Lesson Plan

Using a projected map outline, students will generate an oversized rendition of the Silk Roads from Europe to East Asia. Students will then apply elements such as political and topographic features, the Silk Roads, products of the regions, and the routes of key travelers. Students may continually add information to the map, and the map may be used as a reference tool throughout the teaching unit.

Time Required: Three to four time periods for basic map

Materials:

  • Overhead projector/s or computer projector
  • Overhead transparencies of a simple outline map of Europe and Asia, preferably with rivers but no writing. The transparencies can be made by copying a reproducible map onto an acetate transparency in a copy machine. See suggestions in reference section (one transparency per projector). Computer slides canbe made by downloading a graphic file of a map form the Internet and adding it to PowerPoint.
  • Tape
  • Permanent markers
  • Colored pencils
  • One poster board or 3-foot by 5-foot piece of butcher paper for each student
  • Atlases
  • Reference materials (texts and Internet access)
Procedure:
  1. Set up as many overhead projectors as possible. Each overhead should be arranged to project the map image onto butcher paper or poster board that has been taped to a smooth wall surface. Center the image so that it fills the entire paper, then tape the transparency to the overhead surface to avoid slippage.
  2. Have students work in pairs to trace the outline of the map and rivers using permanent markets. Avoid jostling the overhead, as it is difficult to realign the image. Tracing requires about 20 minutes per map.

    3. When the outline is completed, remove the map from the wall. Using atlases and reference books, have students map out and label the following features in erasable colored pencil:
    • Geo-physical features, including deserts, mountains, plateaus, and bodies of water
    • Political features, including key cities, empires, or countries
    • The Silk Roads as they extend from Europe to East Asia
    • Silk Road products of key regions (use symbols placed along the routes and a product key, attached separately to keep the map uncluttered)
    • Routes of famous travelers of the Silk Road regions
    • A key for the mapped features
Older students can include additional information, such as animals, crops, mineral deposits, cultural monuments, or majority religions. Consider working on the maps intermittently through the unit, adding layers of information each time. Maps can be used as reference tools throughout the study period.

Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and the Silk Road Project http://www.silkroadproject.org/teachers/index.html