Lesson 8: On the Road with Marco Polo: Homecoming

NCSS.D2.His.1.6-8. Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.

NCSS.D2.His.2.6-8. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

NCSS.D2.His.3.6-8. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant.

NCSS.D2.His.4.6-8. Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.5.6-8. Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed over time.

NCSS.D2.His.14.6-8. Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.

NCSS.D2.His.15.6-8. Evaluate the relative influence of various causes of events and developments in the past. 

NCSS.D2.His.16.6-8. Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument about the past.

Activity 1. Homecoming

This activity can serve as the culminating review lesson for the entire EDSITEment Marco Polo Curriculum Unit, or you may use it to complete your own series of lessons for 3rd through 5th graders that focus on Marco Polo's journey to China and back.

Guiding Discussion Questions:

• What happened to Marco Polo when he returned to Venice?
• What circumstances led to the publication of The Travels of Marco Polo?
• What effect did Marco Polo's book have on future explorers?

You might want to review with your students the highlights of Marco Polo's famous journey. You can visit an online slideshow of his travels by accessing sights and sounds available through Xpeditions. (note: this takes about 8 minutes to load and 9 minutes to run.)

Tell students that after Marco Polo returned to Italy, he found himself involved in a war fought between Venice and Genoa.

For more details about the long history of war between Venice and Genoa, visit The Four Genoa Wars, a website available via the EDSITEment-approved resource Labyrinth.

Marco Polo ended up in prison, and while there he described his many adventures abroad to a fellow-prisoner, novelist Rusticello. His vivid descriptions resulted in a book, commonly known as The Travels of Marco Polo, which became a bestseller and had a great impact upon the development and expansion of trade between Europe and the Far East. There were plenty of people who thought that Marco Polo's book was complete fantasy and devoid of fact. Marco Polo, however, swore on his deathbed that he did not even tell half of what he saw.

A century later, even Christopher Columbus was possibly inspired by Marco's book. His copy (with his notes written in the margin) can be seen today in a museum in Spain. You can read the details about Columbus' version (as well as questions regarding whether he read it before or after his first journey to the new world) by visiting Marco Polo's Voyage Home available through Xpeditions. Scroll down to the Did You Know? section for more detail.

Tell students that you are Rusticello and that they are the voice of Marco Polo. You are sharing a jail cell and are very, very bored. Tell them to pretend that they are telling you the story of their travels in order to relieve the boredom of imprisonment. Call upon students to:

• Trace Marco Polo's route to China and back on a large classroom map of the world
• Describe the various types of terrain that "they" (as Marco Polo) traveled through
• List the foods they ate, the people and cultures they saw, the religions they encountered in each of the major regions "they" (as Marco Polo) visited

Have students write an “entry” of Marco Polo's journey. They should pick one specific aspect of his journey to write about—examples could include details about the crossing of the Pamirs, the great help camels provided in crossing the deserts, or even the glory of Kublai Khan's palace. They should use the resources explored during the curriculum unit, as well as library and other reliable internet resources, to write their book “entry.” Essentially, the students are writing a report on a specific topic under the conceit of helping Marco finish his book. If possible, you could help them read the relevant section of Marco Polo's journey.

If your students completed all of the lessons in this curriculum unit, have them combine all of their assessments and written activities into an On the Road with Marco Polo portfolio to turn in for final evaluation. If they want, they can include their notes with this booklet as well so that they have a complete journal of their "journey" (although you will want to be clear about which parts are for assessment).

An interesting topic for student research would be to explore how trade between Europe and eastern Asia developed in the years following Marco Polo's famous trip. A good starting point can be found at Marco Polo's Voyage Home available through Xpeditions. Scroll down to Did You Know?

To read translated selections from Marco Polo's book, access the following links available through Labyrinth:

• Marco Polo: The Glories of Kinsay
• On the Tartars

Selected EDSITEment Websites

Labyrinth

• Marco Polo: The Glories of Kinsay
• On the Tartars

Xpeditions

• Sights and sounds
• Marco Polo's Voyage Home