Geographic Perspectives with Elementary Students: The Silk Road

Abstract

The Silk Road is a source of fact and myth. Stretching from Western China to the Middle East, it crossed forbidding deserts and rugged mountains. In this study, students consider the geography and climate of the region crossed by the silk routes and determine the best route a caravan would take across this region one thousand years ago. The study’s lesson serves as an introduction to the history of the region and the trade routes that crisscrossed it. Students make the same decisions about travel routes that ancient peoples made. The study’s purpose is to determine how elementary students think spatially, the prior knowledge that they bring to their thinking, and the conclusions they draw in critiquing a physical map.

Citation

Bisland, B.M.(L). (2007), "Geographic Perspectives with Elementary Students: The Silk Road", Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 209-218. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-02-2007-B0005