Tanner's first two reports.. just thought I'd share

So Tanner stewed and toiled about two reports that he was assigned for an entire week.  True to character, he waited till today (the last day) to work on them.  The hardest part for him was just deciding which two explorers he would write about.  Not many passed his scrutiny.  Finally he chose Marco Polo and Jacques Cousteau.  He typed out most of the first until I finally showed mercy and was his scribe.  After 4 hours of guiding him through how to write a report... we're all tired.

here they are...

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy in the year 1254. His father was a merchant. But Marco’s mother died when he was little boy, and his aunt and uncle had to raise him. Marco polo left on a trading mission with his brother to China. The name of the ruler was Kublai Khan. The Khan was interested in the Polos. He invited Marco and his brother back to China. In 1271 Marco was now 17 and was starting his journey back to China. He started by going from Venice to Acre by ship. The rest of the way he traveled on camel across the deserts to China. After 3 years from leaving Venice they reached the palace. And the Khan gave them a warm welcome. Marco and his brother were getting worried about going home safely. They thought that if the leader died then his enemies would capture him. So they left China back to Venice. They didn’t go strait there though. They went to Singapore and then to Sumatra and then to India. They went across the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. They traveled through Turkey and Constantinople and then they arrived back in 1295. They went almost 15,000 miles.
They had been gone for 24 years. 

I think that it is weird that he traveled so far. His father must have been pretty worried about how long he had been gone.

When they got back to China they had lots and lots of jewels. When they were in Venice there was a great war going on. In 1296 the Genoese captured Marco Polo and put him in a jail. No one knows why, but that’s where he wrote about his travels. 

His book was called Description of the World. Lots of people in Europe have read his book. When Christopher Columbus discovered his book it influenced him. He didn’t like his estimation of Europe to China.

I think Marco Polo was so great because he went such a long distance from Venice to China. Then, he did it all over again.

Jacques Cousteau

I found out something that is amazing. I discovered that Jacques Cousteau wrote a book called The Living Sea, which is a book that I have and have also checked out from the library. The book had mostly types of fish and species from coral reefs.  

Jacques was born in France in the year 1910. He was an underwater explorer also called an oceanographer. He wrote books and made movies of the life underwater. He was also an inventor. He invented a ship for underwater exploration called the Diving Saucer. He also invented something called the Aqua Lung which helped divers breath underwater. In 1960 Jacques Cousteau stopped the French from dumping radioactive wastes into the Mediterranean Sea.

To show people what it’s like underwater with ocean life and to promote conservation, Jacques Cousteau had a television show. The show was called “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”.

I thought this was cool because I love the life of undersea worlds. I like to check out sea books at the library. My mom and dad have both scuba dived before. I want to be a land biologist when I grow up, but I still love to swim and look at the animals in the ocean. What I wish to do some day is go to the beach and find a tidal pool in the sand and rocks. I think I might find sea urchins and star fish and many other creatures that Jacques Cousteau talks about.