DIY Homeschooler

These two activity books from the Golden Spike National Historic Site are a fun way to explore and review what students learn about the Transcontinental Railroad.

This is where the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. Before this railroad was built, people traveled four to six months by foot, horse, wagon or boat to get from one side of the country to the other. After the railroad was built, it took only seven days to travel all the way across America. Many people didn’t think the railroad could be built. Nothing like this had ever been done before! It took planning, and a lot of people doing very hard work. Most of the railroad was built by hand. There were no bulldozers, dump trucks or tractors.

Begin by watching the Gold Spike National Historic Park video to learn more.

Then learn more about the Golden Spike:

• People.
• Places.
• Stories.

Next, you are ready to jump into the activity books.

There are two options: one for older students, and one for younger students. Both 16-page color downloads have various activities for interacting with what students have learned. (Given the links above, they should also have everything they need to answer questions about the park — including the park weather.)

Activities cover:

• Track safety.
• Morse code.
• Parts of a railroad track.
• Writing a headline.
• Much more.

Both books include maps that will be handy when making a Transcontinental Railroad notebook.

These downloads are a wonderful way to wrap up our Transcontinental Railroad unit study! …And they are free!

Free Resource

• Golden Spike Activity Book @ NPSHistory.com
• Golden Spike Activity Book (younger students) @ NPSHistory.com

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Additional Resources

The Transcontinental Railroad: A Unit Study
The Golden Spike and the cross-country race between the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. Unit study and resources with suggestions.