Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
The Transcontinental Railroad

After the Civil War<BR>(1865-1870)
After the Civil War
(1865-1870)

The Transcontinental Railroad
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.15

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    solid-rock, waterless, communication, technological, network, traditional, newly-arrived, gasoline, livelihood, beginning, whichever, power, lines, unexpected, advance, government
     content words:    East Coast, West Coast, Native American, Union Pacific, Central Pacific, Great Plains, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Promontory Point, Transcontinental Railroad, Native Americans

Print The Transcontinental Railroad
     Print The Transcontinental Railroad  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print
     Quickly print reading comprehension

Proofreading Activity
     Print a proofreading activity

The Transcontinental Railroad
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     
The Challenge

 
2     The challenge was to build a railroad from the East Coast to the West Coast. There was already a network of railroads on the East Coast and as far west as Missouri, but the challenging part lay ahead. It would not be easy to build railroad lines through waterless deserts, solid-rock mountains, or Native American hunting territory.
 
3     Two railroad companies were up for the challenge. The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific both won government contracts to work on the railroad. The Union Pacific would build west from Missouri. The Central Pacific would build east from California. Both companies would be paid for each mile of track they laid, $16,000 per mile on the prairie, twice as much on the high plateaus, and three times as much through the mountains. Whichever company built the most track would earn the most money. The race was on.
 
4     The Union Pacific hired thousands of workers, many of them Irish immigrants, and started building track across the Great Plains. Each day, it built a few more miles of track.
 
5     The Central Pacific hired workers in California and began to build. Its first step was to tunnel through the steep, rocky Sierra Nevada Mountains. Some days, they progressed only a few inches. Many workers on the first crew quit; then the Central Pacific began hiring Chinese immigrants. Thousands of these newly-arrived Americans chipped away at the rock day after day. It was slow going, but they kept at it.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Feedback on The Transcontinental Railroad
Leave your feedback on The Transcontinental Railroad   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
             After the Civil War
(1865-1870)

The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
             The United States Grows
(1865-1900)

United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 

United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861) 		 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830) 		 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870) 		 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991) 		 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806) 		 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865) 		 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945) 		 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900) 		 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918) 		 
 
    World War II  
 

50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit

Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



Copyright © 2018 edHelper