The Transcontinental Railroad
Learning Target: I will be able to evaluate the impact that the transcontinental railroad had on human migration and settlement in the United States.
Illinois Social Science Standards
Human Population: Spatial Patterns and Movements
SS.G.3.6-8.LC: Explain how environmental characteristics impact human migration and settlement.
SS.G3.6-8.MdC: Explain how changes in transportation and communication influence the spatial connections among human settlements and affect the spread of ideas and culture.
SS.G3.6-8.MC: Evaluate the influences of long-term humaninduced environmental change on spatial patterns of conflict and cooperation.
Key Terms
Industrialization - period of change that transforms a group of people from an farming society into an factory based society.
Transcontinental - crossing a continent.
Infrastructure - the basic structures and facilities, such as buildings, roads, and power supplies; needed for the operation of a society
Bell Ringer Discussion
Think of a technology that has been invented or made popular in the last few years or decades. What have the positive and negative consequences been with that new technology?
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What is something we can not live without in our modern world, that we just accept the negative consequences for because of how much it benefits us?
Lesson Notes
The Transcontinental Railroad
It was a railroad track that linked the eastern United States with the Pacific Ocean.
Union Pacific Company started near the Nebraska-Iowa border.
Central Pacific Company started in Sacramento California
Railroad met at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869.
Reduced cost of travel across the United States from $1000 to $150.
Travel time reduced from six months to six days.
Critical Thinking Questions
Who has benefitted from the Chinese Highspeed Railway?
What motivated the Chinese to build the High Speed Railway
When do you think the U.S. might build a High Speed Railway system, and do we even need one?
Where does China build it's Highspeed Railway?
How is China and the U.S. different?
2a: The Transcontinental Railroad (Heartland).pdf