Book Summary
Before the Transcontinental Railroad, travel across the American West was treacherous at best. And building the railroad was itself a dangerous task filled with battles, injury, and even death. This book recounts the difficulties in building the railroad and the amazing changes that the trains brought to the West. 

About the Lesson 

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Summarization

Objectives

• Identify main idea and details
• Identify sequence adverbs and proper comma placement
• Understand and use compound words

Materials

• Book - The Transcontinental Railroad (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Main Idea and Details, Compound Words worksheets

    Indicates an opportunity to use the book interactively. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are not consumable.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: agonizingly, ballast, discrimination, efficient, engineers, foremen, infamous, ties