This collection gathers articles, definitions, and maps covering the trade routes, travelers, and networks of exchange related to Unit 2: Networks of Exchange of the AP® World History: Modern curriculum. In here, you will find resources for teachers, providing the materials needed to explore how goods, ideas, and people moved between distant regions of the world during this period.
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Ideas for Teachers
- Two-way Silk Road trade: Have your students list the goods moving west to east and in the opposite directions, as listed in the Silk Road article. Then discuss why paper and gunpowder had a greater impact on world history than silk itself.
- Mongol Empire flowchart: Ask students to create a flowchart based on the information found in the Mongol Empire and Kublai Khan articles, showing the effect of the Mongols' policies on trade (yam postal system, tax incentives for merchants, paper money, road building, etc.).
- Compare ocean trade networks: Have students read the Kilwa and the Seven Voyages of Zheng He articles side by side and compare what each of them reveals about Indian Ocean trade networks.
- Trans-Saharan gold & salt trade: Based on the articles Mansa Musa I, Timbuktu, and The Camel Caravans of the Ancient Sahara, ask your students to explain the importance of camel caravans for trans-Saharan trade, as well as its importance.
- Primary source analysis: Ask your students to pick either the Ibn Battuta or the Margery Kempe article to identify the primary author's point of view, the purpose of their writing, and who their likely audience would have been.
- Trade routes & the Black Death: Use the Black Death article and the Map of the Trade Networks in the Middle Ages to have students trace how said trade networks may have carried the plague from Asia into Europe.
Browse the collection below to find materials that fit your teaching style and feel free to adapt them to your students. Note that our articles are print-friendly, and there is a PDF export button on each article page.
