Participant Name(s): Martin J. Clark

The Last Great Canal Curriculum Project
Unit/Lesson Title: Canal Referenced Open Math Questions
Intended Grade Level: 1 through 5	Approximate length: 20 minutes per question
Applicable Standards: New York State Math Process Standard: Connections: Students will connect mathematics to other academic disciplines. This project connects mathematics to the history of canals in 19^th century America.
Goals/Objectives: Students will connect canal history to mathematics using open-ended math story problems. This activity is designed to supplement students’ social studies and mathematics lessons as an integral part of unit on the history of canals in America.
Procedures: Teacher will present canal related, open-ended math story problems as a ten minute math activity. Students will share their solutions and the historical relevancy of their answers for another ten minutes.
Materials: Canal related, grade level math story problems Grade1: While walking on the canal Dorene saw 16 ducks. Some ducks were babies and some were adults. How many adult ducks and baby ducks could Dorene have seen? Donna saw 20 ducks on the canal. Some of the ducks flew away. How many ducks could still be swimming on the canal? Grade 2: Nathan Brewster is a lockkeeper at Lock 8. He has $100 in his pocket. What bills might he have? The Murphy family lives on a packet boat. There are five children in the family: Tim, Kathleen, Bridget, and the twins, Liam and Seamus. The combined ages of the children is 37 years. How old could each of the five Murphy children be? Grade 3: The Kelley family runs a tavern near the canal. Half the people in the Kelley family are males. Draw a picture of what the Kelley family might look like. Mule teams on the canal work in shifts of 6 hours. Mules usually pull packet boats 4 miles in an hour. How far could a packet boat travel using one mule shift? …two mule shifts?...three mule shifts?...four mule shifts? Grade 4: Between 1853 and 1856 John Gaylord shipped a total of 20,000 tons of grain on the canal. During each of the four years what amount of grain might he have transported on the canal? Due to the diversion of the waters of the DesPlaines River Hiram Norton’s grist mill received no water power. Because of this diversion his income declined by $15 each day. How much money did Mr. Norton lose in a week?...in a month?...in a year? Grade 5: The Illinois-Michigan Canal covers a total distance of 96 miles from Chicago to LaSalle. If Captain Carr starts in Chicago, what town is he near when he travels ½ the length of the canal?...1/3 the length of the canal?...2/3 the length of the canal? The Illinois-Michigan Canal extends 96 miles from Chicago to LaSalle. Write as many factors as you can for 96.
Assessment(s): In their math journals students will show at lest two correct solutions for the story problems presented. Students will explain their solutions using canal relevant and mathematically correct vocabulary.