Describes the use of Charles Minard's graphic of Napoleon's 1812 Russian Campaign as an instructional tool in history classes. Maintains that the graphic, created in 1861, can be analyzed by students to determine six historical and geographical factors involved in Napoleon's defeat. Includes a copy of Minard's graphic. (CFR)

The purpose of this study is to investigate elementary students' explanations of how physical features of the land influence the location of humanly defined structures including trade routes, such as the silk routes. The silk routes were a series of caravan trade routes that extended from Turkey to China and were located as far south as India and…