Activity Overview
There are many interesting and influential people related to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad that students can research to gain a deeper understanding of its construction and its impact. Researching real people helps students to get a more concrete and compassionate understanding of the culture, lives and diverse perspectives of different people. In this activity, students will research a person and then create a biography poster highlighting their accomplishments or notable moments.
Find more biography poster templates to add to this assignment if desired!
Notable People Involved With the Transcontinental Railroad
- Oakes Ames (1804-1873)
- Oliver Ames (1807-1877)
- John H. Baird (1822-1880)
- Matthias Baldwin (1795-1866)
- Julius Bandmann (1825-1900)
- Central Pacific Railroad
- Lewis M. Clement (1837-1914)
- Peter Cooper (1791-1883)
- Charles Crocker (1822-1888)
- Peter A. Dey (1825-1911)
- Charles Ferdinand Dowd (1825-1904)
- John Dix (1798-1879)
- Grenville Dodge (1831-1916)
- Donner Party (Winter of 1846-1847)
- Thomas Durant (1820-1885)
- Ulysses S. Grant (18722-1885)
- Mark Hopkins, Jr. (1813-1878)
- Herbert Hoxie (1830-1886)
- William Howe (1803-1852)
- Collis P. Huntington (1821-1900)
- Theodore Judah (1826-1863)
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
- Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)
- George M. Pullman (1931-1897)
- Railroad workers (Majority: Chinese immigrants; also: Irish immigrants, German immigrants, African Americans, Mormons, Civil War veterans)
- William H. Seward (1801-1872)
- William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891)
- Leland Stanford (1824-1893)
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Brigham Young
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Research a famous or notable person (or group of people) related to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Create a biography poster that highlights their major accomplishments.
Student Instructions:
- Choose a person.
- Using school resources, conduct some research and learn more about your chosen person.
- On the poster, include your person’s name and dates of birth (and death if applicable). Choose a character that resembles your person. Add words and images to describe your person’s accomplishments.
Requirements: Person’s image, name, dates of birth/death, accomplishments.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Needs Improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | The description includes at least five important facts about the famous or historic figure. | The description includes less than five important facts or it includes information that is not pertinent to the famous or historic figure. | The description is incomplete and does not contain important information about the famous or historic figure. |
| Artistic Depictions | The art chosen to depict the scenes, characters and items that are appropriate to the famous or historic figure. They enhance the poster by symbolizing or illustrating important facts about the figure. Time and care is taken to ensure that the scenes are neat, eye-catching, and creative. | The art chosen to depict the scenes, characters and items are mostly accurate, but there may be some liberties taken that distract from the assignment. Scene constructions are neat, and meet basic expectations. | The art chosen to depict the scenes, characters and items is too limited or incomplete. |
| English Conventions | Ideas are organized. There are few or no grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas are mostly organized. There are some grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Storyboard text is difficult to understand. |
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Transcontinental Railroad
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