The Transcontinental Railroad is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how the transcontinental railroad changed where goods were made and sold, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.11.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Read the text and answer the questions, then circle the best answers.
1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.
The Transcontinental Railroad
An information text written for this worksheet.
In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress passed a law to build a railroad across the country.
The Central Pacific Railroad built east from Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Nebraska.
Thousands of Chinese immigrants did most of the Central Pacific's work. They blasted tunnels through the Sierra Nevada and were paid less than white workers.
Many Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans laid track for the Union Pacific.
The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, on May 10, 1869.
A trip from coast to coast had taken months by wagon or ship. By train it took about a week.
Ranchers could ship cattle to Chicago, and factories in the East could sell goods in the West.
The railroad crossed the hunting lands of Plains nations such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, and brought hunters who killed millions of buffalo.
1. Why could Eastern factories sell more goods in the West after 1869?
2. How were the Chinese workers treated unfairly?
3. How did the railroad change where ranchers sold their cattle?
4. What does this text not tell you about the workers?
2.Why did the government give railroad companies land?
A.To punish them for building too slowly
B.To make farms for their workers
C.To encourage them to build lines across the West
3.How did the railroad help fruit growers in California?
A.They stopped needing water
B.They could ship oranges to markets in the East
C.They could grow oranges in the snow
4.What often happened to a town the railroad passed by?
A.It became the state capital
B.It grew faster than every other town
C.It shrank as trade moved to towns on the line
5.Why did new towns grow up along the railroad line?
A.The railroad paid people to live there
B.Trains brought customers and carried away crops
C.Towns could only be built near tracks by law
6.How did refrigerated rail cars change what people ate?
A.Fresh meat and fruit could be sold far from where they were produced
B.Fruit could only be eaten where it grew
C.People stopped eating meat
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.11.3-5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Transcontinental Railroad
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Trains carried goods coast to coast in about a week instead of months. 2. They were paid less than white workers for dangerous work blasting tunnels. 3. They could ship cattle by train to Chicago. 4. It does not tell you how many workers died building the railroad.
2.To encourage them to build lines across the West
3.They could ship oranges to markets in the East
4.It shrank as trade moved to towns on the line
5.Trains brought customers and carried away crops
6.Fresh meat and fruit could be sold far from where they were produced
Questions about The Transcontinental Railroad
What does the The Transcontinental Railroad worksheet cover?
It practices how the transcontinental railroad changed where goods were made and sold — 6 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on C3 Framework D2.Geo.11.3-5: Describe how the work done in a place changes as it connects to other places. The instruction to students is “Read the text and answer the questions, then circle the best answers”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which C3 Framework indicator does The Transcontinental Railroad practice?
D2.Geo.11.3-5, under Geography for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published indicator reads: “Describe how the spatial patterns of economic activities in a place change over time because of interactions with nearby and distant places.” The worksheet assesses that indicator rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
The Transcontinental Railroad is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on D2.Geo.11.3-5, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does The Transcontinental Railroad come with an answer key?
Yes. All 6 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of The Transcontinental Railroad can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is The Transcontinental Railroad free to print and photocopy?
Yes. The Transcontinental Railroad, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for D2.Geo.11.3-5
Describe how the work done in a place changes as it connects to other places.