Class members adopt the role of Law and Order history investigators and examine primary source documents to determine the legitimacy of Marco Polo's claim that he traveled to and traded in China. A cleverly crafted activity that deserves a place in your curriculum library.

Additional Tags

social studies

Show More Show Less

Classroom Considerations

• Wikipedia includes information on the debate about the veracity of Rustichello da Pisa's account of Marco Polo's journey; therefore, before using this lesson, preview other sources and decide if researchers must limit their research to the provided documents 
• Patterned on the television show Law and Order, the background videos begin with the show's theme music

Pros

• An engaging way to get researchers to develop their critical thinking skills as they evaluate evidence presented in primary source documents
• Groups must also craft an argument and support their stance with evidence drawn from the source materials

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.8