Curated OER
California's Golden History: 1848-1880
Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...
Curated OER
Rendezvous at Promontory: A New Look at the Golden Spike Ceremony
Students complete a variety of activities as they examine the historical significance of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Golden Spike Ceremony in Promontory, Utah, which honored its completion. In one activity they plan and...
Curated OER
Old Stone House Lesson Plan
From stagecoach to railroad tracks, your class will discover how advancements in travel in the United States during the nineteenth century played an integral role in the industrialization and development of American society. The main...
Curated OER
Fifth Grade Social Studies
For this social studies worksheet, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about World War II, the transcontinental railroad, slavery, and more. Students complete 25 questions.
Curated OER
I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
Students examine the effects the Transcontinental Railroad had on the regions through which it passed. They analyze and discuss maps, view and describe online images, and use photos and documents to develop a cause-and-effect ladder.
Curated OER
The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Smarter Balanced
Growth and Expansion of America
Despite the difficulty of travel, the US expanded significantly between the 1800s and the early 1900s. To prepare for a performance task assessment on the rapid expansion of the US in the 1800s, class members engage in a write-pair-share...
Curated OER
I Will Meet You In The Middle
Students use the 50 States Quarter Reversal as a context of learning a curriculum concept based from the state of Utah. They research the concepts of cause and effect. Also, they use customary units of measurement to find length and...
Curated OER
The Railroads: The First Transcontinental Railroad
The move West was greatly effected by the first transcontinental railroad. Present your class with well-organized information regarding major causes, players, and effects the railroad had on the face of an expanding America. Note: A...
Curated OER
Transcontinental Railroad Web Quest
Students examine aspects of the Transcontinental Railroad. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students conduct a web-quest in order to gather information about the Transcontinental Railroad. Students will use their information to analyze...
Curated OER
The Transcontinental Railroad
Students investigate the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad. In this Transcontinental Railroad lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the effect of the railroad on Chinese immigrants and American Indians,...
Curated OER
Globe Skills Lesson 7 The Transcontinental Railroad
Students explore the Transcontinental Railroad. In this geography skills lesson, students use map skills in order to locate legs of the Transcontinental Railroad on globes.
Curated OER
History and Government of the United States
In this U.S. worksheet, students take notes in a graphic organizer as they read several passages, then answer four comprehension questions.
Curated OER
The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad#140
Pupils participation in a simulation of laying the track of Transcontinental Railroad starting from three different locations. They use toothpicks and coffee stirrers to build the rails. They evaluate which group laid the most track and...
Curated OER
The Railroad Is Born
Fourth graders examine the proposal of Theodore Judah for the first transcontinental railroad. They analyze a map, write an obituary for Theodore Judah, and create a symbolic poster of Judah's dream for a transcontinental railroad.
Curated OER
Traveling the Transcontinental from Yesterday to Today
High schoolers examine the impact of the train on the physical landscape and spatial organization of America. They read and analyze various poems, analyze maps, and develop a list of the positive and negative changes brought by the...
Curated OER
Developing a Gateway to the West
Young scholars identify various topographical features that contribute to the growth of a city. They identify how military strategies contribute to the growth of a city.
Stanford University
Stanford University Library: Hart Project
Explore the collection of 364 photographs which are plotted within this 3-D map experience recreating Alfred A. Hart's journey along the Central Pacific Railroad. The goal of his 1860s expedition was to solicit investment in the...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway is the largest and longest railway in Canada. An in-depth profile of the company and its history are included on this website, as well as the CNR today. Also looks at the different kinds of trains, cars, and...
US National Archives
Our Documents: Pacific Railway Act (1862)
Contains images of the original document and a transcript of the complete text of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 in an easy to read format. Also contains a brief overview on the background behind this act.
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
PBS
Pbs the West: The Pacific Railway Act: July 1, 1862
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," provides the text of the actual Pacific Railway Act, designed to aid in the construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Balancing Sources
This is from an American history course designed for teachers to enrich their knowledge and their teaching practice. This interactive is a set of nine exercises where teachers evaluate primary resources related to a specific event in...
New York Times
New York Times: On This Day: Credit Moibiler Scandal
See a political cartoon of Thomas Nast decrying the Credit Mobilier scandal, and read a concise account of what it was, who was involved, and why it was such a scandal.