Begin this activity by telling your students that they will be learning about
a young man, Marco Polo, who was one of the first Europeans to travel to China.
Marco grew up in the 13th century in Venice, an important trading city in Italy.
Student Activity:
Have the students locate Venice using the following links:
Europe
available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource SARAI.
Find Italy, then find Venice.
What do you notice about the location of Venice that might make someone
consider traveling to other places?
What information about Marco's family life suggests that he would want to
travel?
What sights, sounds, and smells might have interested Marco while he worked
in a spice shop overlooking Venice's harbor?
During the 13th century, Venice was an international center of trade. Its
strategic location on the Mediterranean enabled the city to attract ships from
trading ports in other parts of Europe was well as Africa and Asia. These ships
carried a wide variety of products, such as ivory, precious stones, and spices,
which were bought by Venetian merchants or exchanged for such local products
as woven wool cloth and colored glass.
Marco's father was a merchant. He and his brother left for an extended business
trip when Marco was five. The boy lived alone with his mother while he was growing
up. At one point, he worked in a spice shop overlooking the harbor. Marco was
fascinated by the tales he heard from merchants and mariners, and he often dreamed
of the day when he, too, could travel to distant places.
Student Activity:
To learn more about Venice's role as a trading hub, students can visit the
following links:
Rialto available through National
Geographic. You might call upon a student to read aloud the description of
the Venetian harbor.
Assessment:
Have the students, working in pairs, fill out the chart and answer the questions
about 13th Century Venice
available in PDF format. Once they have gathered this information, tell them
to pretend that they are 13th century travel agents. Still working in pairs,
their task is to design travel brochures, advertising with words and pictures
(drawings or images they have downloaded) the wonders of Venice.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience. more
