Journey Along the Silk Road

Time and Materials

By Karima Diane Alavi  - June, 2003

Time required for this project

This depends upon how much of the project the teacher elects to do. The range can be from 2 hours to one week, with a culminating Celebration of Learning at the end.

Materials

Optimal Learning Environment for a "Rihla" Unit: Ideas for Classroom set-up

1. Decorate the room with "stations" along the Silk Road or one of its many branches into places such as Europe or India. Each station will have artifacts and other manipulatives from a different part of the Old World trade routes. Let students spend time at the different stations and explore the items that represent that part of the world. Try to have a few pieces of clothing in the room as well, so they can try the clothes on. Set up stations as follows:
   
   
   

   1. Fez, Morocco		6. Isfahan, Iran
   2. Timbuktu, Mali		7. Bukhara, Central Asia
   3. Cairo, Egypt		8. Delhi, India
   4. Sana'a, Yemen		9. Guangzhow, China
   5. Jerusalem		10. Bruges, Flanders

   
   
   
   
2. Put a map on the classroom wall and have students circle cities that they've studied.
3. Have students fill in countries on a map in their notebooks, but don't allow them to write in the name until they've learned something about that country and written it on a list.
4. On another map, have students mark the journey taken by Marco Polo. On the same map, but in another color, have them mark the journey of Ibn Battuta. What places did they both visit? How did their journeys differ?
5. Let students decorate the bulletin board with visuals cut from magazines. They can find things such as pictures of people from across the Silk Road, or religions along the Silk Road, or animals along the Silk Road. (Aramco Magazine, which is free to educators, is a good source for this project.)
6. Write the word "welcome" in several languages on the door to the classroom.
7. Have CDs available with music from various parts of the Silk Road. Make sure there's a good combination of quiet music and active music.
8. When students are writing in their Rihla (imaginary Travel Journals) in the classroom, turn the lights off, draw the curtains and have them write by candle light.
9. Have scented candles in the room. Use them to tie in the subject they're studying. For instance:
10. Burn a coffee scented candle while students learn about the transfer of this popular beverage from Yemen to the cities of Europe.
11. Burn a floral scented candle when students learn about the path of tulips from the Middle East to Holland.
12. Burn a rose scented candle when studying the development of perfumes.
13. Burn a sandalwood candle when studying India, China or Buddhism
14. Have some basic percussion instruments available, even if it's wooden blocks for keeping the beat, and allow students to use them while listening to music.
15. Turn the classroom Quiet Space into a "Mongolian Yurt" with a tent over the top of the bookshelves.