The Panama Canal

          Have you ever heard the phrase, “I had to go around my elbow to get to my mouth?”  Many people use this phrase to describe having to go out of the way to get somewhere.  Instead of a straight shot to where they wanted to go, they had many detours before they finally made it to where they wanted to go.  For many years, whenever a boat needed to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the sailors would have to go “around their elbow to get to their mouth.”  There was not an easy way or a short cut.  The sailors would have to navigate their boat around the Cape Horn, the area between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica. 

            Why was this a problem?  For one reason, it was a long journey.  Going around the horn would add close to 1,000 miles to each trip a sailor would make from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  While that is an inconvenience, the problem was the type of weather a sailor would have to encounter when coming into the cape.  Winds gusting at a range from 50-80 mph would meet a ship as they tried to steer through the cape.  With these winds came waves that might reach up to 90 feet high.  A crew would only have a window of about 100 days a year where they would not encounter these conditions.

            As explorers studied maps, they were convinced there had to be another way to get from one ocean to the other.  Everyone came back to one place on the map – the Isthmus of Panama.  This isthmus joins Central America to South America. To the east, the Caribbean Sea would eventually meet the Atlantic Ocean while the Gulf of Panama would merge into the Pacific Ocean on the west side.  The isthmus at one place was only 30 miles wide!  How close the two oceans were while being so far away.  Would there be a way to cut right through Panama?

            There were many problems that kept the canal from being built.  France had begun building a canal, but due to diseases, flooding and, eventual bankruptcy, they had to stop.  They wanted America to pick up where they had left off, but other problems stood in the way.  Panama had to win its independence from Colombia, and eventually did in 1903.  Since America had helped them gain their freedom, the following year, a treaty was made between the USA and Panama to allow the USA to finish building the canal. 

When finally finished in October 1913, the canal came in at 48 miles long and 200 feet wide.   The Panama Canal helped launch the United States into a world trading empire as well as allowed other countries to expand their trading.  The US Navy was able to protect America during times of war thanks to the Panama Canal.  Ultimately, the east could finally get to the west without “having to go around their elbow to get to their mouth.”  

STUDENTS: Explain why the Panama Canal was necessary for the world.  Use evidence from the text and the map to support your answer.

A Home on the Nile: To Build or Not to Build?

Gifts of the Nile River

The Nile River runs through the middle of Egypt.

Most of the country is desert.

On each side of the river there is a strip of fertile land.

In ancient times the Nile flooded and spread rich, black silt over the land every year.

The main crops were wheat and barley for making bread and beer.

They could sail up and down the Nile trading goods they had made or grown.

The waters of the Nile were also used to water the land next to the river.  This is called irrigation.

Their calendar was based on the annual rise and fall of the river.

The Nile also provided protection from enemies.

The ancient Egyptians started making paper from the papyrus plant.

STUDENTS: Based on what you know about the Nile River and the poem above,

do you think it would be a good idea to build a house close to the banks of the Nile River?

Introduce the topic.

State your opinion.

Give reasons and evidence to back your opinion.

Restate your opinion.

** Remember to put your name at the bottom of the comment. 

Inferences in Social Studies: The Nile River

We have been learning about inferences in reading.

We have been learning about the Nile River in social studies.

Let's put the 2 together.

Look at these 2 pictures.

What do you see?

What do you know about this place?

STUDENTS: Looking at the photographs.  

What was the purpose of the Aswan Dam in Egypt?  

Did it help or hinder the life of the Egyptians?  

** Remember to put your name at the end of your comment.

Marco Polo's Travels

Some of us have been reading about Marco Polo and his travels.

The kids have been extremely interested in the culture of that time as well as

the importance of Marco's travels.

STUDENTS: Study the map below of Marco's travels. 

Click on the link to see the sequence of Marco's travels.

Go through the steps on the website as you learn about where Marco traveled 

as well as what he discovered in his travels.

To interact with the map, click here.

Marco's travels to the far East introduced him to items such as gunpowder, paper, printing, paper money, silk and coal.  These items at the time were only known to places like China and India. Marco was one of the first people to bring these new items to Europe for people to see and use.

PROMPT:

Based on the items listed above that Marco was introduced to, 

do you think Marco Polo's travels were important to the world?

Why?  Give reasons and evidence to support your answer.

** Don't forget to type your name at the end of the your answer.

Flat Stanley

At the beginning of the year, the third grade classes read Flat Stanley. After we read the book, each child got their own Flat Stanley to color and send off to someone.  They also included a letter telling what we were doing. We have had a wonderful turn out from our Flat Stanley adventures.  In the third grade hall, we have a world map and a US map to show where all Stanley has been.  The kids look forward to seeing where Stanley has been and what he learned while he was there.  

Some college students took Stanley with them while they were in Europe for the semester.  Stanley got to visit all kinds of neat places while he was there.  He was even on ESPN at the Belgium/USA soccer match.  One child sent her Flat Stanley to Afghanistan with her uncle who is a soldier there.  Stanley even got to go to Antarctica!! 

We can't wait to see all the other places Stanley is going to go this year.