Toby+Y


 * The Silk Road**

Dusty Trails is a travel writer for //Explore// magazine and keenly interested in the Silk Road. A self-proclaimed renaissance man, Mr. Trails enjoys outdoor activities, photography, and attending cultural events. To help Mr. Trails decide which features of the Silk Road he should travel back in time to visit, you'll need to research the Silk Road and present your key findings on the following questions:

= **Key Questions:** =


 * 1) What was the Silk Road? How was the Silk Road created? How was it protected? How were cities and territories connected?
 * 2) What type of goods or ideas- physical, intellectual, or religious- crossed the Silk Road?
 * 3) Why is the Silk Road important to World History? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire?

=Resources= Your research will be confined to the following web resources and library databases. If you wish to use a resource not on this list you must seek approval from your teacher.

**The Silk Road**
 * []
 * []
 * [|http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html]
 * [|http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk2.html]
 * []


 * Library Databases **
 * @http://www.micdslibrary.com/databases.html

Scroll down to the History/Social Studies menu; the ABCCLIO Ancient World History database is particularly helpful.

=Research and Citations= Use the space below to record your research for each question. Remember that you will need to cite your sources using the format found on the MICDS Library resource page.

What was the Silk Road?
the silk road is the biggest and most well-known trade route in central china. the silk road started in china, under the han dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). the silk road at first was just a __really really long__//,// wide road built for soldiers of the han dynasty to walk on. ok, so what happened is the soldiers of the han dynasty wanted an easier way to travel from china all the way down to africa (the silk road went all over, but it goes that far). that said, a road was started. the road took a very long time to make, and it crossed some different trade routes. finally, the road was complete, and the army walked on it. after a while though, people realized that it was an awesome place to trade, saying that it connects china to europe, asia, and africa. the road made it easier to get rare animals, jewelery, perfumes, etc. from far away places. so, the chinese started trading silk. at first, the silk road was just used for trade in china, so people in the outer china region could get things that could only be found in the inner china region. but the chinese didnt have some of the things other places had. thats when the chinese decided to use the silk road to trade with other places. the silk road was actually more than one route. like i said before, when the road was built for the soldiers, it crossed over some major trade routes. later on when people used the silk road to trade (when china traded with other places) people would come from the other trade routes. the trade routes that were there before the road remained and were still recognizable, but all of the routes merged into one super trading route.

How was the Silk Road created?
the silk road started off as a road for the military. it was long and wide. when the road was completed, it went from china, all the way to asia, europe, and even africa. the military used it to get to those places. but after awhile, chinese citizens realized that the road was a good place to trade, so the inner and outer regions of china started trading with eachother. but the road crossed other trade routes, so people from the other trade routes started coming over to the road where the chinese were to trade. the chinese didnt like it at first, but then they realized that by trading with other places, they could get exotic things that werent available in their environment. that said, they started wheeling in the rare loot from everybody else because they had something VERY valuable to trade with, but it was very easy for them to make. silk. back then, silk was very valuable. the chinese were the only people that knew how to make it, so people from other places were willing to pay high prices for it. in rome, it even became a law that men were not aloud to wear silk, because so much gold was flowing out of the city to get the silk. the emporor did not like that he was losing so much money. the silk road got its name due to the fact that the chinese traded silk, and pretty much only silk.

How was it protected?
the silk road was protected by soldiers posted along the silk road at forts, or command posts. but with the soldiers there, there were still a lot of crimes and theft going on. that said, the chinese moved soldiers farther into asia. this cut back on the common thefts and assaults, but there were still a lot. sometimes, bandits even killed or took travelers hostage. the great wall of china also protected part of the silk road.

=== What type of goods or ideas- physical, intellectual, or religious- crossed the Silk Road? everything went through the silk road. even slaves and such ===

=== Why is the Silk Road important to World History? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and the Han Dynasty and Roman Empir e? === the silk road tells about how the romans and other people traded

Similarities and Differences
Before deciding which dynasty your client should visit, you may wish to create a simple Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the two empires. You may use [|this template] or create one online at Read-Write-Think.

Which empire should Mr. Trails, a travel writer, visit? Why?
= **Travel Poster Components:** =

The travel poster should be attractive, persuasive, and highlight the major features of the Silk Road as they relate to each empire. You will create the poster using Glogster.edu (instructions will be provided in class) and it should contain the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for the Silk Road
 * 2) At least six "must see" tourist destinations/features with detailed text and relevant images
 * 3) At least two audio recordings

//Note: For the Silk Road, "destinations/features" may be physical, intellectual, or religious.//

The **[|Poster Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before handing in your final product. When you have completed the poster, embed it below the "Travel Poster" heading below:

Travel Poster
//embed your poster here by copying the embed code from Glogster and adding an HTML widget//

= **Oral Presentation Guidelines** = The presentation is your opportunity to explain why the Silk Road is an ideal tourist destination and should follow these guidelines:


 * 1) Less than 3 minutes in length
 * 2) Should address/explain the "must see" features of the Silk Road
 * 3) Should explain why the client should visit these features

This presentation is about speaking skills and the use of your poster. You will be permitted to use notecards but are NOT to simply read your notes to the audience. The **[|Presentation Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before giving your final presentation.