Seeking+the+Silk+Road

=Unit 14: Seeking the Silk Road=

Unit Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous units and lessons
 * Describe the importance of trade in the spread of goods and ideas
 * Trace the development and use of the Silk Road
 * Research and report one aspect of the effects or nature of trade before A.D. 1500

Lesson 1: Summing Up
Most people who lied during the Middle Ages never traveled more than a mile or two from home. But as trade and war brought diverse regions into contact wit one another, economic, religious, scientific, and cultural ideas gradually spread. You will revisit the Middle Ages and review the main developments in culture and government.

Lesson Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous units/lessons


 * 1) As you read the Conclusion to Part 4, pages 605-611, complete [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_01_lookingback.pdf]]
 * 2) Complete: [[file:Lesson 1 Medieval World Questions.docx]]

Lesson 2: The Big Picture
The cultures of the Middle Ages left diverse legacies. Their influence is still visible today.

Lessons Objectives

 * Demonstrate knowledge gained in previous lessons about the Middle Ages


 * 1) Locate and identify the following on the Middle Ages Map: Byzantine Empire, Islamic Empire, African empires, Western Europe, and Chinese empires. Write the names in the appropriate locations Color each region or empire and color the legend to match.
 * 2) What have you learned about the Middle Ages? In your History Journal, make a short list of what comes to mind when you think about each place you studied. What made each of these empires or regions unique? What characterized each one? Consider geographic factors such as place and climate, cultural features such as art and architecture,and human factors or individual people. For additional help, review what you wrote on the Looking Back on the Middle Ages sheet from the last lesson.
 * 3) Create a collage on poster board highlighting the achievements, culture, history, and/or geography of each of the five empires or regions. Refer to your History Journal notes.
 * Glue the Middle Ages map in the center of your poster board
 * Mark off five distinct areas on the poster board surrounding the map
 * In each area you marked off, draw or cut and paste images of what you most associate with that place.
 * Draw lines to connect the images to their correct locations.

Lesson 3: Trade, Trade, Trade
Trade has always played an important role in cultural diffusion. It was trade, in part, that bought Byzantine culture to Russia and Islam to Mali. Most people probably didn't realize that their town or village had any connection to other regions, but over time, trade opened just about every part of the globe to culture and ideas from other places. When Rome fell, trade in Western Europe almost stopped, and learning suffered.

As early as the second century B.C. (some historians believe it was even earlier), caravans from China carried goods to Persia along the route we know today as the Silk Road. The Silk Road was really a network of roads and some short sea routes over which traders moved between East and West. It reached its height in the eighth century A.D. In the sixteenth century, explorers discovered faster and safer ways to transport goods back and forth. The Silk Road certainly wasn't the only trade route in the world, but it clearly illustrates the power of trade in spreading ideas.

Lesson Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous lessons
 * Conduct research in preparation for writing a research report


 * 1) Go back to earlier chapters in your textbook to identify goods, ideas, people, and other items that traveled along the Silk Road in different time periods.
 * 2) Complete [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_03alongsilkroad.pdf]] by listing goods or ideas that moved over the route, where they came from, and where they went in each of the time periods shown (there may be an overlap of goods and ideas in different time periods). Don't try to list everything. Some suggestions of where to look are: Part 2: Chapters 2,4, and 5; Part 3: Chapter 4; Part 4: Chapters 1,3,4,10,11, and 12.
 * 3) Your next assignment will be to pick a topic for a research report. Researching the Silk Road and the spread of goods and ideas leads to many fascinating topics. if you are not interested in some aspect of the Silk Road, think about the other people, time periods, or places you have studied in World History. Your topic must be related to this course. Scan the appropriate sections of your textbook, go to an online encyclopedia, or use Ask Jeeves Kids to learn a little about the topics that look the most interesting. By the end of today's lesson you should have decided on a topic you'd like to research.
 * 4) Some ideas to get you thinking about the Silk Road include:
 * Geography of the route or a particular region
 * A city or cities on the Silk Road
 * People along the route
 * Transportation over time
 * Archaeology
 * Cyrus
 * Darius
 * Alexander the Great
 * Wudi
 * The Khans
 * Why the Silk Road declined
 * Silk, other textiles
 * Spices: value, place of origin
 * Buddhist missionaries
 * Zoroastrianism
 * John of Plano Carpini
 * Money
 * Animals on the Silk Road
 * Parthians
 * Kushan Empire
 * Diseases
 * Dances
 * Glass
 * Porcelain
 * Perfumes
 * Foods
 * Paper and printing
 * Seaports
 * Math
 * Military
 * Gunpowder
 * Competing trade routes
 * Marco Polo
 * Gold
 * Other missionaries

Lesson 4: Finding Information
By now you should have chosen a topic you want to write about. But before you start to look for information on the topic, you'll need to narrow it down and point yourself in the right direction by asking questions that you would like to answer. Then it will be time to take notes and prepare bibliography cards.

Lesson Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous lessons
 * Conduct research in preparation for writing a research report

**Narrow Your Topic**
You want a good working topic for your paper--one that is neither too broad nor too narrow. To help you focus in on your topic, complete. Next you'll start your research. But don't jump right into reference books and websites! First, point yourself in the right direction by asking questions you'd like to answer about your topic. On a separate sheet of paper, make a list of questions. That way, you will not be trying to use every source that has to do with a topic that is too broad.

Save your questions to use as you begin researching. They will help you develop subtopics (the smaller parts of the main topic). below is an example of a main topic and some possible subtopics.

Topic: Decline of the Silk Road Possible Subtopics:
 * The end of the Mongol Empire
 * New technologies
 * New trade routes

**Write a Thesis Statement**
A //thesis statement// is a sentence that states the main idea of an essay report. It helps you keep that idea in mind as you plan, research, and write your report.

Write a thesis statement for your report on a note card. Keep in mind that this statement may not be your final one. You may want to revise it as you research. Keep your thesis statement with your other note cards so you can refer to is as needed.

**Take Good Notes**
When writing a research paper, it is important to take good notes and to list your sources.
 * Print and read [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_4_notes.pdf]]
 * Be sure to complete bibliography cards and note cards as you research

Lesson 5: Finding More Information
You will continue researching your topic using the internet and print sources in preparation for creating a visual and for writing a research report.

Lesson Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous lessons
 * Conduct research in preparation for writing a research report

**More Research**
card. As you research your topic, take careful notes using a separate note card for each piece of information. Always record the source of the information on the note card. Whenever you use a new source, make a new bibliography card for it.

In addition, try to use a variety of sources. for example, if you have been using books, consult magazines and websites. Be careful to use only reliable sources. Look at the credentials of the author and the publisher before you accept any information as fact, particularly information you find on websites.

In later stages of the writing process, you may go back and do more research if necessary. Professional writers, as well as students, often find that they need more information once they start writing.

Lesson 6: Showing What You've Learned
Complement your research report by developing a visual that illustrates or represents your chosen topic. Continue researching if necessary, and begin to prepare an outline.

Lesson Objectives

 * Review knowledge gained in previous lessons
 * Conduct research in preparation for writing a research report and for creating a visual


 * 1) Many research reports include one or more visual items. These visuals convey information about the topic to enhance the report. Brainstorm ideas for a visual that will complement your research report and who what you've learned. Write your ideas on a sheet of paper. or example, if you have chosen Music of the Silk Road as your topic, you might create pictures (with captions) of several types of instruments that traveled the Silk Road. if you chose the Geography of the Silk Road, you might create a colored map that illustrates the geographic features of the Silk Road or images of surrounding land such as deserts, mountains, river, and plains.
 * 2) Develop your visual.

**Plan the Research Report**
By now you should have all the information for your research report on your note cards. Now, it's time to plan your report.
 * 1) Read over your notes and arrange the cards into separate stacks according to their content. For example, if your topic was the Decline of the Silk Road, the all cards with information about the end of the Mongol Empire would be in one stack, cards with information related to new technologies in another, and cards with information about new trade routes would be in a third stack.
 * 2) As you begin to plan for writing your research paper, how do you know what to include and what to leave out? The key is unity. In a good research report, every piece of information should be related to the main topic. Details that are interesting but stray from the topic should not be included. Remove any note cards that give information that strays from your topic.
 * 3) You will follow the classic essay pattern of an introduction with a thesis statement followed by the main body of supporting paragraphs, and finally, a conclusion. Revisit your thesis statement. make sure it matches the notes you've taken. if you find that it does not quite fit the information, rewrite the thesis statement so it reflects your research. Remember your thesis statement will form the core of your introductory paragraph.
 * 4) Begin to outline the paragraphs of the main body of the report by following the pattern on [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_06_Outline.pdf]]. Remember that an outline is the skeleton of a research report. If parts of your outline aren't covered well in your notes, go back now and try to find more information for those sections.

Lesson 7: Writing About What You've Learned
You will complete your outline and visual, and then write the first draft of your research report.

Lesson Objectives

 * Conduct research in preparation for writing
 * Write the first draft of a research report


 * 1) Now it's time to write the first draft of your research report. Research reports are a little different from other kinds of essays. One key difference is that in a research report you must document your sources. Whenever you use a direct quotation from a source or whenever you state a fact that is not common knowledge, you must provide a reference, or //citation,// that shows where you got that information.
 * The format for citations within a report is simple--you list the citation in parentheses after the fact or quotation it documents. This is called "parenthetical documentation." The citation should include the website name or author's last name and the screen or page number where you found the information. Here is an example of a quotation with a citation: "To fly non-stop around world in a balloon was one of the aviation's last great challenges--a challenge that was finally met on March 20, 1999 by Bertran Piccard of Switzerland and Brian Jones of Britain."
 * If you give the author's name in your own passage, your citation should show only the page number. For example, "As author Aaron Percefull says..." (25).

2. Here are a few reminders as you begin to write your draft:
 * Use a writing style that is appropriate for serious information and for your intended audience
 * Try to maintain a consistent tone and voice to go with your informational style
 * Follow the classic essay pattern consisting of these elements: introduction with a thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion
 * Each paragraph should have a main idea of its own, with a topic sentence and supporting details
 * As you write, follow your outline. You don't have to start by writing the first paragraph of the report, however. You may write the body of the report first, or even the conclusion
 * Whether you are writing by hand or typing your report, double space to leave room for revisions.

3. At the end of your report, you will need to provide the complete reference to any materials you used in a "Works Cited" page.

A Works Cited page includes all the sources you cited in the text of your report. if you took notes on a source but did not actually use it, don't list it on the Works Cited page. To create the Works Cited page, review your report and locate all the citations. Then gather the bibliography cards you made for the sources. Arrange the cards into categories (such as books, periodicals, Internet sources, etc.) and alphabetize the sources in each category. For each source, write out a full citation in the correct form as shown on:

Lesson 8: Writing Well
Revising a research report involves several steps. first you need to revise for content and for style and form. Then you need to proofread your paper.
 * 1) Make a title page for your research report and include your name on a separate line
 * 2) Read back through your whole research paper. Did you stay on the topic? Are all your ideas clearly written? Use [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_8_checklistRev.pdf]] to guide you as your read your paper.
 * 3) Do you see any spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes? Use [[file:MS_WDHISTA_14_8_checklistProof.pdf]] to guide you as you proofread your paper.
 * 4) Make your corrections to your essay, and then print after you have made your revisions.
 * 5) Add the visual that you developed to your research paper.