Haris+K


 * 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?
=== It was the most well known trade route of Ancient China. The Silk Road was a very large trade route.The Silk road extended 4, 000 miles long. It helped transport and trade goods and food. Religions and technology were also traded on the silk road. Lots of silk was also traded in China. It lasted for almost 3,000. It extended through parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The silk road gets its named from the Chinese silk trade. ===

How was the Silk Road created?
=== The silk road was created to make travel and trade easier on land and in water. It connected the Yellow River Valley to the Mediterranean Sea. When the silk road was created thieves took advantage of it and stole goods from the caravans. It cost merchants more to help guard these caravans. ===

How was it protected?
=== Caravans with goods in them were sometimes be attacked by small Central Asian tribes of thieves. Caravans then needed their own defense forces. The defense forces cost the merchants lots of more money to trade goods. The Han Dynasty then extended their military to Central Asia to protect all the caravans that passed through the Silk Roads. ===

How were cities and territories connected?
=== The Silk Road extended throughout lots of countries from China to Europe. It also extended to Indonesia and Somalia. That made it easier to transport or trade goods. They could also communicate throughout the different empires.The Silk Road also went through most of Europe and Asia. Rome also liked to buy from China using their silver. ===

=== What type of goods or ideas- physical, intellectual, or religious- crossed the Silk Road? === === Trade of silk grew a large amount in the first and second centuries. Some of the goods that crossed the silk road were silk, fabrics, cultures, religions,and knowledge. They also traded vegetables and other food. Different empires could also trade technology. Travelers also used the silk road to get places easier. Rome mostly had gold, silver, and precious gems that Han China wanted. China mostly had silk,spices, and ivory that Ancient Rome wanted. === === Why is the Silk Road important to World History? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire? === === It brought lots of trade and transportation between the different empires. It also let the two empires communicate with each other. One of its main exports were silk. Silk was very valuable during the Han China empire. Another thing it did was briing lots of silk to Rome and lots of silver to China. China then grew very dependent on their silk trade. The route grew with the rise of the Roman Empire because the Chinese initially gave silk to the Roman-Asian governments as gifts. The silk road also brought the trade of ideas and inventions between different empires. ===

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?
=== I think Mr. Trails, a travel writer, should visit Han China over Imperial Rome. Han China invented silk and found faster and easier ways to use it. The also invented lots of other things like the ancient calculator, lots of things to make farming much easier, and ways to get salt from the ground without being near a sea or ocean. They would get the saltwater from deep underground then boil it until there was no water and only salt left. ===

= **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
media type="custom" key="6215643"

= **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.