A young child leads two mules that are towing a boat on the C&O Canal.
Credit: National Park Service

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal - Teacher's Guide

Grades 3-4

This lesson focuses on two main ideas:

Understanding the function of transportation in commerce
Understanding the development of new forms of transportation

Procedure

INTRODUCTION (15 minutes)

Read the introduction to students and review the new vocabulary. Students will watch the “Maryland By Air: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal” video clip. After the video, discuss the essential questions and thinking questions aligned to the topic and video.

EXTENSION (15-30 minutes)

Complete extension activities with students, as you see fit.

ASSESSMENT (15 minutes)

Have students apply their newfound knowledge by completing a Summative CER on the lesson using evidence from the video and activities as support.

REFLECTION (10 minutes)

Have students complete a reflection.

Standards

Maryland Social Studies Standards

Content Topic – Impact on People (Grade 3)

Students will analyze how economic development in Maryland impacts people by:

explaining how jobs and careers are influenced by key economic centers.
analyzing government services that are impacted by economic development.

Content Topic – Impact on the Environment (Grade 3)

Students will analyze the impact of economic development on the natural environment by:

describing the relationships between human settlement and physical geography, and economic centers.
explaining how transportation is influenced by industry, agriculture, and geographic features.

Content Topic – Colonial Regions (Grade 4)

Students will compare how geography influenced culture and economic development by:

analyzing how geography impacted the development of the American colonies.

Maryland ELA Standards

Grade 3

RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Rl.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
RI.3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Grade 4

RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Rl.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
RI.4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears

Summative CER

Option 1:

Discuss the historical importance of the Potomac River. What different groups and individuals encountered and used the Potomac River? How was the river used? Use evidence from the video and activities.

Option 2:

Discuss the pros and cons of the C&O Canal versus the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. If you were a land surveyor deciding on a way to transport goods, which would you recommend building and why?

Reflection Questions

We still have systems of trade that move goods to different regions of our country, but they are different from 19th-century trade. Can you think of similarities and differences between how goods were traded in the past, and how they are traded now?
What do you think were some of the difficulties for people who worked on the canal?

Summative CER Rubric

No Response Score Point 0	Not There Yet Score Point 0.5	Beginning To Score Point 0.75	Yes Score Point 1.0
The claim is missing	The claim is incorrect or irrelevant.	The claim partially takes a position on the topic or issue addressed within the prompt.	The claim takes an appropriate position on the topic or issue addressed within the prompt.
There is no type of evidence in the response	The evidence is irrelevant or does not support the claim.	The evidence partially supports the claim and demonstrates some understanding of the topic or text, using appropriate sources.	The evidence supports the claim and demonstrates a strong understanding of the topic or text, using appropriate sources.
There is no use of words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and to clarify the relationship between the claim and evidence.	Use of words, phrases and clauses fail to show or explain any relationship between the claim and evidence.	Scientific words, phrases, and clauses used lack cohesion but partially clarify the relationship between the claim and evidence.	Appropriate scientific words, phrases, and clauses are used to create cohesion and to clarify the relationship between the claim and evidence.

References

Maryland Public Television (MPT)