Subject: Social Studies
Lesson Length: 50 - 55 mins
Topic: Effect of Trade on Technological Advances
Grade Level: 6
Standards / Framework:
Brief Description: Students will learn how trade between regions contributed to advances in technology.
Know Before You Start: Have maps available that show various transregional trade routes.
Hook:
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Discuss how a specific technology developed over the past five years, ten years, and fifty years.
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Why was that technology developed?
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What need called for the development of this new technology at the time? For example, Uber Eats, SmartPhone, Social Media, Radio.
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Read and discuss the sample comic.
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How did trade help new technology develop?
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Activity:
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Display a map showing these major trade routes: Trans-Saharan, Silk Road, Indian Ocean Routes and Mediterranean Sea Routes.
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Have students select one of these transregional routes to research.
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Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a three-panel comic illustrating the technology developed at that time as a result of traveling that route.
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The comic should include:
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information about the route selected
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the technology developed
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how it helped or impacted other societies
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Closure:
- Discuss finished comics as a class.
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You may choose to group students using a Jigsaw grouping, with at least one person in every group representing each trade route.
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Have students discuss their new technologies for each route. Then, decide as a group which technology has had the most impact on their own lives.
Differentiation:
- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
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Use Think-Pair-Share strategy during whole group discussion.
Resources:
- Comic to print or display: Comic.
Suggested Content Packs:
Make a comic about Ancient China
Make a comic about the Age of Exploration
