Marco Polo Takes A Trip
Introduction
During the Middle Ages, most people in Europe spent their
entire lives in the village where they were born. But in the 13th century, a
young Italian named Marco Polo traveled all the way to China! He spent 17 years
as a member of the court of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. After he returned to
Italy, he recorded his experiences in a book, sparking a surge in interest in
the Far East among Europeans that led to a great age of exploration.
In this lesson, students will learn about the remarkable
travels of Marco Polo. They will consult maps to locate Venice and follow the
routes Marco took to Beijing and back. They will learn about the challenges
of traveling along the Silk Road, discover some interesting facts about China
under Mongol rule, and find out how Marco came to produce his famous book. Then
they will work in groups to create a large mural/timeline of the life and adventures
of this famous traveler.
Guiding Question:
Who was Marco Polo? Why did he travel to China? What was it like to travel along the Silk Road? What was China like in the 13th century? How did Marco Polo get back home? Why did he write a book, and why is this book important?
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Identify Marco Polo and understand why he took his trip
- Indicate on a map the routes Marco took to China and back
- Describe the challenges of traveling along the Silk Road
- List several interesting aspects of 13th century Chinese culture
- Explain the circumstances in which Marco's book was written and understand the influence the book had upon the European public
Special Materials for Mural/Timeline
- A large piece of butcher paper, preferably about three feet wide and twelve to fourteen feet long
- Tacks or tape for affixing the butcher paper to the wall or a bulletin board
- Colored markers
- About a cup of sand (optional)
- Glue sticks (optional)
Preparing
to Teach this Lesson
Read through the lesson plan and become familiar with
materials and websites listed. Bookmark the sites you plan to use. Ideally,
computer-generated images from the various websites in this lesson should be
projected on a screen visible to all members of the class. Students can also
work in small groups sharing a number of computers. Or you can download and
reproduce all materials for use by students at their desks.
Background information about Marco Polo and the Silk
Road can be found at the following sites:
Tape or tack the butcher paper for the mural/timeline
to a long bulletin board (or a wall) at a level sufficiently low for all students
to write and draw on it. Divide the paper into seven sections. Leaving the first
section on the left blank, number the others from one to six, moving left to
right.
If possible, obtain from your school library the following
books by Fiona MacDonald: Marco Polo: A Journey through China and The World
in the Time of Marco Polo. It would be very helpful to have on hand and
visible to students a globe, a world map, and, ideally, a large map of Asia.
Suggested
Activities
Warm-up—Taking a Family Trip
Activity 1—Home Base
Activity 2—Marco's Big Chance
Activity 3—From Venice to Kashgar
Activity 4—Crossing the Deserts
Activity 5—Adventures in China
Activity 6—Coming Home
Activity 7—Marco's Book
Activity 8—Making a Mural/Timeline
Activity 9—Show and Tell
Warm-up—Taking a Family Trip
Ask the students to think about a trip they have taken
with their families—it can be something as ambitious as a visit to Disney
World or as simple as a trip to the local zoo. Even a short trip can be an adventure,
a chance to learn something new. Make a list of these trips on the board, leaving
space to add a few descriptive phrases.
Ask how they prepared for the trip. What did they take
along? (Special articles of clothing? Favorite books or games? Snacks?) Write
these on the board next to the trip descriptions. Often things turn out differently
than one might expect. Ask if anything unusual or unexpected happened on their
trips. (Did anything surprise them? Did they learn anything new?) Note these
down on the board. Finally, ask what was the first thing they told their friends
about their trip. Write these on the board.
Tell the students that they will be learning about a
young man named Marco Polo, who took a very long trip with his father and uncle,
visiting places he had never even heard about.
Activity 1—Home Base
Begin this activity by saying that Marco Polo lived during the Middle Ages. Most people associate the Middle Ages with castles and knights. However, the majority of Europeans who lived at that time were simple farmers, who lived in small villages. But Marco Polo didn't live in a castle or on a farm. He lived in a city—Venice.
Locate Venice on the map following these steps:
- Access a map of the world available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource National Geographic Xpeditions. With the cursor indicate the location of Europe.
- Access the map of Europe, also available through National Geographic Xpeditions. Click on PDF to enlarge the map. Indicate the location of Italy. You might wish to mention that Italy is always easy to find, since it looks like a high-heeled boot jutting into the Mediterranean Sea. Outline mainland Italy with the cursor. Point out that Africa and Asia also border the Mediterranean Sea.
- Access Europe available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource Labyrinth. Find Italy, then Venice.
- Call for volunteers to locate Venice on the globe or world map in your classroom.
Now ask who knows something about Venice. Perhaps some students will be familiar with modern images of canals and gondoliers. Explain that the city was built on a group of islands many centuries ago. Because of its location on the coast, it became an important center of trade. Ships brought products, such as silk, spices, gold, and ivory from other ports in Europe, Africa and Asia. Merchants in Venice bought these products to sell to their customers.
Marco's father was a merchant, who often traveled far
from home to obtain luxury products that were not available in Venice. When
Marco was just five, his father and his uncle left home on such a trip. They
would be gone for 12 years. During this time, Marco lived alone with his mother.
He went to school and discovered that he had a knack for languages. He also
spent time around the docks, where he heard many tales about distant ports.
Ask the students to imagine what it might have been like to grow up in a trading
port like Venice. What sorts of dreams might Marco have had about his future?
If you have MacDonald's The World in the Time of
Marco Polo available, read a few selected passages, sharing the illustrations
as you proceed. Other passages can be shared in later activities.
Assessment:
Complete this activity by having students fill out the chart available in pdf format. Older students can work in pairs to write in the answers. Younger students can brainstorm as a group, suggesting answers, which you can write on the board.
Activity 2—Marco's Big Chance
When Marco's father and uncle finally returned home, they had many stories to tell. They had traveled all the way to eastern China!
- Access Silk Road Maps available through Asia Source and look at the first map. Find China. If you are working with older students, call for volunteers to name the modern countries that lie between Turkey and China.
Marco's mother had recently died, so when his father
and uncle began planning a return trip to China, they invited Marco to go along.
(He was now 17.) He was, of course, very excited about this opportunity. But
he was also a little nervous about the stories his father and uncle told about
their journey across vast, windy plains, through sizzling deserts, and over
high snow-capped mountains.
Have the students put themselves in Marco Polo's shoes
and think about setting off on a trip through rugged environments he knows little
about—except that it can be very hot or very cold. What sorts of things
should he pack for his trip? (Remind them that he will have to carry everything
on his back!) What excites him most about taking a trip? Exploring the unknown?
Spending time with "Dad" (and Uncle)? Getting away from Venice? What aspects
of the upcoming journey worry him? If you are working with younger students,
note down their ideas on the board. Older students can write a page in Marco's
daily journal, reflecting what his thoughts might have been about his upcoming
trip.
Activity 3—From Venice to Kashgar
The journey to China took over three years. Remind the
students that during the Middle Ages there were no planes, trains, or cars, and
that the roads were poor.
- Return to Silk Road Maps. Call upon volunteers to suggest the best route from Venice
to China. Some students might suggest going due east from Venice. However,
this would involve crossing many mountains.
The Polos took advantage of Venice's location and begin the journey by boat, sailing
southeastward across the Mediterranean to Acre
(in modern Israel).
From Acre, the Polos traveled northward, crossed through modern Turkey, then proceeded
south through Iran and Iraq to a port on the Persian Gulf. In earlier times, Iran
was known as Persia, which explains how the gulf got its name.
- Have the students trace the route from Acre to the Persian Gulf on the map.
Marco's father and uncle had planned to sail from the Persian Gulf to China, but
the ships seemed so rickety that they changed their minds. Instead, they headed
north across the Iranian plateau. They eventually picked up the Silk Road, a complex
of trade routes that extended from Mediterranean ports all the way to China. They
proceeded along the Silk Road (through parts of modern Iran and Afghanistan) to
the trading city of Kashgar.
- Have the students indicate the route from the Persian Gulf to Kashgar on
the map.
- To learn more about the rugged geographical features of this region, access
Topography
of Western Asia available through Asia
Source. Find the port on the gulf and trace the Polo's route to Kashgar.
You might explain to the students that the dark brown on the map indicates
high mountains and the white refers to snow.
- View photographs of this region in links available through Asia
Source:
To reach Kashgar the Polos had to cross the towering
Pamir Mountains, whose peaks are so tall they are known as the “Roof of
the World.” Call upon students to describe what they see. What skills
would a traveler need to survive a trek through mountains like these?
You might wish to initiate a short discussion by asking
the students how they would feel after taking a long hike, running a hard race,
or spending a long day at a ski area. What would they want most to do? Take
a nap? Drink some water? Sit by the fire? Imagine how the Polos must have rejoiced
when they finally made it over the Pamirs and reached the bustling trading city
of Kashgar, famous for its cool water, warm climate, and fresh melons!
Assessment:
Complete this activity by having the students, working in pairs, fill out the chart available in pdf format. Younger students should do this together as a group activity under your guidance.
Activity 4—Crossing the Deserts
From Kashgar, the Polos had to cross two deserts - the
Taklamakan and the Gobi.
- The Taklamakan is Asia's driest desert, a seemingly endless wasteland of shifting sand dunes. (In the local Uighur language "Taklamakan" means "desert of no return.") The Polos followed a route that skirted the desert to the south, trekking from one isolated oasis to another.
- After making a short loop to the south, they proceeded through the Gobi desert, Asia's largest desert. (Its name is Mongolian for "place without water.")
- The surface of the Gobi is a thin layer of gravel, with a few rocks protruding here and there. Only tufts of rough grass can grow here. Living conditions are not much better here than in the Taklamakan.
- Return to Marco Polo's Route. Have the students trace the route from Kashgar to Beijing.
- To see the geographical features of this region access Topography of Eastern Asia.
- Photos of this region can be viewed at The Silk Road—Pictures. Scroll down to the first and second photos. Call upon students to read the descriptions of the scenes and to comment upon what they see. Other scenes indicating how little travel conditions in this region have changed since the days of Marco Polo can be viewed at Electronic Passport to the Silk Road available through Asia Source. Scenes of daily life among the local inhabitants can be viewed at CSEN and Silk Road Photo Gallery, both available through Asia Source.
Assessment:
Now instruct the students to fill out the chart
available in pdf format. As before, younger students can do this as a group
activity.
Activity 5—Adventures in China
The Polos finally arrived in China and traveled on to
Shangdu, the summer capital of the great emperor of China, Kublai Khan. (Shangdu
was not far from modern Beijing.)
Introduce the students to Kublai Khan by viewing the
Painting of Emperor
Khublai Khan available through Asia
Source. Kublai was so impressed with Marco's intelligence, poise, and his
skill with languages that he made him an official of his court. He sent him
on missions throughout China and outlying regions, instructing him to observe
carefully and to come back to relate what he had seen. Below are some of Marco's
observations, which he later described in his book. Share these with your students.
- Kublai's summer residence (Shangdu)
was a huge marble palace. Its halls and chambers were all gilded with gold.
It opened onto a large game park, filled with deer and exotic birds, and in
the middle of this was another smaller palace. This smaller palace was made
entirely of cane. It was framed with on gilded pillars, on each of which stood
a carved dragon, entwining the pillar with his tail and supporting the roof
on his outstretched limbs. (The dragon was one of the most important symbols
in China. It was associated with good luck, the power of the emperor, and
the rain that ensured a good crop for the farmers.) And the smaller palace
was portable! It was held together by 200 strong cords of silk and could be
taken down and removed to another place whenever the Khan wanted to do so.
- Kublai kept a herd of 10,000 snow-white horses in
Shangdu. The milk of the mares was used to make a special beverage known as
koumis, which Kublai and his family consumed during special ceremonies. The
white horses were so revered that when they were grazing, no one could pass
through - even the loftiest lord had to wait until they moved on.
- Kublai Khan had a mint that made paper money from
the bark of mulberry trees. Sheets of paper were cut up in rectangles of various
sizes, each size worth a certain amount. Europeans of this time either traded
products or used metal coins as currency. They had never heard of paper money—in
fact, they didn't even have paper! (They wrote on parchment made from animal
skins.)
- The Chinese had stones that burned like logs—coal!
Coal burns much longer than wood. Europeans burned wood in their fires and
hadn't heard of coal. Marco noted that one of the main uses of coal was to
heat public and private bath houses. He was amazed to learn that the Chinese
took baths several times a week, sometimes every day. Europeans bathed much
less frequently. In the winter they seldom bathed at all!
- Kublai Khan had a very efficient system for sending
messages throughout his kingdom. Relay stations were set up three miles apart,
and runners would carry messages from one station to the next. With this relay
system, a message could be carried the distance of a normal ten-day journal
in only one day. Even faster service was available with messengers who rode
horses at a gallop between stations that were 25 miles apart. This was very
much like the Pony Express of the Old West. If you have obtained a copy of
Fiona MacDonald's book, Marco Polo: A Journey Through China, read
selected passages aloud. Call upon students to comment upon the illustrations.
Assessment:
Conclude this activity by having the students identify
a picture of Kublai Khan and describe some of the marvels of 13th century China
during the emperor's reign. Which of these marvels or inventions and practices
were later used in the modern Western world? If you are working with younger
students, create a large Venn Diagram on the board and brainstorm with the class
to determine which items from the ancient society of Kublai Khan's China are
still used in Western society today.
Activity 6—Coming Home
After 17 years in China, Marco and his father and uncle
were anxious to return to Italy. So when arrangements were being made to send
a Mongol princess by the sea route to Persia, where she would marry a prince,
they offered to accompany her. Kublai reluctantly gave his permission.
The sea journey took 2 years, during which 600 passengers
and crew died. Marco doesn't tell us much about the circumstances, so we can
only imagine what they must have been. (Were there storms at sea? Did the travelers
become ill? Was there fighting with local natives? We'll never know for sure.)
When the Polos finally arrived in Persia, they learned that the prince had died,
so the princess married his son. They also learned of the death of Kublai Khan,
who had lived to be 80. They traveled across Persia to the Black Sea, then by
boat to Constantinople, then
Venice.
- Trace the route from the Persian Gulf to Venice. Remind
the students that Marco Polo traveled to China along the Silk Road (Marco
Polo's Route). Compare that journey to the return voyage. Ask which route
seems more difficult - and why.
Assessment:
Have the students fill out the chart available
in pdf format. As in earlier activities, younger students should work as
a group, brainstorming under your guidance to answer the questions in the chart.
Activity 7—Marco's Book
Three years after Marco had returned home, he was involved
in a war between his city, Venice, and its trading rival, Genoa. He was captured
and taken prisoner. While he was locked up, he became friendly with a fellow
prisoner, Rusticello (pronounced Rustichello) of Pisa, who was a writer of romance
novels. Marco told the writer all about his adventures in Central Asia, China,
India, and the other places he visited. Rusticello wrote down his words, and
this led to the creation of Marco's book.
The book became a bestseller! However, most Europeans
considered it science fiction, not fact. They couldn't believe that the places
described could actually exist. They even called Marco Il Milione—because
they believed he told a million lies! And yet, as Marco lay dying (he lived
to be an old man, see Marco
Polo), he insisted that he had only told part of what he had seen.
Incredible though his tales seemed, they did inspire
a number of people to travel East to find out about this exotic land for themselves.
So in this way, Marco Polo launched a whole new age of exploration.
Review the major phases of Marco's travels - his trip
from Venice to Acre and the Persian Gulf, his trek along the Silk Road, his
adventures in China, and his voyage home. Remind the students that the Polos
were the first Europeans to go all the way to Beijing, China. To most of their
friends and neighbors, that must have seemed like the end of the world. Instruct
older students to make a list of those aspects of Marco's travels that might
have struck the Europeans as the most far-fetched. Younger students might draw
pictures of what they consider the most unusual parts of Marco's story. Afterwards,
have the students share their opinions. Would they have believed Marco's stories
if they had lived in Europe during his times?
Activity 8—Making a Mural/Timeline
Tell the students that they will be working together
to create a colorful mural/timeline of the life of Marco Polo. Divide the class
into six groups. Assign to each group one of the following topics, which relate
to the stages of Marco Polo's life and travels in Activities 1 through 6:
- Growing up in Venice
- Traveling from Venice to Kashgar
- Crossing two deserts
- Adventures in China
- The journey home
- Marco's book
The students should meet together in their groups to
review the period in Marco's life and/or travels they have been asked to illustrate.
Have them refer to the charts they filled out in the previous activities, as
well as any pictures they might have drawn. You might wish to distribute copies
of maps or photographs you have downloaded from websites visited during this
project. Each group should decide how to illustrate their part of the mural,
including physical features of the environment, local inhabitants, and, of course,
a picture of Marco Polo "in action."
After the review session, instruct groups of students
to begin work on their section of the mural (which you numbered in preparing
the lesson). After writing a descriptive title at the top of the section (such
as "Growing up in Venice"), each group will begin illustrating, using markers
and other materials available. If you are working with younger students, you
should write the topics on the butcher paper and let the students concentrate
on their drawings.
It is not necessary to add dates, but make certain that
the students understand that the passage of time proceeds from left to right,
like the words in a book. When the illustrations are completed, choose a student
(one with very good handwriting) to write the title ("The Life of Marco Polo"
or something similar) at the beginning of the mural.
Activity 9—Show and Tell
Assemble the class in front of the mural/timeline. Have
each group "present" their section to the rest of the class.
Invite other classes or parents to come to your room
for a student led "virtual tour" (using the mural/timeline) of the life of Marco
Polo. Perhaps one student (or several, taking turns) can play the role of Marco
and tell his story, referring to the mural as he proceeds. Other members of
the class might point out the routes he took to China and back on the large
world map. After the presentation, encourage members of the audience to ask
specific questions of the students, so that they can each demonstrate how much
they've learned about the life and travels of Marco Polo.
Assessment:
Ask students to:
- Identify Marco Polo and explain why he took his trip
- Trace the journey of Marco Polo from Venice to China
on a map
- Describe the challenges of traveling along the Silk
Road, including the different kinds of terrain the Polos had to cross
- List several interesting aspects of 13th century Chinese
culture
- Explain the circumstances in which Marco's book was
written and point out the effect the book had upon the European public
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Asia Source
Ask Asia [http://www.askasia.org/ ]
- Silk
Road Encounters
[http://www.askasia.org/teachers/Instructional_Resources/FEATURES/
SilkRoad/index.htm]
Internet Public Library
- Polo, Marco
[http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0839558.html]
Labyrinth
National Geographic
Xpeditions
- Map
of Europe
[http://aol.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=
europe&Mode=b&SubMode=w]
- Map
of the world
[http://aol.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=
world&Mode=b&Submode]
- Marco
Polo's Voyage Home
[http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/07/01/html/
ft_20010701.2.html]
Standards Alignment
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