Step  One:  Read the following three paragraphs about the Panama Canal:

     You may also click on "cinch" to listen to the three paragraphs as read by Ms. Searcy!

Before the Panama Canal was built, traders from Europe that traveled by sea had to go down the coast of South America and around the Southern most tip of the South American continent in order to get to places on the west coast of North and South America, like California. This was a very dangerous trip, because the water around the most southern bit of the South American continent has rough water and is full of icebergs, making it hard to navigate.  Once the Panama Canal was in place, the traders could simply go straight through without having to go down and around the whole continent. This shortcut also saved travelers about three months on ship voyages.

The Panama Canal’s chief benefit to world trade came from shortening distance. Without it, trade between the east and west coasts of North America, or between the west coast of North America and Europe, had to either travel along the transcontinental railroad, around the southern tip of South America, or via the Tehuantepec or

Panama railroads.

The Panama Canal is one of the first great works of twentieth century engineering. It dramatically cut transportation costs and produced significant savings for world commerce. The biggest share of these savings was captured by the United States, because most of the ships passing through the Canal carried cargoes coming from or destined to the United States. Despite the large cost overruns during its construction, and the prolonged construction time, the Canal was a good investment of public money.

Step Two:  Learn how a canal lock works .  Watch a time-lapse movie of 24 hours at the Panama Canal.

Step Three:  Find the country of Panama on the map below

Step Four:  View the Panama Canal today    Panama Canal Live Webcam

Step Five:  Find the Panama Canal on the map of Central America below.

Step Six:  Learn about the canal works:  transit, operation, and dimensions of the Panama Canal.  Click on each of the larger words to learn more.

Step Seven:  Choose one of the roles below to show your knowledge of how the construction of the Panama Canal impacted trade when it was built.

            Extra Information that you may need to complete the task below.

Remember, your product is to show your knowledge of how the construction of the Panama Canal impacted trade. 

If you finish the assignment to your satisfaction, you may wish to view a 20-minute movie about the Panama Canal.  Click HERE to watch the movie.  Your screen name is "pickles."

*This is how you will be scored on your work: