Set Sail on the Ohio Erie Canal

Grade Level: 5

Objectives

Students will be able to:

�        
explain why the creation of the canal was
necessary

�        
identify major cities along the Ohio-Erie Canal
system

�        
explain what each major city is known for and
why it developed along the canal

�        
describe how the canal was made and by whom

�        
present their findings to an audience through
posters and brochures

Ohio Academic Content Standards

Benchmark: History

Indicator:  Growth

6.  Explain the impact of settlement, industrialization
and transportation on the expansion of the United States.

Benchmark:  People In Societies

Indicator:  Interaction

4.  Describe the waves of immigration to North
America and the areas from which people came in each wave.

Benchmark:  Geography

Indicator:  Human
Environmental Interaction

8. Explain how the
characteristics of different physical environments affect human activities in
North America.

9.  Analyze the positive and negative
consequences of human changes to the physical environment including:  a) Great Lakes navigation; b) highway
systems; c) irrigation; d) mining; e) introduction of new species

Benchmark:  Economics

Indicator:  Production,
Distribution and Consumption Markets

4.  Explain how regions in North America become
interdependent when they specialize in what they produce best and then trade
with other regions inside and outside North America to increase the amount of
variety of goods and services available.

Materials Needed:

Students will need:

�        
poster board

�        
glue

�        
scissors

�        
markers

�        
printing from the internet capabilities

�        
blank paper for brochure

�        
computer projector and screen (to show videos to
class)

Videos

YouTube - Canal Diggers retrieved from  http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=vcDJ5hmTkpo                        This video is dedicated to the
men who dug the Ohio Erie Canal, Ohio Miami Canal and the Erie Canal by hand.
Using picks and shovels they dug a ditch and lined it with clay to prevent the
canal water from draining out. Working at times in miserable conditions for low
pay they persevered to open the Midwest to further expansion.

Teacher's
Domain  http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/odc08.socstudy.ourohio.canals/              The Our
Ohio video series explores the history, events, and people of
Ohio. This video episode explores the history and importance of the Ohio Canal
transportation system. Visit Roscoe Village to learn how canals changed Ohio,
take a ride on the Monticello III to see what the canals were like, and hear
from experts about life during the canal era.

Websites  The
following is a list of websites that I used in order to create this webquest:

Touring Ohio  http://www.touring-ohio.com/history/ohio-canal-system.html

Ohio History Central http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/

City of Massillon, Ohio http://www.massillonohio.com/hist.html

Google Timelines http://www.google.com/search?q=massillon,+oh+canal+history&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=20Z&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=wEoETO-AE4r4NYPygTw&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CDkQ5wIwCg

Spring Hill Historic Home http://www.springhillhistorichome.org/?page_id=60

City of Lancaster http://www.ci.lancaster.oh.us/about/history.asp

Old Rock Mill http://www.foorgenealogy.com/rockmill.html

Wikipedia  http://www.foorgenealogy.com/rockmill.html
(only used because it was the official description listed on the city's
website)

City of Zanesville  http://www.visitzanesville.com/history

Canal Winchester Historical
Society http://www.mainstreetcanalwinchester.org/CWAHS/

The Village of Canal Winchester http://www.canalwinchesterohio.gov/tourism/attractions.aspx

City of Portsmouth  http://portsmouthoh.org/index.aspx?NID=149

Learning 24/7 http://www.learning247.org/storedfiles/AA4b98fe93d5f23LockedOutandLocksofStone.pdf
  HERE ARE LINKS TO THE ANSWERS FOR THIS
ACTIVITY

 LOCKED OUT: http://www.learning247.org/storedfiles/AN4b98fdf9c2c32LockedOutAnswers.pdf

LOCKS OF STONE: http://www.learning247.org/storedfiles/AN4b98fe93d7a7aLocksofStoneAnswers.pdf

Rubistar  http://rubistar.4teachers.org

The Library of Congress American
Memory http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/nye/index.html

Variations

Instead of researching cities
along the canal, students can focus on the different attractions that are still
located along the remaining segments of the canal today.  The image of the map on the teacher page
lists several just from Cleveland to Akron.