What two cities and bodies of water did the erie canal connect together from start to end
1. Distribute the blank student worksheet and introduce the activity. Show
2. Build background on transportation, trade, and the location of New York.
Have students label the states (New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey), ocean (Atlantic), Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Ontario), and Canada on their worksheets. 3. Analyze the impact of elevation and mountain
regions.
Have students draw the easiest and fastest transportation route from New York City to Lake Erie on their worksheets. Provide support, as needed. 6. Determine the probable location of New York’s largest cities today. 7. Check students' mapping of city locations. 8. Have students complete all worksheets.
Informal AssessmentHave students summarize their learning by looking at their map and writing a paragraph demonstrating their understanding of why humans built canals and cities where they did in this region. Ask: Why did people build cities and canals in New York? Why did they build them where they did? Check that students described the locations of rivers, mountains, Niagara Falls, and also the need to transport goods to/from New York City. Extending the Learning
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Learning ObjectivesStudents will:
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Skills SummaryThis activity targets the following skills:
Connections to National Standards, Principles, and PracticesNational Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards
National Geography Standards
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
The College, Career & Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards
What You’ll NeedMaterials You Provide
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Background InformationThe Erie Canal opened up a waterway for the transportation of trade goods from the Midwest region of the United States to New York City and beyond. The canal also allowed cities along the path of the canal to flourish. The geography of New York state made it possible to carve this canal route through the Mohawk Valley and between groups of mountains to the north and south. Recognizing the connection between transportation systems and physical geography is important to understand these systems and plan for the future. Recommended Prior Activities
Vocabularycanal Noun artificial waterway. Noun city where a region's government is located. city Noun large settlement with a high population density. Noun height above or below sea level. good Noun object or service that serves a human need or want. Great Lakes Noun largest freshwater bodies in the world, located in the United States and Canada. Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior make up the Great Lakes. map skills Noun skills for reading and interpreting maps, from learning basic map conventions to analyzing and comprehending maps to address higher-order goals. mountain range Noun series or chain of mountains that are close together. natural feature Noun characteristic of a geographic region that was not created by humans. Noun large body of salt water that covers most of the Earth. Noun any area on Earth with one or more common characteristics. Regions are the basic units of geography. state Noun political unit in a nation, such as the United States, Mexico, or Australia. trade Noun buying, selling, or exchanging of goods and services. transportation Noun movement of people or goods from one place to another. Books
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What two bodies of water are connected to the Erie Canal?The NYS Canal System includes:. Erie Canal, which connects the Hudson River with Lake Erie, 338 miles to the west;. Champlain Canal, which connects the tidal portion of the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, 63 miles to the north;. What two cities did the Erie Canal connect?Built between 1817 and 1825, the original Erie Canal traversed 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo. It was the longest artificial waterway and the greatest public works project in North America.
What three bodies of water does the Erie Canal connect?The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians.
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