Lesson Plan
Connecting the Coasts: Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad
Look at history! In this lesson, guide students through an exploration of the context, causes, and effects of the Transcontinental Railroad, and help them practice identifying the main idea and supporting details in a nonfiction text.
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Learning Objectives
Students will be able to identify the main idea and supporting details in a text about the Transcontinental Railroad.
Introduction
(5 minutes)- Ask students to close their eyes and imagine a world without motor vehicles or airplanes. Ask them to think of how people traveled, and listen to their responses.
- Explain that during the early 1800s, the main mode of transportation was on horseback or horse-pulled wagon. Trains were invented in Wales in 1804 and were considered the most modern technological advancement in transportation at the time.
- Show a map of the United States and explain that there was no formal transportation between Nebraska and California. Draw a line from Omaha to Oakland so they may see the distance of the Transcontintental Railroad.
- Tell them that there were plenty of train tracks in the eastern states but none west of the Mississippi River, and none to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. For people to make the journey to the West Coast, it often took them up to 6 months.
- Explain to students that the California Gold Rush (1848–1855) caused the government to think of ways to connect the West with the eastern states. Many people were interested in migrating to the West to seek wealth and natural resources.
- Tell students that today they are going to learn about how and why the Transcontinental Railroad was built and the ways in which it changed our country.
Beginning
- Provide student-friendly definitions of any unknown words, along with images and/or examples when applicable.
Intermediate
- Pair up students and have them discuss with their partner prior to contributing to the whole group discussion.