Name: Aria Stark Grade: 3rd Date: 4/11/2023

Content Area: Social Studies Unit: Unit 4 MI History Lesson: Transportation to MI

Students will be able to describe what the Erie Canal was, where it was, and why it was so
Learning Target
important for the growth of Michigan and ultimately the creation of Michigan as its own state.

N/A
Standards

Teacher:
Social Studies slides – MI History
(All YouTube videos and interactive activities are linked to these slides)
Supplemental pictures slideshow
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-USc4YekG-fUcoU5eC-
KmSP3Xscw7e6e_OF_njTqhHE/edit?usp=sharing
Materials Needed Student packet
Pencil

Students:
Student packet
Pencil

 Whole group  Hands-on/ discovery

Instructional  Student-centered  Small group
Strategies  1-on-1  __________________________________
 Discussion-based  __________________________________

“We have been learning about how Michigan came to be the state that it is now. Why was
Michigan not allowed to become a state yet? Why were people not coming to Michigan? What
Introduction to happened next?”
Lesson - Students should say something about surveying the land and how the first people who
(5min) surveyed it, were not correct about what was in Michigan.
“Today we are going to learn about what happened after Lewis Cass surveyed the land himself.”

Guided Practice - “People started realizing that the land in Michigan was good for farming and had a lot of
(40 min) natural resources. Can 3 people give me an example of a natural resource?”

- Turn on projector to first slide.

- Mention how people had to travel on land to Lake Erie, then hop on a boat from there to get
to the Michigan territory.
- Soon, people started building items to make transportation faster and easier and steamboats
were made.
o Have students look at the picture of the steamboats and sailboats- point them out to
students.
o “What do you notice about these two kinds of boats? Why do you think steamboats
were able to be faster and safer than sailboats?”
 Turn and Talk
- In 1825, the Erie Canal was opened which allowed Michigan’s population to grow a lot more.
o Show students where Lake Erie is located and have them turn to page 34 in their
 packets.
 Write, with student input, about where the location of the river is.
o Play video about the Erie Canal
 Start at 1:31 – 3:41
 Skip to 4:16 – 6:00
o Tell students they may see some familiar and unfamiliar information in this activity.
 “If you have heard this information in the video we just watched, put your
finger on your nose (so I can see oh this student nose their stuff)”
 “If you have not heard this information before, put your finger on your chin
(like huh I haven’t heard that one before)
o “Now that you have learned a little bit about the Erie Canal, why was it so important
to MI?”
 Turn and talk, then turn to page 34 in your packet and write down your
thoughts.
- Move to next slide.
- “Because there were different water levels, they had to make locks in the Erie Canal.”
o Let’s explore more about these locks.
o Show them the infographic of the locks being used – read over the site with students
to explore more about the locks.
o Have students pick small numbers 1-10 – 2 students (draw sticks)
 Multiply these numbers together to get a number – closest number to that –
pick that lock and look through the pictures.
o Show students 2 minutes of the song “Erie Canal”.
 “This is a song that was made about the Erie Canal. Listen to the words and
read the information on the screen.”
 Show students the drawing of the boat going under a low bridge.
- Move to next slide.
- “Because the Erie Canal connected Michigan to the Eastern states where a majority of the
British population was, more and more people started coming over.”
o Turn to page 35 and look at the graph on the page.
 What do you notice about this graph? What does it tell you?
 Do you remember how many people Michigan needed to be a state?

Independent The students will be able to write down their thoughts independently during this lesson in their
Practice packets. It will not be a lot of independent practice time, but it will give students a chance to
(Integrated into the formulate their ideas and write them down in their own words.
lesson)

Closing/ Transition “Even though it had enough people to become a state, it couldn’t! There were still some things
of Lesson standing in Michigan’s way of becoming a state. We will learn more about those tomorrow!”
(2 min)

Homework:
N/A

Assessment:  Pre-test  Written

I will take my  Post-test  Project/ Product
assessment from how  Digital  Other: ____________________________
the students answer the
last question on page 34  Oral  Other: ____________________________
about the importance of
 the Erie Canal

Technology Projector projecting the Social Studies slides on screen

Component

If students are confused at where the Erie Canal was, I will use the supplemental pictures
Intervention
presentation that I made for this lesson to help guide them visually.

I have a presentation with supplemental visuals for students that are visual learners. I also will be
Accommodations
reiterating and explaining things said in the videos and activities throughout the lesson

Cross-Curricular Students will be writing in their packets and doing math to determine which lock we should
Connections explore.

Transition out of “Make sure your desk is cleaned off with nothing on it. Grab your privacy folders, put them at your
Lesson desk, and come to the carpet for math with nothing in your hands.”