Called the Eight Wonder of the World by some and the Big Ditch by others, the Panama Canal is indeed an engineering marvel. The long, complicated, and sometimes controversial history of the canal is captured in a presentation loaded with...

If you happen to live in Indiana, or a neighboring state, and are planning a field trip to the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site, then this lesson plan will suit your needs quite well. In it, suggestions for activities before, during,...

While canals are not the way to travel today, in the first half of the nineteenth century, they were sometimes the best way to move goods and people. Scholars examine primary sources, including maps and pictures, to investigate the role...

The history of the Latin American revolutions - and the philosophies behind them - is the focus of this comprehensive presentation. From the theories of the European Enlightenment, to the Revolutionary Wars of America and France, Latin...

Seventh graders locate the Illinois & Michigan Canal and related landmarks on various maps. They explain the challenges associated with building a canal. They access websites imbedded in this plan and watch a video to aid their...

Students use maps, readings and photos to research the construction and effects of the Ohio and Erie Canals. They compare the region's economy before and after the canal's construction and analyze transportation routes in their own...

Fifth graders utilize a map of the I&M Canal (imbedded in this plan), and perform a series of tasks. They calculate distance, find specific points of interest and solve a set of story problems about the canal.

Young scholars explore the concepts and engineering principles used in a canal lock system and apply those concepts to navigate a boat through a working model of a canal lock waterway.

Students examine the history of the Whitewater Canal Historic Site. They read and discuss an informational handout, define key vocabulary terms, and complete various math and science word problems.

Students design and build full-size boats made out of two-liter plastic bottles, chicken wire, and plywood. Then they race the boats, with the boat's designers "manning the hull", in the school's swimming pool.

In this Britain quiz instructional activity, students answer a set of 10 questions about Britain and surrounding areas. Answers and links to additional activities are given.

Introduce junior oceanographers to ice conditions in The Great Lakes. The ice map links are no longer available, so you will not be able to have your class perform the mentioned data activity. You can, however, access the Canadian Ice...

Students identify China's geography, especially arable land, rainfall, crop growing areas, rivers, and mountains. Students select a technological advance to draw a diagram of the particular advance make transparencies of the diagram,...

Young scholars study the invention of the parachute and how Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design.  For this aerodynamics lesson students test the properties that make parachutes more efficient.

Students observe subsidence and the effect it has on wetlands with a classroom demonstration. They think about the impact of global warming and the sea level and how it affects the marsh.

Following the War of 1812, Canada realized it needed to find a water route between Montreal and the Great Lakes that was safer than using the St. Lawrence River. As a result, Ottawa's Rideau Canal and its 47 lock system were developed....

Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Panama Canal opened for business on August 15, 1914. America's ingenuity and innovation had triumphed over insurmountable odds. PBS brings us this incredible story via online...

This site has a map of the Erie Canal and lets you zoom in on different parts of the Canal to view where the locks are.

A map from 1914 of the completed canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The map shows the Caribbean Sea entrance at Colon, the route of the canal through Gutan Lake and lock system, the Pacific entrance at the city of Panama, the Canal Zone...

A map from 1912 of the United States Canal Zone in Panama. The map shows the location of the canal, the deepened approaches to the canal, and the locks. The map also shows mountain ranges, railroads, projected railroads, post offices,...

A map from 1920 of the Panama Canal showing the Canal Zone boundaries, the channel route from Colon to the city of Panama, railroad route, lakes, reservoirs, locks, and towns along the canal. A chart at the top of the map shows the...

A map from 1916 of the Panama Canal Zone showing the physical features of the area, including terrain and mountains, rivers, lakes, the continental divide, and coastal features. The map uses color-contouring to show elevations from sea...

A vertical cross-section chart from 1906 of the Panama Canal showing elevation and the location of locks. "The canal extends from a six-fathom line in Colon harbor on the Atlantic to a six-fathom line off Panama on the Pacific. The first...

The Panama Canal Zone and route of the Panama Canal. The Panama Railroad line between Colon and Panama City is shown, as well as he Gantun locks, Pedro Miguel locks, and the Miraflores locks. Natural features include Limon Bay, Gatun...