Starting the Silk Road with your students? Use this resource to introduce them to the ancient trade network! First, students have to research, label, and annotate a map of the Silk Road. This includes color coding! Then, students synthesize their new knowledge by answering high-level questions about the Silk Road. For example, they will need to list geographical features that acted as barriers to trade and explain why they made traveling difficult along the routes. They will also have an opportunity to research and compare goods traded along the Silk Road.

I have made this resource FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE. Depending on how deep your class is diving into the Silk Road, you can add or remove labeling tasks and edit the comprehension questions. Great opportunity for differentiation! I have also included a copy of this that can be cut and glued into interactive notebooks.

The following is included in this resource:

1. EDITABLE Map & Questions (PPT Template)

2. PRINTABLE WORKSHEET Map & Questions (PDF)

3. INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK Miniature Map (PDF)

4. Keys

5. Terms of Use & Credits

The default version of this requires a lot of labeling, but students only connect one land route and one sea route. However, we know that the Silk Road was more of a complex network than a couple of "roads." This is why I left the editable template in for you. You can make this more historically accurate and require students to draw more complex networks, or you can make it simpler just so they have that baseline knowledge of what the Silk Road was. I hope the default version that I made is a happy medium!

This resource is for personal and classroom use only. This is not authorized for commercial use.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I hope this is a wonderful addition to your class!