Students brainstorm the meaning of the “American dream.” Then they examine transportation improvements, including the National Road, steamboats, and the Erie Canal, and they analyze the role these played in Westward migration. Next they explore changes in communication and write their own telegram.
Students read background text about the United States in the early 1800s, including the role of the Northwest Ordinance and the later “transportation revolution” of new roads, canals, and steamboats. They view images such as Wilderness Road and consider how difficult it was to travel and build transportation systems at that time. Students respond to a collaborative wall prompt predicting the challenges people faced in improving the country’s transportation system.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the experience and review the objectives. Use student wall responses to prompt discussion about the limits of nineteenth-century technology and labor, emphasizing that construction relied on manual work, dynamite, and dangerous conditions, and drawing out ideas about tools, labor, engineering, and supplies.
Students read about early nineteenth-century overland travel, including poor road conditions, wagon trails, and the need to connect western towns with eastern markets. They learn about the National (Cumberland) Road and turnpikes as early government- and privately funded road projects. Using this information, students complete a shared table listing reasons it was important to improve the transportation system in the early 1800s.
Teacher MovesDiscuss student entries in the table, highlighting ideas such as settlers’ desire to move westward, the need to move goods and produce to eastern markets more quickly, and the poor condition of existing roads. Accept all reasonable answers and connect student ideas back to economic growth and westward expansion.
Students examine a map of the New York canal system and read about the Erie Canal as a major project linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. They watch the video The Erie Canal to understand its construction and impact, then complete a graphic organizer listing three positive effects of building the canal. Next, students read about Robert Fulton’s development of the steamboat and use the article Steamboats of the 1800s to learn how steamboats and flatboats changed transportation and trade. They post to a collaborative wall describing how steamboats improved the U.S. economy in the 1800s.
Teacher MovesReview student responses in the Erie Canal organizer, drawing out key benefits such as strengthening ties between northern states and western territories, enabling western farmers to send goods east, and supporting New York City’s growth as a commercial center. For the steamboat wall, highlight that steamboats allowed travel and commerce both upstream and downstream, lowering costs and saving time, and connect these points to broader economic development.
Students reflect on the transportation developments studied in the lesson and choose one mode of transportation (such as roads, canals, or steamboats). Using a drawing canvas, they create a timeline of key developments for their chosen mode, adding a title that names it. Students then read classmates’ posted timelines to learn more about different nineteenth-century transportation innovations.
Teacher MovesEncourage students to draw on information from the lesson and, if needed, from additional articles in the Pack or online research as they build their timelines. Support students in sequencing events clearly and including historically relevant details for their selected mode of transportation.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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