Grade 7 · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 9
Steam, Rails and Wires
New technology changes work
What your child practises
Practises how steam power, railways, the telegraph and the telephone changed work and trade from 1830 to 1920, and who gained or lost economic power as a result.
Prince Edward Island Curriculum curriculum outcome: Economic empowerment · how new technology and industry changed work, trade and economic power in Canada, 1830-1920
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Who lost work when wooden shipbuilding declined?
- shipwrights and other shipyard workers
- railway passengers
- bankers in other countries
- astronauts
shipwrights and other shipyard workers
Hint: Think about who built the ships.
Question 2
Sandford Fleming is known for promoting…
- the steam engine
- the light bulb
- the telephone
- standard time zones
standard time zones
Hint: Railways needed clocks to match.
Question 3
The Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s brought…
- a new national anthem
- the end of the railway
- thousands of people north looking for gold
- the first telephone
thousands of people north looking for gold
Hint: People hoped to get rich quickly.
Question 4
In the late 1800s, many Maritimers moved to New England, called “the Boston States,” to…
- join the army
- find work
- go on holiday
- learn to sail
find work
Hint: Factories there needed workers.
Question 5
How did railways change trade?
- goods could no longer be sold
- ships became faster than trains
- trade only happened in summer
- goods could move faster and in all seasons
goods could move faster and in all seasons
Hint: Trains run even when harbours freeze.
Question 6
Why did farmers want railways close to their land?
- to scare away animals
- to ship crops to markets quickly
- to make the soil red
- to make farms smaller
to ship crops to markets quickly
Hint: Faster shipping meant better sales.