Lesson 3 Knowledge 7 CKLA

Domain 7:
Westward
Expansion
Lesson 3

Objectives

I can retell the story of Robert Fulton and the invention of the
steamboat.

I can describe what what travel was like on the Erie Canal in
the mid-nineteenth century.

I can demonstrate an understanding of the word transport
and the multiple meaning word board.

Retell Mr. Fulton’s Journey

You will retell the story of Robert Fulton’s

steamboat with a partner.

Partner A

Partner B

Partner A

Partner B

Partner A

Partner B

Partner A

Partner B

Multiple Select

What are some advantages of the steamboat?

• Some cities did not have waterways.

• It was dependent on weather.

• It was faster.

• It was cheaper.

• It was not dependent on weather.

This is an image of a
canal. A canal is a
deep, wide ditch dug
by people to allow
water to move from
a river or lake to
another place.

During the time of
the westward
expansion in the
United States canals
were built to
connect rivers to
lakes or other rivers.
By using canals,
steamboats and
other types of boats,
Americans were
able to travel to
more places.

One very famous canal named the Erie Canal was built between Lake Erie and Hudson River.

Soon other states built
canals. By the 1830’s
there was an all-water
route from New York to
New Orleans.

By the
1840s,

there were
more than

three

thousand
miles of

canals in the

United

States. This
time in our
history is
known as
the Canal
Era and it

greatly

increased

the

westward
movement
of people.

“The Journal of a Twelve-Year-Old on

the Erie Canal”

Today you will be listening to what a young boy has written in his journal about his
adventures on the Erie Canal. This story is fictional, but it is based on the real people in
our country who worked on the Erie Canal during the Canal Era.

What type of fictional story is this called? We learned about it while reading Kids Excel.

__________________ Fiction

“The Journal of a Twelve-Year-Old on

the Erie Canal”

Realistic Fiction

Listen carefully to learn what life was like traveling on the Erie Canal during

westward expansion.

Multiple Choice

What is the Erie Canal?

• a waterway create by erosion

• a waterway created by Paul Bunyan

• a man made waterway

• a natural waterway

Multiple Choice

_______ is goods that are being moved from one place to another.

• Freight

• Tow

• Sights

• Design

Multiple Choice

What word means to pull or haul?

• towpath

• freight

• transport

• tow

Multiple Choice

______ means to move from one place to another.

• Towpath

• Freight

• Transport

• Tow

What adjectives, or words
that describe nouns, could
you use to describe travel

on the Erie Canal?

Open Ended

What adjectives, or words that describe nouns, could you use to describe travel on the Erie Canal?

Multiple Choice

What was the main topic of the read-aloud?

• The main topic is what life was like on the Erie Canal during westward expansion.

• The main topic is what life was like in New York during the westward expansion.

• The main topic is what life was like on the Erie Canal when there was a snow storm.

Multiple Choice

Who wrote the journal entry that you just heard?

• a boy in 12th grade

• a 12 year old girl

• a 12 year old boy

• girl in 12th grade

Multiple Choice

The setting of this story is on a steamboat on the Erie Canal.

• True

• False

Why were canals built in the United States in

the 1800s?

Why were canals built in the United States in

the 1800s?

The canals were built, so that boats could travel to

cities where there were no rivers to transport

goods faster.

Multiple Select

Why were the boy and his father traveling on the Erie Canal?

• They were working.

• They were traveling to see the sights.

• They were transporting freight,

• They were taking the oxen for a walk on the towpath.

Multiple Choice

How were the mules and other animals important on the Erie Canal?

• They towed the steamboats.

• They were not important.

• They provided food.

• They towed the flatboats.

Multiple Select

What problems did boats on the canal face?

• It cost more money to travel on the canal.

• bad weather

• moving slowly because of heavy freight

• Sometimes the wheel broke.

• It was slower than traveling on land.

Multiple Select

How did canals like the Erie Canal increase westward expansion?

• Boats on the canals transported people faster and farther.

• It cost less to travel on canals than over land.

• Canals enabled boats to travel between cities without natural waterways.

In the read-aloud you heard, “Because a flatboat floats on
water, it’s much easier to transport heavy goods like coal and
wood.”

Transport means to carry or move something from one place
to another.

The farmer will use his truck to transport his produce to the
farmers’ market.

Word Work: Transport

Transport means to carry or move something from one place
to another.

What have you or your family used to transport things?
What have you seen other people use to transport things?

(Try to use the word transport when you tell about it.)

Word Work: Transport

Making Choices Activity

Word Work: Transport

Poll

Would you prefer someone to transport you to school on a bus or in a car?

• bus

• car

Poll

Would you prefer someone to transport you to a soccer field or to a library?

• soccer field

• library

Poll

Would you prefer someone to transport carrots or bananas to your grocery store?

• carrots

• bananas

Poll

Would you prefer for someone to transport you on land, in the water, or

through the air?

• land

• water

• air

1800

1850

1900

Thirteen Colonies

Declaration of Independence

Louisiana Purchase

1803

Lewis and Clark Expedition 1806

Fulton’s Steamboat 1807

Westward Expansion

Timeline

1776

Westward Expansion Timeline

1800

1850

1900

Thirteen Colonies

Declaration of Independence

Louisiana Purchase

1803

Lewis and Clark Expedition 1806

Fulton’s Steamboat 1807

Erie Canal 1825

Westward Expansion

Timeline

1776

“Every time we take more goods on board, it

slows down our travel.”

In this sentence, on board means to be on or in a

boat.

Multiple Meaning Word Activity: BOARD

People
on board

the

flatboat
on the
Erie
Canal.

a long,
thin, flat
piece of
wood

a flat

piece of
material
that is
used for
a special
purpose,
such as
writing

​Exit Pass

Writing: On an index card, write three sentences describing travel on the Erie Canal during this time period.

Closing

I can retell the story of Robert Fulton and the invention of the
steamboat.

I can describe what what travel was like on the Erie Canal in
the mid-nineteenth century.

I can demonstrate an understanding of the word transport
and the multiple meaning word board.

In 1905, a
songwriter

named

Thomas Allen
wrote a song

about

working on

the Erie

Canal about
eighty years

after the
canal was

built.