The Age of Inventions: Grain Elevator

The Grain Elevator & Buffalo

Lesson Plan and Materials

Source: Visit Buffalo Niagara

Please download and print the lesson below and follow the instructions. The podcast is task 2 for the lesson today. 

Subject: The Age of Inventions: The Grain Elevator (Day One)

Date: Monday March 23, 2020

Materials Needed

  • Pen/pencil for student to use to answer questions
  • Colored pencils/crayons/pencil for drawing vocabulary pictures
  • Podcast (on my website to the right or https://anchor.fm/christina-turowski/episodes/Age-of-Inventions-The-Grain-Elevator-ebrd2q )
  • Print out this packet or give paper to student to write answers (Entrance Ticket, vocabulary organizer, video questions, reading and questions) You could also have students answer questions verbally instead if you do not have paper or a printer

Lesson Goals

The student will be able to explain the growth of Buffalo as a result of the Erie Canal.

The student will be able to identify the invention the helped make Buffalo a hub for grain transportation and made Buffalo a wealthy area. 

Lesson Agenda

Opening Bellwork

Entrance Ticket (Pg 3): Have your student answer the following question. What do you remember about Lockport's growth because of the Erie Canal?

Agenda

  • Vocabulary graphic organizer (Pg 3): Have students review the graphic organizer and in the last column have them draw a picture of the term.
  • Have students listen to the podcast or read the transcript from the podcast and answer the questions.

Closing

Questions to think on (Pg 6): Send your student off with the following questions to think about for tomorrow. Make sure the students hold their answers until tomorrow.

  • Who invented the cotton gin?
  • Do you remember what a cotton gin was used for?

Suggested Changes for Students

Modifications & Accommodations

  • Speed up/slow down videos
  • Read to your student
  • Extra time
  • Have students answer only a few questions
  • Verbal, drawn, typed answers

Extra Learning (Pg 6)

  • Extra websites included
  • Ask students to create more questions for the podcast
  • Have students add more terms to vocab graphic organizer

NYS Social Studies Framework Standard

7.6c Westward expansion provided opportunities for some groups while harming others. Students will examine the Erie Canal as a gateway to westward expansion that resulted in economic growth for New York State, economic opportunities for Irish immigrants working on its construction, and its use by religious groups, such as the Mormons, to move westward.

Lesson Reflection

    What went well? What could have gone better? Is there anything you would change about this lesson? Please feel free to share with me at historywithmrst@gmail.com 

    Task 2: Grain Elevator Podcast, Transcript & Questions

    Buffalo was burnt down by the British during the War of 1812. The citizens of Buffalo had just finished rebuilding the city when the Erie Canal was finished on October 26, 1825. Buffalo went from being a burned down city to the center of trade in less than 20 years. After the Erie Canal was built Buffalo became a center for arts, industry and innovation. One of the major innovations that came out of Buffalo because of the Erie Canal was the grain elevator.

    The Erie Canal made it much easier for grain merchants to transport grain to markets in the west. Because of this there was a lot more grain flowing through Buffalo. Buffalo needed a way to store the extra grain coming through the city. Joseph Dart, a grain merchant, saw that Buffalo had a problem and came up with a solution. He created a system that made it easier to transfer grain to and from boats to help merchants move grain to and from the Great Lakes to New York City. In 1842 he built the first steam powered grain elevator in Buffalo


    Source: Cargill Pool Grain Elevator, Buffalo, NY:Wikimedia Commons

    When you think of an elevator you probably think of getting onto an elevator that moves people from one floor to another. You probably imagine pushing a button and telling the elevator which floor it is supposed to bring you to and getting off the elevator.

    The idea is similar to that of a grain elevator. In simple terms: The boat would stop underneath the grain elevator. The men on board would load the grain onto the elevator. The grain elevators, powered by steam, would then lift the grain into the sections of the silo that would store the grain.

    Grain elevators allowed Buffalo to keep up with the large shipments coming into the port. In the next fifty years Buffalo would built many more grain elevators in an area called "Elevator Alley". In the next fifty years Buffalo would also become home to many wealthy individuals. Some names may even sound familiar, like Larkin, Darwin Martin, George Urban, Albright, Kleinhans, Knox, and Jewett Richmond. It became the place with the greatest number of millionaires per person. America would even see a president from Buffalo by the end of the 1800s. The Erie Canal and the grain elevator allowed Buffalo to become a very prosperous city.


    Source: Washburn Crosby Elevator Buffalo NY: Wikimedia Commons

    In the last five to ten years Buffalo has experienced a resurgence. Buffalo is becoming a center for arts, industry, and innovation again. Young people who used to move away from Buffalo are staying here and making Buffalo their home. Today the grain elevators have been transformed into restaurants and hockey rinks. People today can kayak through Elevator Alley and see the grain elevators up close. Rock climbers can climb the grain elevators and zipline across them. They are a piece of history that has stood the test of time and are a big part of Buffalo's resurgence.


    Questions

    1. What was Buffalo like before the Erie Canal was built?

    2. What was Buffalo like after the Erie Canal was built?

    3. What invention did Joseph Dart create?

    4. What is a grain elevator, in your own words?

    5. Why do you think Buffalo had so many wealthy individuals after the Erie Canal was built?

    6. What is one way you can check out the grain elevators in Buffalo today?


    Lesson Tasks

    Bellwork: Entrance Ticket

    Directions: Answer the question in the entrance ticket using your knowledge.

    Question: What do you remember about how Lockport grew because of the Erie Canal?


    Task 1: Vocabulary Organizer

    Directions: Review the vocab in the graphic organizer and draw an image that can help you remember the vocab term.

    Innovation

    • A new idea, method, or device.

    Grain

    • A cereal crop, especially wheat or corn, that has been harvested and is used for food or in trade

    Grain Elevator

    • A building in which grain such as corn is stored and which contains machinery for moving the grain

    Resurgence

    • A rising again into life, activity, or success. Normally an time period of great success.

    Sources: Merriam Webster; Collinsdictionary.com

    Task 2: Listen to the Podcast & Answer Questions: See above

    Task 3: Questions to Think On

    Directions: These are two questions to THINK ABOUT for the rest of the day. Don't share your answers!

    • Who invented the cotton gin?
    • Do you remember what a cotton gin was used for?

    More Learning!

    Directions: If you want to learn more about this topic you can check out the following resources!

    History with Mrs. T
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