TEACHER:
FRAME THE LESSON
CLASS: 8th Grade
DATE: May 2-6
M T W TH F
Mining, Railroads, and the Economy
Resources/Materials:
Student Expectations Bundled in Lesson
Noun=Underline
Verb=Italicize
27D: explain how technological innovations brought about economic growth such as how the factory system contributed to rapid
U.S. History Textbook
Colonization through
Reconstruction
(p. 612-623)
industrialization and the Transcontinental Railroad led to the opening of the west
Interactive Reading
Notepad (p. 612)
Online Editable
Presentation (p. 612)
Online Start Up
Activity (p. 612)
Interactive Gallery:
Boomtowns and Ghost
Towns
(p. 612)
Objective/Key Understanding:
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Interactive Map: The
Transcontinental
Railroad
(p. 615)
Describe how the boom in gold and silver changed the West.
Identify problems that arose on the mining frontier.
Explain how railroads helped the West develop.
Analyze how railroad services became more efficient over time.
Describe how railroads encourage economic growth.
Analyze Maps (p. 617)
Digital Activity: One
Cause, Many Effects
(p. 619)
Introduce Vocabulary Activity (p. 612)
Lode
Consolidate
vigilante
rebate
transcontinental railroad
pool
subsidy
gauge
network
Informal Assessment Questions 1-5 (p. 623)
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Why might a sudden surge of miners, ranchers, and farmers into an area cause problems other than environmental ones.
Why were so many of the workers who built the first transcontinental railroad immigrants, African Americans, and
Mexican Americans?
How did the development of the railroads affect business and travel in the United States?
What problems did an excess of competition cause for the railroad companies and some of their customers?
Summarize how railroads helped the United States grow and prosper.
Digital Lesson Quiz:
(p. 619)
Analyze Charts (p. 620)
Analyze Graphs
(p. 622)
Stop & Check for Understanding—High Level Questions
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Why did boomtowns spring up throughout the West?
How did the informal methods of governance gradually become more formal?
Why was immigrant labor brought in to help build the railroads?
What was significant about the way in which the Great Northern line was financed?
How did railroad owners try to make profits in a competitive business environment?
How did the growth of railroad companies change the management techniques of other large businesses?
Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems
Critical Writing Prompt:
Silver and Gold Mining (p. 613)
 How did physical characteristics of the environment influence economic activities during the nineteenth century?
 How did boomtowns contribute to the growth of the United States, despite the fact that many of them turned into ghost towns?
 Make a hypothesis about how railroads impacted the growth of boomtowns. Explain your reasoning.
The Costs of Mining (p. 614-615)
 Discuss how physical characteristics of the environment drew immigrants to the West.
 How did mining impact the physical environment in the West?
 How did technological innovations in mining influence the mining economy and life for laborers?
 How do you think the physical geography of the West affected law enforcement in the areas?
The Railroad Encourages Economic Growth (p. 615-617)
 Explain how transportation systems impacted the growth and development of the United States.
 How do you think the arrival of railroad lines influenced daily life in the West in the nineteenth century?
 Give an example of how technological innovations in transportation brought about economic growth.
 Why did the government subsidize the railroads? What were the effects of the policy?
Building a National Network of Rails (p. 617-621)
 Why did the ability to ship goods long distances change the nation’s economy? Provide evidence for support.
 Select one technological innovation described in this text and explain its impact.
 How did innovations to railroad gauges bring about economic growth?
 How do you think consolidation of businesses will impact railroad companies and American consumers?
Railroads and Competition (p.621-622)
 What factors caused railroad prices to soar?
 What were the political and economic effects of high prices?
 Explain the Panic of 1893 in your own words.
 What role did transportation systems play in this economic downturn?
Railroads Build a Nation (p.622-623)
 How did railroads cause industry in growth in the nineteenth century?
Online Resources, Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity
Interactive Reading Notepad (p. 612)
You may also use the questions found in the Interactive Reading Notepad (p. 623) for this lesson to guide your class discussion.
Online Editable Presentation (p. 612)
Use the Online Editable Presentation (p. 623) found on the Digital Course to present the main ideas for this lesson.
Online Start Up Activity (p. 612)
You can project the Start Up Activity from the course. Ask students to think about what they have learned so far about reconstruction.
Interactive Gallery: Boomtowns and Ghost Towns (p. 612)
Project the Interactive Gallery: Boomtowns and Ghost Towns (p. 612) and click through the images. Discuss how western mining shaped the growth and development
of the United States.
 How did physical characteristics of the environment influence economic activities during the nineteenth century?
Interactive Map: The Transcontinental Railroad (p. 615)
Project the Interactive Map: The Transcontinental Railroad (p. 615) and click through the hotspots.
 Why do you think the nation wanted to have a transcontinental railroad?
Analyze Maps (p. 617)
Review the infographic, New States in the West, on page 617.
 Based on the information in the map, what effect did migration to the West have by the end of 1912?
Digital Activity: One Cause, Many Effects (p. 619)
Project the Digital Activity: One Cause, Many Effects (p. 619). Have students complete the concept web and then discuss with a partner how the growth of railroads
contributed to the overall growth of the nation.
 Give examples of how the railroad brought about the “great miracle” of the nineteenth century-the building of the United States.
 Explain why railroads were so important to the growth and development of the United States and provide examples for support.
Digital Lesson Quiz: (p. 619)
Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz. Pose these questions:
 What role did mining play in the development of western territories and the growth of the United States? Explain your reasoning.
 Draw a conclusion about the role of transportation in the development of the United States.
Analyze Charts (p. 620)
Review the graphic organizer, The Plight of Farmers and Small Businesses, on page 620. What can you infer about why rebates and discounts caused many small
companies and farmers to go out of business in the 1800s?
Analyze Graphs (p. 622)
Review the infographic, Railroad Drive Industrial Growth, on page 622.
 What effect did the growth of the railroad industry have on the U.S. economy in the late 1800s?
Engage
~Have students preview the lesson objectives and the list of key terms (p.590). Use the Editable Presentation found on the digital course to present the main ideas of the
lesson (p. 590).
Complete the Start Up Activity on p 590. Tell students that during the late 1800s, a new way of life developed in the West and Midwest that revolved around farming
and ranching.
 Why do you think people moved west?
 How do you think the environment influenced where people chose to settle?
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Tell students that in this lesson they will be learning about western expansion and settlement in the nineteenth century.
~Divide the class into groups. Each group is to read a section and be prepared to discuss and share findings with the class. Students are to read assigned sections and use
the Note Taking Study Guide to help them take notes and understand the text as they read.
 Silver and Gold Mining (p. 613)
 The Costs of Mining (p. 614-615)
 The Railroad Encourages Economic Growth (p. 615-617)
 Building a National Network of Rails (p. 617-621)
 Railroads and Competition (p.621-622)
 Railroads Build a Nation (p.622-623)
Tell students that in this lesson they will be learning about western expansion and settlement in the nineteenth century.
Silver and Gold Mining (p. 613)
 Two prospectors struck gold in Nevada in 1859. Then, another miner, Henry Comstock, appeared. “The land is mine.” He cried, demanding to be made a
partner. From then on, Comstock boasted about “his” mine.
The Costs of Mining (p. 614-615)
 The surge of miners in the West created problems, as did the arrival of cattle ranchers and homesteaders. Mines and towns polluted clear mountain streams.
Miners cut down forests to get wood for buildings. They also forced Native Americans from their homes.
The Railroad Encourages Economic Growth (p. 615-617)
 To many Native Americans, the railroad was a terrifying monster, an “iron horse” belching black smoke and moving at stunning speeds. However, for the
people of mining towns, railroads meant supplies, new townsfolk, and a rapid means of transporting their gold and silver.
Building a National Network of Rails (p. 617-621)
 The Civil War showed the importance of railroads. Railroads carried troops and supplies to the battlefields. They also moved raw materials to factories. After
the war, railroad companies began to build new lines all over the country.
Railroads and Competition (p.621-622)
 With builders rushing to share in the profits of the railroad boom, overbuilding occurred. Soon, there were too many rail lines in some parts of the country.
Between Atlanta and St. Louis, for example, 20 different lines competed for business.
Railroads Build a Nation (p.622-623)
 Although railroads caused certain problems, they also made possible the rapid growth of industry after 1865. Building rail lines created thousands of jobs.
Steelworkers turned millions of tons of iron into steel for tracks and engines.
.
~Guided Reading and Discussion Questions
 See Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity
 See Online Resources from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz for this lesson (p. 623). Teachers can also opt to have students demonstrate mastery by responding to the following questions on
paper:
 Why might a sudden surge of miners, ranchers, and farmers into an area cause problems other than environmental ones.
 Why were so many of the workers who built the first transcontinental railroad immigrants, African Americans, and Mexican Americans?
 How did the development of the railroads affect business and travel in the United States?
 What problems did an excess of competition cause for the railroad companies and some of their customers?
 Summarize how railroads helped the United States grow and prosper.