Background Information
Marco Polo (1254-1324) was the first European to cross Asia and leave a record of what he saw and heard while exploring the continent.
Polo was born in Venice, Italy. His mother died shortly thereafter, and his father saw him for the first time when he was 15 years old. Marco Polo was raised by his aunts and uncles.
Polo's father and uncle were Venetian merchants and business partners. When they finally returned to Venice to see the family, they were on a missionfor the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan. They stayed in Venice for two years before continuing on their mission and their final destination, China. Polo, at age 17, joined them.
Marco Polo entered Kublai Khan's diplomatic service, acting as his agent on missions to many parts of the empire and serving as a governor for three years. The Polos stayed in China until 1292. Then they left to escort a Mongol princess traveling to Iran. They arrived in Venice in 1295.
Marco Polo was taken prisoner in 1298 when he was captain of a Venetian galley that participated in a battle between the fleets of Venice and Genoa. During his imprisonment in Genoa, he dictated the detailed account of his travels to a fellow prisoner. He was released in 1299 and returned to Venice.
Marco Polo's story, The Travels of Marco Polo, is the most famous and influential travel book in history. It has a wealth of vivid detail and gave medieval Europe its first real knowledge of China and other Asian countries, including Thailand, Japan, Java, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Tibet, India, and Burma. For a long time it was the only source in Europe for information on the geography and life in the Far East. The book became the basis for some of Europe's first accurate maps of Asia. It helped to arouse Christopher Columbus' interest in the Orient, which culminated in his discovery of America in 1492 while attempting to reach the Far East. He took a copy of Marco Polo's book on his voyage.
- Share the Background Information and discuss whether Polo's childhood was typical of today or unique to the times. Discuss what effect Polo's early childhood, without his parents, could have had on his development.
- Have students read in pairs if multiple copies of Marco Polo: A Journey Through China are available. If this is not possible, have students take turns reading aloud, or read the book to the class.
- Challenge students to record locations where Marco Polo traveled.
- Guide students through a SCAMPER experience. You may choose to make copies of the next page if you like.
Teacher Tip
SCAMPER can be used to help students develop new thoughts and ideas and aids the creative thinking process. SCAMPER is an acronym for: substitute, combine, adapt, modify/magnify/minify, put to other uses, eliminate, reverse/rearrange.
S: Substitute
What do you think might have happened if Marco Polo had been raised by his parents instead of his aunts and uncles?
C: Combine
What might have happened if Marco Polo had been afraid of the ocean and been raised by a wealthy merchant?
A: Adapt
How might the story have changed if Marco Polo had had a younger brother or sister to look after while he was growing up?
M: Modify
What might have happened if Marco Polo's first voyage had ended in complete failure?
P: Put to other uses
What if Marco had only been interested in exploration so he could become wealthy?
E: Eliminate a feature of the story
How might the story of Marco Polo have changed if he had not been imprisoned and written his book?
R: Rearrange or reverse the sequence of the story.
How would the story of Marco Polo's exploration change if Marco Polo had been born a girl?
E. Ask students to work as partners to draw a map of the Eastern Hemisphere. Have them make symbols to attach to the map at various points that illustrate what Marco Polo found or experienced there. For example, a tiny prison cell could be the symbol in Genoa.
