1)   Content Standards

                 7.2 Examine the importance of trade routes and trace the rise of cultural centers and trade cities in Europe, Asia and Africa.

2)    Big Ideas/Concept

                  Trade

     2b.) Big Idea/Concept

                  Culture

3)     Essential Questions:

                  Overarching Essential question: What effect does trade have on our everyday life?

                  Topical Essential questions: 

o   Why are cities where they are? 

o   How did trade give rise to cultural centers and cities in Europe, Asia and Africa?

          3b.) Essential Questions:

                      Overarching:  How does trade continue to affect cultural centers and cities globally?

                      Topical Essential questions:

o   What were the cultural centers of Asia, Europe and Africa and how did trade impact their rise?

o   How does trade affect the rise and fall of cultural centers and cause diverse cultures to interact with each other?

Social Studies is a subject that gives our lives context.  If we read about history we’ll know where we are coming from, if learn about economics we’ll know better how to use our resources.  When we study geography and government we will better understand the region we live in and the bodies who govern our societies.

            Trade routes are a small part of that bigger social studies picture.  Trade is relevant to our lives because it is the reason we have such diversity in everything we have. Take a look at what you are wearing and what car you drive. Think about the food you eat and the type of transportation you use.  All of the things in our lives came to use from somewhere.  Sometimes it is a different town or city, but more often than not they now come from a different country. To understand why that is we need to look back and find out when trade began and why it began. What makes us trade resources with our neighboring countries rather than just producing it ourselves? These are the questions that are answered when we study trade routes.

            Trade routes spread goods to every corner of the world.  The types of food and spices we use in the U.S are an excellent example of what happens when you begin to trade.   What would our country look like if we didn’t import fruit from S. America, or spices from Asia?  Would you be able to eat an orange in the middle of winter if we didn’t import or trade? Our lives are impacted significantly by what we import as well as our economy being affected by what we export.  We can even talk about import and export affecting politics if we start a discussion about embargos and ethical business practices. 

In order for students to learn the unit I taught on culture and trade they needed to be able to take notes, work in groups, have a basic understanding of how to research on the internet and interpret information they read and its validity as it applies to the unit. Additionally students needed to be able to ask clarifying questions and have an understanding that many countries exist within a continent.

As I moved through the unit, I discovered that for the most part the students in my class had all of these prerequisite skills.  

7^th Grade Social Studies Standards

7.2 Examine the importance of trade routes and trace the rise of cultural centers and trade cities in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Explain in some detail, why trade routes, cultural centers and cities are important in Europe, Asia and Africa and be able to describe their growth. .

7.11 Describe the physical environment of places in the Eastern Hemisphere and how it influences trade, culture, and the economy.

Describe how naturally occurring features of a country could influence trade, culture and the economy.

7.21 Explain the function of imports and exports in the economy.

Explain how imports and exports work with in an economy.

SWBAT: locate and name important trade routes in recent history.

SWBAT: explain in their own words what importing and exporting is.

SWBAT: locate and define what cultural centers are.

SWBAT: create a trade route between two cultural centers and define why it may or not be successful.

Objectives (Students Will Be Able To-SWBAT):

SWBAT: map out several trade routes on a map of the Eastern Hemisphere-Application    

SWBAT: explain with multiple examples why trade is important.-Comprehension and Analysis

SWBAT: compare and contrast why certain trade routes lasted longer or were more effective- Synthesis

SWBAT: give examples and explain in their own words what culture is-Synthesis and Knowledge

SWBAT: track the evolution of trade in the Eastern Hemisphere by using a timeline or chart.-Knowledge