Transportation and Communication: How does new technology change daily life and the environment?
Suggested Teaching Instructions
Learning Standards and Practices
4.6 WESTWARD MOVEMENT AND INDUSTRIALIZATION: New York State played an important role in the growth of the United States. During the 1800s, people traveled west looking for opportunities. Economic activities in New York State are varied and have changed over time, with improvements in transportation and technology. (Standards: 1, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, ECO, TECH)
4.6c Improved technology such, as the steam engine and the telegraph made transportation and communication faster and easier. Later developments in transportation and communication technology had an effect on communities, the State, and the world.
Ø Students will investigate which early means of transportation were used in their local community and to which communities they were linked, noting why they were linked to those communities.
Ø Students will trace developments in transportation and communication technology from the 1800s to the present, noting the effects that these changes had on their communities, the State, and the world.
Setting the Stage
Introduce students to the influence of the telegraph on American society by showing this video from PBS Learning Media.
Communication Innovators