Lesson Plan: Marco Polo, and Economic Impacts of Exploration Teachers: Brett Mandel and Jessica Kettner Class/Subject:

CI 403 T Date: 11/8/12 Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: Students will be able to identify and understand the differences between primary and secondary sources. Students will work on their interpersonal skills when discussing both primary and secondary sources in small groups. Students will analyze primary documents and understand its historical impact in relation to the larger themes being discussed in the class. Content Standards: 16.A.4a Analyze and report historical events to determine cause and effect relationships. 18.C.4a Analyze major cultural exchanges of the past (e.g., Colombian exchange, the Silk Road, the Crusades) Materials/Resources Technology: For each class period, we will need: 2 large sheets of paper 2 markers/sharpies Teacher will bring in a few copies of the primary source quotes being used. Teacher will also bring 25 copies per class of the secondary source handout. Students will need a writing utensil. Teachers Goals: Teacher will enhance the students abilities to read and comprehend historical information. Teacher will further develop students group work, reading, and writing skills.

TIME Start of Class: At the start of class, students will be asked to put turn their desks around to face the other way. Students will put away everything except a writing utensil. This will help to set the stage for a divided classroom activity.

8:00-8:05

8:05-8:35

8:35-8:50

Introduction of Lesson: At this point we will introduce the activity for that class period. Students will count off by 2s in order to split the classroom into two groups. One group will start analyzing the primary source and the other group will start with the secondary source. Lesson Instruction: Each group should spend roughly 15 at each station. The group analyzing the primary source will go over three different excerpts written by Marco Polo. The teacher will pose questions and facilitate discussion for these primary documents, and write the findings for the group on a large piece of paper. These will be displayed in the classroom at the end of the day. Students at the secondary source station will read an excerpt about Marco Polo and answer a few multiple choice questions about it. They will also discuss the differences between the primary sources and secondary source. Assessments/Checks for Understanding/Review: During this time, we will regroup as an entire class. Students will turn their desks around again so they are facing their normal direction. From here, we will review everything we have talked about, and expand upon it. This discussion will be based off of the readings, and anything that students find interesting about them. This discussion will act as a less formal formative assessment, allowing us to check our students understanding of the topic as well as reiterate the key points made that day in class. Assessment: If not completed, students will complete and turn in the questions from the secondary source the following day.

Passages from The travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian:the translation of Marsden revised, with a selection of his notes

Importance of Trade near Yellow River: There is here an extensive manufacture of silks, which are exported in large quantities to other parts by the navigation of the river, which continues to pass amongst towns and castles, and the people subsist entirely by trade. (Page 285-86)

Paper Money: The money or currency they make use of is thus prepared. Their gold is formed into small rods, and (being cut into certain lengths) passes according to its weight, without a a stamp. This is their greater money: the smaller is of the following description. In this country there are salt-springs, from which they manufacture salt by boiling it in small pans. when the water has boiled for an hour it becomes a kind of paste, which is formed into cakes of the value of two-pence each. These, which are flat on the lower, and convex on the upper side, are placed upon hot tiles, near a fire, in order to dry and harden. On this latter species of money the stamp of the grand khan is impressed, and it cannot be prepared by any other than his own officers. Eighty of the cakes are made to pass fora saggio of gold. But when these are carried by the traders amongst the inhabitants of the mountains and other parts little frequented, they obtain a saggio of gold for sixty, fifty or even forty of the salt cakes in proportion as they find the natives less civilized, further removed from the towns, and more accustomed to remain on the same spot; inasmuch as people so circumstanced cannot always have a market for their gold, musk, and other commodities. (Page 259-260) Description of the Island of Chipangu, and the Great Kaans Despatch of a Host against it: The people are white, civilized, and well-favoured. They are Idolaters, and are dependent on nobody. And I can tell you the quantity of gold they have is endless; for they find it in their own Islands, [and the King does not allow it to be exported. Moreover] few merchants visit the country because it is so far from the main land, and thus it comes to pass that their gold is abundant beyond all measure. (Page 235-236)

Name _____________________________________

Date____________

The Travels of Marco Polo The famous explorer Marco Polo was born in the year 1254 to a family of merchants. Even then, the city where he was born--Venice--was a center for commerce and trading in the Mediterranean region. Because Marcos family was wealthy, he received a good education, learning about classical authors, the theology of the Latin Church, and both French and Italian. He also developed an interest in history and geography that would stay with him for the rest of his life. When Marco was 17, he accompanied his father and uncle on their second journey to Asia. They had an advantage over other travelers of the time: the emperor Kublai Khan had presented them with a golden tablet a foot long and three inches wide, inscribed with the words By the strength of the eternal Heaven, holy be the Khans name. Let him that pays him not reverence be killed. The golden tablet was like a special VIP passport, authorizing the travelers to receive horses, lodging, food and guides as they required. They had a long and difficult odyssey, mostly on horseback, to reach China. The Polos traveled through Armenia, Persia, and Afghanistan, over the Pamir Mountains, and along the Silk Road, the main travel route for traders. Marco kept detailed journals, where he recorded his impressions of the terrain. When he first saw the great Gobi Desert, more than 500,000 square miles (805,000 km) of sand, he wrote: This desert is reported to be so long that it would take a year to go from end to end....There is nothing at all to eat. The Polos stopped for a year in the Mongol region, where they learned about the lives of civilization of the people there. When the Polos reached Cathay to stay with the emperor Kublai Khan, Marco impressed the ruler with his knowledge of Mongol traditions. The Polos had traveled 5600 miles (9000 km) in over three and a half years to reach Cathay. Marco had mastered four languages by that time, and spent 17 years in the Khans court learning about trade, industry, and a new paper currency that was much easier to transport than heavy gold or silver. The Chinese had also invented a way of sending messages by which different horsemen passed the letters on to one another like a relay race. The Polos told the Khan of their homeland, especially of the Roman church and the Pope, about whom Khan was curious. Kublai Khans palaces were among the most elegant and fantastic structures in the world, with walls covered in gold and silver, a hall so large that 6000 people could dine at the same time, and a stable of thousands of pure-white horses, whose milk the royal family drank. Most surprising to Marco were the stones that burn like logs. The Khan had found a source of fuel that nobody in Europe could have imagined. It was called coal.

In 1298, Marco captained a galley-ship in a battle against Venices rival city, Genoa, and was captured as a prisoner of war. While he was imprisoned, he met a writer from teh city of Pisa who encouraged Marco to write of his travels in Asia. The resulting book, called The Description of the World; or The Travels of Marco Polo, was one of the most popular books in medieval Europe and became a bestseller, even though some people thought his stories were to incredible to be true. Marco was released from prison in 1299 and returned to Venice, where he married Donata Badoer and had three daughters. He lived in Venice until his death in 1324 at the age of 70, a tremendously old man for that time. On his deathbed, he uttered his famous last words: I have only told the half of what I saw! Though many of his stories were incredible, almost unbelievable, The Travels of Marco Polo captured the imaginations of centuries of Europeans who had no concept of what Asian culture was like. Marco Polo was an amazing scholar who was open-minded about cultures that were completely different from his own, from uncivilized mountian tribesman to the most exalted royalty of China. Nowadays, experts and historians are researching Marcos Travels. Many of the stories and places which were considered make believe during his life were later confirmed by 18th century explorers. Though Marco did not speak Chinese and did not discuss many aspects of Chinese culture that we might expect (for example, he does not mention the Great Wall, calligraphy, or tea), Chinese historians value his writings as a record of the battles of the 13th century. Marco was also not respected by most geographers during his time, but later some of his information was used to make maps of the 14th century. He was the first man to create a system for measuring distance traveled by how long it took, and he was the first traveler to record the route across all of Asia, naming kingdom after kingdom. For this achievement, his work is considered the precursor to modern scientific geography.

Answer the questions about The Travels of Marco Polo

1.) In what city was Marco Polo born? 1 Venice 2 Genoa 3 Beijing 4 Rome

2.) Why did he receive a good education? 1 He was a traveling salesman 2 His family was wealthy 3 His father invented the game of polo 4 He trained to be a priest

3.) What advantage did the Polos have while traveling? 1 Fast horses that could travel far 2 Comfortable, modern leather shoes 3 A golden tablet from Kublai Khan 4 Swift ships to make the journey

4.) When Marco Polo was 17, where did he begin traveling to? 1 Cherchen (now called Chechnya) 2 Cathay (now called China) 3 Persia (now called Iran) 4 Dalmatia (now called Croatia)

5.) What great desert did Marco say would take a year to cross? 1 The Sahara 2 Death Valley 3 Siberia 4 The Gobi

6.) Whose court did the Polos visit? 1 Kublai Khan 2 Shere Khan 3 Genghis Khan 4 Emperor Ming

7.) What new form of currency did the Polos learn about Cathay? 1 Gold 2 Silver 3 Paper 4 Wampum

8.) Who encouraged Marco to write about his travels? 1 A writer he met in prison 2 The Emperor of China 3 His uncle Matteo 4 His wife Donata

9.) What was Marco Polos book called? 1 Around the World in 80 Days 2 The Encyclopedia Britannica 3 The Travels of Marco Polo 4 The Polos Go to Asia

10.) Why did some people not believe Marcos stories? 1 They seemed to incredible to be true 2 Marco had a reputation for exaggerating 3 Asia was thought to be a myth 4 The Plague made people suspicious 11.) What amazing fuel did Marco learn about in Cathay? 1 Gasoline 2 Natural gas 3 Oil 4 Coal 12.) What things made Marco Polo such an amazing explorer? Circle all that are true. 1 He was a good scholar. 2 He had luxurious hair.

3 4 5 6 7

He was open-minded about new cultures. He spoke Haitian fluently. He kept careful records of geography. He knew a lot about America. He invented complex games.

13.) If you had lived in the 1300s, do you think you would have believed Marco Polos stories? Why or why not?

14.) Imagine that you are a modern-day Marco Polo. You dont have to travel to someplace very far away! If youve ever taken a trip to another country, state, or even city, you know that you saw many things that were different from what you were used to at home. Tell about a place that you have been, including descriptions of the people and sights of that place, to someone who hasnt been there. Imagine that you are describing these things for the first time.