The cost of these National Geographic Books is $334, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
Every year I start my classes off by asking -- where in the world did your clothes, shoes, and school supplies come from? We check a shoe or two to find out where most of our shoes come from. Students are always amazed to find out that most of our material goods come from China. This opens the door to ask what the United States makes and sells. For homework, students rush home to look for goods on their shelves that are made in the USA. And so our journey begins into the history of trade and tracing its roots from the Silk Road to eBay.
Trade is an important theme in both US history and world history. I teach both. My activity focuses on developing a unit of study on trade and its importance in history.
My activity requires the use of a set of books from National Geographic. This set of books examines TRADE Across Time and Cultures. It includes four separate titles: Silk, Salt, Spices, and Fur. Each book details a global look at the history of trade for each commodity. I would use these books to help my students discover the importance of trade and how it shapes the daily lives of people across cultures and makes or breaks the wealth of nations.
This unit of study provides a thread throughout the academic year. Students work in groups to become trade history specialists at the beginning of the school year. Additionally, I use trade as one of the themes to connect our studies with trade in today's world news through a weekly current events assignment.
The caravans of the Silk Road moving foods, goods, and ideas offers an interesting contrast to today's Internet marketplaces, such as eBay. Hopefully, this activity will encourage students to ponder the possibilities of trade in the future. The purpose of learning history is to be able to better understand the present and predict the future with its many possibilities. Where will eBay lead us in the history of trade?
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