online encyclopedia or other
resource. See Technology Connections for suggestions.
4. Show students each of the images for three minutes, and have them imagine and record
the sights and sounds they would experience if they were there.
5. After viewing all of the images silently, show the images again and discuss students’
responses. Record their reactions on large chart paper (or on the chalk board). Be sure to
discuss the types of animals and physical features pictured (desert, mountains, lack of
water, etc.).
Day Two
6. Divide the class into pairs and distribute Attachment B, Cities and Products Along the
Silk Road.
7. Provide each pair of students with a blank map of Europe and Asia and an atlas. Have
them plot the location of the major trading cities listed on the handout. Discuss with
students the geography of the areas, including physical features such as mountains,
deserts, rivers, etc. Have students draw and label the major physical features.
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
8. Assign each pair of students a city to research. Explain that each pair should use the
available resources to create a collage of products available in its assigned city. Provide
students with access to textbooks, trade books, reference books and Internet resources. To
create collages, provide students with drawing paper, glue, scissors, drawing materials
and/or magazines to cut pictures from.
9. Instruct students to complete their assignments and prepare to share their information
during the next class.
Day Three
10. Have students work together in the creation of a large class map of the Silk Road. Using a
blank map on the overhead projector and a large sheet of butcher paper, create a basic
outline of Eastern Europe and Asia for the students to use.
11. Have each pair of students locate its city on the large map, label its city and attach its
collage. Each pair can then tell the class about its city and the products available for
trade. Tell students to be prepared to answer specific questions about each of the products
available in their city.
12. Discuss what items, if obtained through trade, would be new to an area. For example,
silk and paper were new to Europe. People in Asia were introduced to gold coins. Have
students infer products that would have been new to particular cities.
13. Discuss “dissemination” of products and ideas and how they affected cultures. For
example: Why was purple clothing associated with royalty? Because purple dye came to
Europe via the Silk Road and was expensive, only royalty could afford to use it.
Day Four
14. Distribute the Post-Assessment, Attachment C, and explain the instructions.
15. Instruct students to follow the five steps listed in the instructions:
 Select a role
 Identify products new to that person and create postcards of those items
 Write one paragraph about each item
 Organize the postcards together in a book
 Create a cover page
16. Provide students access to research materials and maps or charts created in class. Provide
students with art materials for creation of the postcards and cover page.
Differentiated Instruction:
Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs, to help all learners either meet the
intent of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the
specified indicator(s).
 Assign pairs of students to research a city. Provide students with a variety of resources at
varying ability levels including pictures, print, Internet access and video.
 Allow students to share their information using a variety of presentation modes including
oral, visual, tactile, etc.
 Challenge students to complete an independent study in which they research how trade
on the Silk Road affected a culture of interest and share information learned with the
class.
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Extension:
 Have students research the history of art in Asia and write and present a report to the
class.
 Have students research musical instruments traded along the Silk Road and create a
model of one of those instruments.
 Have students create a map showing the many religions traders would have encountered
along the Silk Road. This project could also include a chart or research paper explaining
the major ideas and customs of each religion.
Homework Options and Homework Connections:
 Have students create a 30-second commercial to advertise a product new to Europe or
Asia via the Silk Road.
 Encourage students to look at home to find products used today that come from regions
along the Silk Road.
Interdisciplinary Connections:
English Language Arts
 Research
Benchmark B: Locate and summarize important information from multiple sources.
Indicator 2: Identify appropriate sources and gather relevant information from multiple
sources (e.g., school library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and Internetbased resources).
The Arts: Visual Art
 Connections, Relationships and Applications
Benchmark C: Use key concepts, issues and themes to connect visual art to various
content areas.
Indicator 3: Demonstrate understanding of the relationships between words and images
by applying text to images and images to text (e.g., write descriptions of their artworks
and illustrate a scene from a literary work).
Materials and Resources:
The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of
its contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does
not endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site’s main
page, therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information
required for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes
over time, therefore the links provided may no longer contain the specific information related
to a given lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with students.
For the teacher: Blank map of Europe and Asia, Internet access, textbooks, atlases,
reference resources, drawing paper, large chart paper, overhead projector.
For the students: Writing materials, drawing paper, art materials (colored pencils, markers,
etc.), blank map of Europe and Asia, atlas, access to research materials.
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Vocabulary:
 Silk Road
 cultural groups
 trade
 products
 merchant
 dissemination
 diffusion
Technology Connections:
 During the Day One sights and sounds activity, images of the Silk Road can be displayed
from an electronic encyclopedia or an online encyclopedia. Infohio.org provides access to
an online encyclopedia for use by Ohio schools. These images can be shown via the
computer or printed on overhead transparencies. If proper supplies or technology are not
available, this activity can be done using images in student textbooks or on posters.
 Have students use word processing software to type and print paragraphs for the postassessment activity.
 Supplement classroom resources with Internet access for student research.
 Access further information and lesson ideas on the Silk Road from the following Web
sites:
http://www.silkroadproject.org
http://www.askasia.org
Research Connections:
Marzano, R. et al. Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for
Increasing Student Achievement, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 2001.
Nonlinguistic representations help students think about and recall knowledge. They
include the following:
• Creating graphic organizers;
• Making physical models;
• Generating mental pictures;
• Drawing pictures and pictographs;
• Engaging in kinesthetic activity.
General Tips:
School or public libraries should be able to provide background videos on the Silk Road.
Viewing the landscape in video format will help students imagine what it might have been
like to travel such long distances through harsh terrain.
Attachments:
Attachment A, Pre-Assessment
Attachment B, Cities and Products Along the Silk Road
Attachment C, Post-Assessment
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Attachment A
Pre-Assessment
Directions: Complete the statements by writing the missing words in the appropriate blanks.
1. The Silk Road connected the continents of _________________ and ___________.
2. The primary purpose of the Silk Road was _____________________.
3. Merchants traveling the Silk Road had difficult land to cross, including
___________________ and _____________________.
4. Two important items that could be bought along the Silk Road were _______________
and _________________________________.
5. Many items traded along the Silk Road were sold to consumers in the important
European city of _________________________________.
6. Much of the silk traded came from the country we now call ________________________.
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Attachment B
Cities and Products Along the Silk Road
Directions:
Step One: Using an atlas or historical map, plot the cities listed below on a blank map of
Europe and Asia to create a map of the Silk Road.
Step Two:
Choose one of the cities and create a collage showing the products available in
that city. You will need to research the specifics about the products listed and
may even find out about additional products not listed. For example, what types
of nuts were available in Baghdad? What does bamboo look like? What kinds of
stones came from Delhi? To create your collage, you can use pictures from
magazines, the Internet or ones you have drawn yourself. Post your collage on a
large class map of the Silk Road.
Step Three: In a short oral presentation, tell your classmates about the city you researched,
where it is located and what products are available there. This list will provide
you with some of the products produced in each city. See if you can find more
information about products from the city you are assigned. Be prepared to
answer questions about each of the products produced in your city.

Baghdad—dates, nuts, dyes, lapis lazuli

Chang’an (Xi’an) —silk, chrysanthemums, rhubarb, paper, lacquer, gunpowder, mirrors,
bamboo

Damascus—almonds, purple dye, dried fruit, swords, glass, cloth goods

Delhi–cotton, herbal medicine, precious stones, jade

Ferghana (Fergana) —horses, rugs, nuts, dried fruit, copper

Kashgar—pack animals, tea, dried fruit, medicinal herbs

Rome—gold coins, glass and glazes, grapevines, alfalfa

Turfan (Turpan)—grapes, raisins, wine, cotton, dye for porcelain, alum, Glauber’s salt
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Effects of the Silk Road – Grade Seven
Attachment C
Post-Assessment
New Products Found Along the Silk Road
Directions: Imagine you have traveled back in time to the era of the Silk Road. You can
choose to be either an Italian trader or a Chinese artisan selling your wares along the Silk
Road. As either of these people, imagine the new things you would see at each trading post!
You will encounter merchants selling things you have never seen or heard of before! Using
the research you have done in class, create a book of “new” products you have found along
the Silk Road.
Step One:
Step Two:
Select a role: Italian trader or Chinese artisan
Create four “postcards” of NEW items encountered while trading
along the Silk Road.
Step Three: Write a one-paragraph description on the back of each postcard
explaining the new item, where it came from and how you will now
use it.
Step Four: Put your “postcards” together in a book documenting your discoveries.
Step Five:
Create a cover page for your book showing the role you selected.
3 Points
Exemplary
Cover Page
Postcards:
Content
Postcards:
Writing
Mechanics
2 Points
Proficient
1 Point
Approaching the
Standard
Unclear which role
selected.
Identifies role
selected with
illustration.
Pictures show
exemplary effort.
Identifies role selected.
Pictures show some effort.
Pictures show little
effort.
Each paragraph
includes a description
of the item, its origin
and its use, in detail.
The paragraphs include
descriptions, origins and
uses, but with little detail.
The paragraphs do not
include the information
needed.
Contains all accurate
information.
Uses all complete
sentences.
Contains mostly accurate
information.
Uses complete sentences
with some fragments.
Contains inaccurate
information.
Uses incomplete
sentences making
content difficult to
understand.
Contains minor
grammatical errors.
Contains few grammatical
errors.
Contains many
grammatical errors.
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