1. ERIE CANAL WEBQUEST
Using the Internet to Learn
About History
Created by Ms. Michelle La Voie,
Library Media Specialist
7/26/2010 "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" 1

2. Introduction
• You are about to take an adventure through
history, learning how the Erie Canal helped
to transform New York State, and eventually
the United States, into a major industrial and
economic power.
• You will use primary sources, or historical
documents, and other information available
on the Web to find answers to a set of
questions.
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3. Task
• Your task is to work with your partner to
travel into history, using the Internet, in
search of answers to questions about the
Erie Canal. All of your answers will be found
on the Web sites provided for you.
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4. Process
• You will receive a handout that lists all of the
questions you will answer.
• You and your partner will click on the links in the
Resources pages that follow, to begin exploring
documents and Web sites that contain answers to the
questions.
• Write the answer to each question on the handout.
• You and your partner should take turns operating the
mouse and recording information on the handout.
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5. Process (continued)
• After you have answered all of the questions on the
Erie Canal, please raise your hand for the teacher
to check over your group's work.
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6. Resources (1)
Click on the link below and answer the
following questions:
• Question 1a: Name 4 major cities located
along the Erie Canal.
• Question 1b: What waterway connected
Lake Ontario to the Erie Canal in
Syracuse?
7/26/2010
Map 6

7. Resources (2)
Click on the link below and scroll down until you find the
chart called Population of the Old Northwest.
• Question 2a: What does the chart tell us about the
relationship between the opening of the Erie Canal in the
1820s, and the population of lands west of New York
State?
• Question 2b: What 4 states (or territories at that time) are
listed in the chart?
Canal Impact
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8. Resources (3)
Click on the link below and scroll down to the
section under The Size of the Locks.
• Question 3a: What was the “doubling of the
locks” that occurred between 1836 and 1862?
• Question 3b: How did this improve travel along
the Erie Canal?
Erie Canal - Locks
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9. Resources (4)
Click on and read the lyrics to:
Low Bridge, Everybody Down
Then compare the 2 images below and answer the
question that follows:
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10. Resources (4) - Continued
• Question 4a: What change did the song writer,
Thomas Allen, suggest was coming to canal travel
when he wrote this song in 1905?
• Question 4b: Look at the picture below, and
explain what you think it tells you about the song.
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11. Conclusion
Congratulations! You have completed the
Erie Canal Webquest!
Please raise your hand to let me know you are
finished. Wait quietly until I come to check your
work. Thank you!
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12. Evaluation
Your work will be evaluated on:
• the accuracy of your answers and the
quality of your written responses
(grammar, spelling, and punctuation).
• How well you worked as a part of a team.
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13. Next Steps
• When everyone is finished, we will review
the questions as a class.
• Once this activity is complete, each student
will produce an ACROSTIC poem about
the Erie Canal, based on what they learned
in the Webquest. These will be compiled
into a book and added to the library’s
collection.
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