As
world explorers go, Marco Polo is probably the most curious and exciting. The
exploits of Marco Polo are featured in a new Netflix Originals mini series. The
next season will air in 2016. Marco Polo traveled in medieval times to explore
the magical Xanadu, summer palace of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan (son of
Ghengis Khan). Polo brought back exotic spices, jade, silk and strange beasts
(elephants) to the western world. His travels ushered in the Silk Road and
Spice Road trade systems. Marco Polo wrote about his travels in "Il
Milione" or "The Travels of Marco Polo." Here are free printable
Marco Polo lessons on the exploration, Kublai Khan, Xanadu and the Mongol
(Mongolian) Empire.
Start
at Silk Road by reading the biography of Marco Polo. Students could character map listing
information about Marco Polo. Next acquaint yourself with the travels of Marco
Polo. Here's a free printable map of the Marco Polo expedition, which became the Silk Road.You
could expand it and attach it to a cheap roll up window shade to make a
classroom map of the Silk Road. Have students color and label the map and make
icons to symbols elements of the Marco Polo story.
This
site describes Kublai Khan and the rise of the Mongol Empire under Ghengis Khan.
Students could create a Facebook profile Ghengis or Kublai Khan to put their
lives into modern perspective. Cal Tech has comprehensive information on Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Use this as a travelogue of Xanadu, the
Mongol Empire and the Silk Road.
Mr.
Donn offers free printable Marco
Polo lessons and activities on the
Mongol Empire and Kublai Khan, geared for lower elementary to middle school
students. Lesson Tutor has free printable Marco
Polo lessons. Click on the
checkmarks beside each lesson to open the activities on Kublai Khan, Xanadu and
the travels in the Mongol Empire.
Older
students might complete these free printable Marco
Polo worksheets and study guide.
These lessons work well students in grades 4-8. Here's a more descriptive
discussion on Xanadu and Mongol Empire with re-enactors dressed in Mongolian battle
dress and villagers costumes. There are images of artifacts from the Kublai
Khan dynasty which students could make replicas of. Last, for a creative
writing and art lessons, have students draw what they imagine the Mongol Empire
and Kublai Khan may have looked like using Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Xanadu, the Ballad of Kublai Khan
