Instructional Strategies - Railroads

In Module 8 students learn about the railroad coming first to Sauk County. They learn how the railroads impacted the economy and growth of the area, and how the railroads connected Sauk County to areas west of Wisconsin. Help students make connections between the impact of the railroads with settlement patterns and economic growth in Wisconsin.

Discuss how railroads affected the growth of Wisconsin cities. Discuss how the building of railroads became a major turning point in the history of Wisconsin. Talk abut the importance of the steam engine and the workers needed to build, run, and repair trains. Explain that railroads made it possible to move goods across the country in ways never before possible, and have students speculate on what that meant for the growth of industry in the United States. If possible, visit the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Social Studies Standards Alignment -

Learning Priority: (Inq3.a) Develop claims to answer an inquiry question

3-5: Create a thesis statement based on evidence found in sources to make a claim.

Learning Priority: (Inq3.c) Elaborate how evidence supports a claim

3-5: Assess how evidence supports a claim.

Learning Priority: (Econ3.a) Economic indicators

3-5: Investigate how the cost of things changes over time.

Learning Priority: (Econ4.a) Economic systems and allocation of resources

3-5: Trace the chain of supply for a needed product (e.g., food, shelter).

Learning Priority: (Geog1.a) Tools of geography

3-5: Summarize how location (absolute and relative) affects people, places, and environment. Construct maps (paper or digital), charts, and graphs using appropriate elements (i.e., date, orientation, grid, scale, title, author, index, legend, situation).

Learning Priority: (Geog2.b) Reasons people move

3-5: Investigate push and pull factors of movement in their community, state, country, and world.

Learning Priority: (Geog2.d) Urbanization

3-5: Summarize positive and negative factors of cities. Identify the location and patterns of cities within our state and country.

Learning Priority: (Geog3.b) Networks

3-5: Classify various ways that people and countries depend on one another. Summarize how transportation and communication have changed economic activities over time.

Learning Priority: (Geog5.b) Interdependence

3-5: Examine how human actions modify the physical environment when using natural resources (renewable and nonrenewable).

Learning Priority: (Hist1.b) Effect

3-5: Use evidence to draw conclusions about probable effects of historical events, issues, and problems.

Learning Priority: (Hist3.a) Connections

3-5: Compare events in Wisconsin history to a current issue or event.