Transcontinental Railroad Teacher Resources

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...

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...

Who built the Transcontinental Railroad and why was it important? Your class can learn about the laying down of these tracks by reading a short passage. Pupils then respond to five questions related to the text.

Students 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...

Get your class working on the railroad with this detailed and interactive lesson. After reading and discussing Ten Mile Day, learners explore division of labor, human capital, and productivity with a hands-on group activity in which they...

Examine a time of political division and upheaval— not unlike our own—using firsthand accounts. While study of the Civil War often takes center stage in the classroom, the 1850s and 1860s were a period of profound change in other areas...

What do Abraham Lincoln and the Transcontinental Railroad have in common? Using a set of primary source documents, including pictures, maps, and treaties, class members link together the common themes of expansion into the American West....

Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...

Sixth graders research the history of the transcontinental railroad. They use advertising propaganda techniques to design and create a poster encouraging people to explore the West by rail.

Fourth graders study the lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction. They explore the...

Students stop action and determine how history may have been altered. In this historical perspectives lesson, students consider how the Cherokee Removal, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Immigration Act of 1924, and the dropping of the...

If you build it they can come. After reading a short article about the impact of western expansion, middle schoolers cite evidence from the article to explain how this expansion forced changes in transportation.

Students examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in many...

Students read Dragon's Gate as a shared literature book. This lesson provides excellent extension activities students can engage in while they are reading, and after they have finished the book.

Students examine the Chinese Expulsion Act of 1880. In this History instructional activity, students explore the issues of immigration and exclusion surrounding the Chinese Expulsion Act. Students will use a variety of primary sources to...

Fourth graders explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power. They trace the transformation of the California economy in its political and cultural development since the 1850's.

Eleventh graders examine a picture of John Gast's, American Progress to determine what they know about American growth between 1877- 1900. By working through thirteen center or folder activities, they study the economics,...

Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its development since the 1850's.

In this grade 5 social studies test activity, 5th graders complete a 30 question multiple choice quiz covering a variety of grade 5 concepts. 

Students consider important structures in their community -- specifically, those structures that have had a great impact on the history of their community.

This exhibition explores the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad and its impact on American westward expansion.

Original photos and images highlighting the impact that the Transcontinental Railroad had on the lives and perspectives of Americans and Native Americans.

The railroad developers built the rails in anticipation of growth and sprawl across the United States. This visual shows the details of the increase of settlements, yet not quite enough to sustain the expanse of the Transcontinental...

Students will compare two primary accounts of overland travel in the 1860s,one by stagecoach, the other by railroad, to see how travel changed upon completion of the transcontinental railroad.