THE PANAMA CANAL

In the early 1900s the only way to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by boat was to go all the way around South America, a long and dangerous trip.  The United States became very interested in finding a shortcut route so ships could complete the journey in less time.  Watch this video to learn more about how the Panama Canal became the solution to this problem.

                                      

Here is another video describing how the Panama Canal works.

                                                

Read the following article to learn some more information:
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/important-historical-panama-kids-13630.html


Click here to do online puzzles of canal equipment:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/persona/k/juegos/jigsaw-02.html

IMMIGRATION, ELLIS ISLAND,

AND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Starting in the mid 1800's Europeans began immigrating to America.  There were political problems in Europe complicated by a potato famine in Ireland and crop failure in Germany.  These immigrants were in search of a better life in America.  Once they arrived in America, immigrants had to be approved to enter the country at a place called Ellis Island.  Watch this video to learn more.

Check out this website for more Ellis Island and Immigration fun. 

 http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm


Click here to play an immigration game.
 http://www.tenement.org/immigrate/
 

The Statue of Liberty is the landmark the immigrants longed to see after their long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.  Watch this video to learn some interesting facts.

Re-enactment of the Battle Of Gettysburg

The Civil War

THE CIVIL WAR

This is a renactment of a Civil War battle. The Civil War was a war between the Northern and Southern states. In the video, you will see the Union soldiers in blue and the Confederate soldiers in gray. Many men fought and died. Over 600,000 men died on both sides. The South was fighting because they felt they were being taxed unfairly and didn't have enough power to make their own decisions. The South also wanted to keep slavery legal and the North wanted to set the slaves free. Watch these videos and see what a battle would have looked like.

Click on this link for a timeline of the Civil War.     http://www.ducksters.com/history/civilwartimeline.php

Click here to learn about Daily Life during the Civil War.   http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/life_during_the_civil_war.php

What was life as a soldier like?  http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/life_as_a_soldier_during_the_civil_war.php

What did the uniforms look like?  http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/military_uniforms.php