Today we created the "Silk Road" in our classroom. Students "traveled" through the various sections of the Silk Road trading goods and money. The goal was for the students to collect as much as they could. At each stop along the way they completed a "journal entry". At the end, we counted the money and reflected on how hard it would have been to trade back then. Students also made "movies" on what was traded along the Silk Road using WindowsLiveMovieMaker. Our final activity on the lesson was for students to write letters to the class as if they were actually traveling and trading along the Silk Road (see below).
Journal notes from the Silk Road Trades
Student letters from "The Silk Road"
Maya A. to
Lynch p. 1-2 Champion students
I started out in Egypt, my home. The sun beamed mercilessly down on me, and the load I was carrying seemed to get heavier with each step I took. Looking back, I could barely see the familiar pyramids of my home in the distance… these first few weeks were going to be tough, I could already tell.
After walking quite a while, I was finally capable of finding a small waterhole to drink from. The cool water tickled my throat and made me feel sleepy. I dragged on, however, t later stumble upon a small camel-renting shop.
The shop owner was nice, and let me take the camel for free. I thanked him and continued on my journey.
Shortly after leaving the shop, another camel-riding trader waved me down. She had dark hair and a thick accent, which implied that she was from far away. She asked if I had any pearls on me and I nodded, pulling out the small bag I had packed. We bargained for a bit, then finally settled on a deal; my whole bag of pearls for her 40$. As I rode away I clinked the coins I had gotten, fairly pleased with myself.
Then I had my first encounter with a tax collector. She had narrowed eyes that seemed to look you up and search you out. Something told me to quickly give her my 10$ and flee.
After slugging through the desert for what seemed like years, it happened. A spider, bigger than my fathers hand, jumped out and struck my camel. He crumpled to the ground with a howl of pain, then just sat there, shivering as its life drained away…
I felt pity for the creature, after coming so far with it. Luckily, I could see some buildings in the distance. Hopefully it wasn’t a hallucination, because I didn’t know how long I could last out in the desert by myself.
On hunch, I led my dying, limping camel towards the group of buildings. My hunch was correct, there were buildings there! Sadly, my camel died, but I got another one for a cheap price.
I decided to stay in the village for a while, to see what I could trade. At one stand, there was the pretties green jade. The stand keeper told me that it was a valuable mineral in china. Enticed, I got it for 30$ as a gift for my mother. Sadly, I never got to give it to her, as I had to trade it away for money for food, but in the end, I returned home with 440$ and a bag full of goods.
After walking quite a while, I was finally capable of finding a small waterhole to drink from. The cool water tickled my throat and made me feel sleepy. I dragged on, however, t later stumble upon a small camel-renting shop.
The shop owner was nice, and let me take the camel for free. I thanked him and continued on my journey.
Shortly after leaving the shop, another camel-riding trader waved me down. She had dark hair and a thick accent, which implied that she was from far away. She asked if I had any pearls on me and I nodded, pulling out the small bag I had packed. We bargained for a bit, then finally settled on a deal; my whole bag of pearls for her 40$. As I rode away I clinked the coins I had gotten, fairly pleased with myself.
Then I had my first encounter with a tax collector. She had narrowed eyes that seemed to look you up and search you out. Something told me to quickly give her my 10$ and flee.
After slugging through the desert for what seemed like years, it happened. A spider, bigger than my fathers hand, jumped out and struck my camel. He crumpled to the ground with a howl of pain, then just sat there, shivering as its life drained away…
I felt pity for the creature, after coming so far with it. Luckily, I could see some buildings in the distance. Hopefully it wasn’t a hallucination, because I didn’t know how long I could last out in the desert by myself.
On hunch, I led my dying, limping camel towards the group of buildings. My hunch was correct, there were buildings there! Sadly, my camel died, but I got another one for a cheap price.
I decided to stay in the village for a while, to see what I could trade. At one stand, there was the pretties green jade. The stand keeper told me that it was a valuable mineral in china. Enticed, I got it for 30$ as a gift for my mother. Sadly, I never got to give it to her, as I had to trade it away for money for food, but in the end, I returned home with 440$ and a bag full of goods.
marina b. to
Lynch p. 1-2 Champion students
Dear Fellow B9 Classmates,
Today I went on a journey along the silk road starting in Egypt, were I traded four dollars and fifty cents for some cotton and got tricked by a Sphinx. She just barley let me pass by. I know, I am gullible. Anyways, after that I went to east Africa and traded with my friend Macy. She gave me three dollars and fifty cents for some frankincense/myrrh. This was my first and last victory throughout my long and parlous journey.
After that though, I found out that she happened to be the tax collector and I gave her two dollars. What bad luck! Next, I traveled to Sumatra where I traded some amount of money that I don’t know for cinnamon. After that, my last stop was China where I got some copper for three dollars and twenty-five cents which the local dragon took from me in the intent of some fun trickery which was not fun at all.
After my journey, I came to know just how gullible I can be when it comes to money. All in all, my journey was not so successful seeing as in the end I had less money that I had started with, and my goal was to get more along the way. -Marina B
Today I went on a journey along the silk road starting in Egypt, were I traded four dollars and fifty cents for some cotton and got tricked by a Sphinx. She just barley let me pass by. I know, I am gullible. Anyways, after that I went to east Africa and traded with my friend Macy. She gave me three dollars and fifty cents for some frankincense/myrrh. This was my first and last victory throughout my long and parlous journey.
After that though, I found out that she happened to be the tax collector and I gave her two dollars. What bad luck! Next, I traveled to Sumatra where I traded some amount of money that I don’t know for cinnamon. After that, my last stop was China where I got some copper for three dollars and twenty-five cents which the local dragon took from me in the intent of some fun trickery which was not fun at all.
After my journey, I came to know just how gullible I can be when it comes to money. All in all, my journey was not so successful seeing as in the end I had less money that I had started with, and my goal was to get more along the way. -Marina B
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