Ask students if they think spaghetti came from Italy. Tell students the legend of Pasta. Legend has it that pasta was first introduced to the west when Marco Polo brought noodles on his return from China in the 14th century. Pasta was well established in Italy by the time of the Roman Empire. Have students locate Italy on their map.
Teacher locates it on overhead map.
Have a student locate Italy and place a sticky on the classroom map. Have students locate China. Teacher locates China on overhead. Have a student locate China and place a sticky dot on the classroom map. Have students locate the U.S. on their own maps.