Lesson Plan #: CC-0026

First Grade Lesson 1:
The Erie Canal Helped Settle the Midwest




Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. understand how the Erie Canal carried passengers and supplies westward.

2. understand that the Erie Canal made travel easier and safer for settlers beginning their westward journey.

Description of lesson/activity:

1. On a physical map of the United States have the children review where the Pilgrims landed, where George Washington lived, and where the capital of the United States is located, as well as where they live. Talk about Johnny Appleseed and what was happening during the time he lived. (Pioneers were moving westward.) Point out that the East Coast was getting quite settled and settlers were moving west to find more land. Looking at the physical map of the United States, point out the Appalachian Mountains. Ask the children to speculate how these mountains might be a problem for people moving westward. (Dangers and difficulty in crossing.) Also ask, "What might still be a problem for the pioneers once they got across the mountains?" (Getting goods and supplies from back East.)

2. Tell the children that one method of transporting people and goods was by a canal system. The teacher will have to gather pictures to explain that a canal is a man-made waterway for boats, and briefly describe how it works. Two good sources are Nicholas Nirgiotis's Erie Canal Gateway to the West , and R. Conrad Stein's The Story of the Erie Canal .

3. Play a record or teach the children the song, "The Erie Canal," and then introduce the book The Erie Canal , by Peter Spier. This book has the first verse of this song illustrated with details of the canal system, along with the equipment, people and towns associated with the Erie Canal. Although the text is simple the author has given a detailed description of the history and use of this canal in the back of the book. After viewing the book once, point out on a map where this canal system was built. This man-made waterway connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. It opened up the Midwest to trade and travel with the Eastern States in 1825.

Review the pictures and discuss what information they can generate from these pictures. The teacher will have to discuss the meaning of the word "barge." How are the barges pictured in the book different from the barges they may see today?

4. Have the children speculate on how passengers traveled, with relation to sleeping, eating, etc. What did the passengers see during the day? What did they do to pass the time? Chapter seven in Nirgiotis' book, Erie Canal , is an excellent description of passenger life and could be read to the children.

Enrichment and extensions:

1. On a New York State map have the children make a map of the canal route or, if the cities are already on the map, have them highlight the cities with colored dot stickers and yarn.

2. Have the children or a group of children write a story as if they were a passenger on a canal boat or as if they were a hoggee--a young boy or man who drove the animals used to tow the boat. What was the trip like?

3. Have the children make models of barges using Spier's book, Erie Canal , as a source of illustrations.

4. The class or a group could illustrate the second and third verses of this song. The verses with a little history are found in Kathleen Krull's collection of folk songs, Gonna Sing My Head Off ! Have the children make a class book of these additional verses.

5. Using Kathleen Krull's songbook, Gonna Sing My Head Off , have the children learn other folksongs of the era. A good example of a song written in 1844 is "Buffalo Girls." This song, a dance tune, was also played at dances in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books.

Other song ideas include "Turkey in the Straw" (1834), played at Midwestern square dances.

Resources:

Nirgiotis, Nicholas. Erie Canal: Gateway to the West . (New York: First Book, 1993) (ISBN 0531201465).

Krull, Kathleen. Gonna Sing My Head Off! American Folk Songs for Children . (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992) (ISBN 0394819918).

Stein, R. Conrad. The Story of the Erie Canal . (Chicago, IL: Childrens Press, 1985) (ISBN 0516046829).

Spier, Peter. The Erie Canal . (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1970).