1. Silk Road Area Present-day population patterns in the area traversed by the Silk Roads

2. These were the largest cities in 100 CE. Predict population today! This short unit can be used as a presentation, with a teacher commenting on the slides. Other teachers might prefer to use it as an in-class or take-home investigation, with students making hypotheses and gathering information from the maps. To do it that way, make copies of the maps (or overhead transparencies), or be prepared to “shuttle” back and forth between maps.

3. These were the largest cities in 100 CE. Predict population today! Start by asking students to examine the pattern of cities in the year 100 CE.

4. These were the largest cities in 100 CE. Predict population today! Here are some focus questions: -- “Are these ancient cities likely to be centers of large populations today?” -- “Which of these ancient cities do you think has continued to grow until today?” -- “What parts of this map do you think have the largest populations today?” You might ask students to circle the ones they think still have large populations. Remember to ask them for reasons to justify their hypotheses.

5. You might get some clues from this satellite image of the area. Then show the satellite image and ask them what conditions are likely to encourage population growth.

6. You might get some clues from this satellite image of the area.... mountains look “lumpy,”... Remember, on this kind of satellite image, deserts are tan,...... and pink dots show large cities in 100 CE.

7. 8 This map uses dots to show the pattern of population today. Human geography: Where is population density high? Why there?

8. 8 “Human geography:” population density! Why in those places? Note the large populations in China and India. Ask students why so many people live in those areas. This map uses dots to show the pattern of population today.

9. Describe the relationship of population to rivers. Large rivers appear to help support population, BUT students should learn that there are different kinds of rivers in the world!

10. Overlay “rivers” and precipitation, and compare with the population map. Rivers that start in really high mountains or flow through rainy areas are more likely to support large human populations.

11. Add the major cities in 100 CE. Do they “predict” present population density? Look back at the pattern of large cities in 100 CE. Several that were near large rivers were likely to continue to grow.

12. Silk Road Towns This short unit examines the locations of the largest cities in the year 100 CE in terms of the continental pattern of average annual temperature and total precipitation.

13. Which weather stations have the lowest temperature? The highest temperature? Note: These weather stations are located in large, present-day cities. This map uses an unusual “language” - colored dots – to show the pattern of average temperature. Notice colder temperatures in the north and warmer in the south.

14. This map shows large cities in 100 CE. Write a generalization about their temperature. By overlaying these maps (or shuttling back and forth) students should discover that most of the large cities in 100 CE had medium temperatures (not very hot OR cold).

15. Write a generalization about the precipitation in the large cities of the year 100 CE. They should also discover that most of the large cities had intermediate amounts of rain or snow – (not very wet OR dry).

16. Write a generalization about the climate of the largest cities in 1000 CE. This map allows an extension of the lesson to look at the climate of the largest cities in the year 1000 CE. Notice that none of the largest cities are in the northern parts of Europe and Asia shown on this map.