Watervliet and the Erie Canal: An integrated
Unit of Study for Fourth Graders
District: Watervliet City School District
School District Representative: Rosemary Palmquist
SLO Project Name: Watervliet and the Erie Canal
Authored by: Jeanne Lance and Rosemary Palmquist
E-mail:
Homepage Address:
Grade Level: 4
Subject Areas: Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics and Art
Learning Context: Actual Standards Referenced
ELA Grade 4
Reading
Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
1.R.1 Acquire information by locating and using library media materials with some assistance.
1.R.2 Acquire and interpret data, facts, and ideas from unfamiliar texts
1.R.3 Understand written directions and procedures
1.R.5 Identify a main idea and supporting details in informational texts
1.R.7 Recognize and use organizational features, such as table of contents, indexes, page numbers, and chapter headings/subheadings, to locate information
1.R.10 Make inferences and draw conclusions on the basis of information from the text, with assistance
1.R.11 Use text features such as captions, charts, tables, graphs, maps, notes and other visuals, to undertsnad and interpret text
1.R.12 Use graphic organizers to record significant details from informational texts
1.R.13 Use text features, such as headings, captions, and titles, to understand and interpret informational texts, with assistance
Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression.
2.R.2 Engage in purposeful oral reading in small and large groups
2.R.6 Make predictions, draw conclusions, and make inferences about events and characters
2.R.9 Use specific evidence from stories to identify themes; describe characters, their actions, and their motivations; relate a sequence of events
2.R.10 Use knowledge of story structure, story elements, and key vocabulary to interpret stories
2.R.16 Identify literary elements, such as setting, plot, and character, of different genres, with assistance
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
Evaluate the context by identifying
3.R.3 important and unimportant details
3.R.5 Judge accuracy of content to gather facts, with assistance from teachers, parents/caregivers
Writing
Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
1W1: Take notes to record data, facts and ideas both by following teacher direction and writing independently
1.W.2 State a main idea and support it with facts.
1.W.4 Use a variety of resources, such as age-appropriate dictionaries and/computer software , to spell words correctly
1.W.5 Produce clear, well-organized, and well-developed explanations, reports, accounts, and directions that demonstrate understanding of a topic.
1.W.6 Support interpretations and explanations with evidence from text
1.W.9 Write labels and captions for graphics to convey information, with assistance
Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression.
2.W.3 Produce clear, well-organized responses to stories read or listened to, supporting the understanding of characters and events with details from the story
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
3.W.3 Use relevant examples, reasons, and actions to support ideas
3.W.8 Use details from stories or informational texts to predict, explain, or show relationships between information and events
Social Studies
Standard 1: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Standard 3: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live -- local, national, and global – including the distribution of people, places and environment’s over the Earth’s surface.
Mathematics
STANDARD 3: Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry
ARTS
STANDARD 1: Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts
Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music, theater, and the visual arts) and participate in various roles within the arts.
Assessments:
Students will be assessed on:
- How well they reach each performance indicator as listed in each day’s lesson plan which follow
2. Final project (research report)
Student Outcomes:
Specific Outcomes for each day’s lesson are listed in day to day plans. General outcomes are listed below.
- The student is able to collaborate with peers in a cooperative manner to
reach a common goal (participation in/contribution to Watervliet History Day and also the school’s annual Education Showcase.)
2. The student is able to do own part in creating, organizing and participating in projects to contribute to event.
3. The student is able to follow a basic research and writing process and apply it to a variety of inquiries.
4. The student is an effective user of ideas and information.
5. The student is able to relate broad historical concepts to own community.
Procedure: The objective of this integrated unit is have students answer the question, “How did the Erie Canal affect the development of Watervliet?” Students will collaborate with partners or in small groups and work independently as well to research the topic of the Erie Canal and the history of Watervliet. Students will use variety of resources to locate, gather, evaluate, select and use information and ideas for research projects to inform others about the Erie Canal.
These resources will include primary and secondary sources including Watervliet Historical Society members, local history texts and photos, websites, field trip observations, trade books and reference materials. Students will search online for art work, digital videos, maps, examples of artifacts andphotos past and present of the Erie Canal.
Students will apply general knowledge and concepts of the Erie Canal in New York State to Watervliet. Students will use the five step writing process to create group and individual information research reports. Students will be assessed using the Six Traits of Writing Rubric.
Once they complete individual projects, students will collaborate on a historical mural depicting Watervliet during the heyday of the Erie Canal. During the school’s Education Showcase and Watervliet History Day, students will role play an imaginary worker or traveler who could have been part of the colorful life on the Erie Canal. Students will display and discuss their work and be interviewed by WVLT.
Day 1: Introducing the Erie Canal
Day 2: Introducing the Erie Canal (con’t)
Days 3 & 4: Webquest
Day 5: “The Erie Canal” article
Day 6: EmmaRidestheCanal
Day 7: The Erie Canal in West Troy
Days 8 through 12: Final Research Project
Instructional Modifications:
Partner students with varying abilities
Extend time
Model and guide written responses
Simplify and restate directions and questions
Assist with completing writing tasks
Highlight text for specific details
Enlarge type
Preferential seating
Flexible setting
Questions or passages read aloud
Time Required:
Minimum of twelve 50 – 60 min. periods (classroom)
Four 30-min. Library Media Center periods (research)
Four 30-min. periods for personal choice non-fiction reading
Ten hours for creating mural
Additional time as needed for costume and interview preparation
Resources:
Members of the Watervliet Historical Society (classroom visits)
Materials from the Watervliet Historical Society
Field trip to the Waterford Visitor Center
W.E.S. Library Media Center
Mobile laptop cart
Kidspiration
Reference materials such as atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus
Teacher-generated materials
Trade books such as:
EmmaRidestheCanal by Tracy Zimmerman (Leveled reader)
ErieCanal by Peter Lourie
DKAmazingPop-Up3-DTimeScape by Stephen Biesty
A StreetThroughTime by Anne Millard
AmazingImpossibleErieCanal by Cheryl Harness
TheErieCanal by Martha E. Kendall
TheErieCanal by Peter Spier
CruisingAmerica'sWaterways:TheErieCanal by Debbie Daino Stack
ErieCanalLegacy: ArchitecturalTreasuresoftheEmpireState by Richard O. Reisem (for illustrations)
TheAmazingErieCanal by William Coleman
TheErieCanal by Andrew Santella
“The Erie Canal” article (modified), author unknown
Student-generated website (class bookmark list)
Websites
Reflections:
Students were immersed in Erie Canal study across a number of disciplines for several weeks. They quickly developed “Canal Fever.” Students continued to be enthusiastic and engaged throughout the unit. They were excited not only be part of the school’s annual Education Showcase (as they are every year) but to have a featured part in Watervliet’s History Day as well. Knowing they would be interviewed in a canal life role by WVLT and that their work would have an audience beyond the school was very motivating. Students were fascinated by concepts of how the land we now call Watervliet changed over time and that every day they walk in history. Students were rightfully proud of their classroom and WVLT performance. They developed confidence in themselves as community members and as young historians.