Oklahoma Social Studies AWH.C.10.5.G
The Standard
- AWH.C.10.5
- Examine religious, intellectual, cultural, technological, and economic developments in medieval Europe from the Norman Conquest to 1300.
Evaluate the impact of Marco Polo’s travels to India and China.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · AWH.C.10.5
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare Polo's descriptions of Chinese paper money and Indian pepper trade. They use evidence to judge how his book shaped European views and later travel.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can name a detail Polo reported about each place. They can explain why Columbus's annotated copy of his book shows influence on a later European reader, but not a direct change in China or India.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think Polo was the first European in China or introduced paper money there. Others assume he saw every place he described or that his book immediately changed trade in India.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: "Polo described paper money in China and pepper trade in India. Columbus later annotated his book. Which impact has stronger evidence, changing Asian trade or shaping European readers? Explain using one detail."
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a Eurasia map, students pin cards about Chinese paper money and Indian pepper trade, then draw arrows toward the European readers of Polo's book.
Ask: Did Polo change China and India, or mainly European ideas about them? Defend an answer using two excerpts from his account.
Sort claim cards reading "Polo brought paper money to China," "Polo described Indian pepper," and "Columbus annotated Polo's book" into supported or unsupported piles.
Project a local restaurant review beside Polo's account of Indian pepper trade; ask which claims might change a reader's buying choices.
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