🎧 Episode Academy subscribers

The Transcontinental Railroad

Episode of the series Man-made Wonders of America

CEFR: A2, B1

In this episode

Illustrated slideshow (49 images)
Glossary (15 words)
Comprehension quiz (18 questions)
Cultural notes

Unlock the resourceIncluded in the subscription

Extract: the first 30 seconds of the episode. The full episode lasts 3 min 46 s.

Level

The episode

Two railroads that met in the middle. In the 1860s, one railroad built east from California and another built west across the plains; in May 1869 they met in Utah, and a journey of months became a journey of a week.

Episode worksheets (2)

Student sheet In your teacher account
Teacher sheet In your teacher account

Teaching guide

Objective & content

The documentary presents the Transcontinental Railroad, which joined the two coasts of America. It explains why it was built (crossing the country took months), how the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific raced towards each other, and how the lines met on 10 May 1869 at Promontory Summit with a golden spike. It names the thousands of Chinese workers who did hard, dangerous work and the cost for Native nations and the bison, in a calm, factual way. The grammar focus is present simple for description and past simple for dated history; the vocabulary covers transport, jobs and government. Learners work on listening comprehension, then answer the in-app quiz.

Materials & prerequisites

Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF and HTML versions, in the printables folder).
Prerequisites: present simple, regular and irregular past simple (built, cut, met, took), and basic dates.

Curriculum alignment

Tagged for cycle 3 (6e): the child and passing time, and the child and the wider environment. The episode targets CEFR level A2+.

Possible adaptations

Lower levels: Offer segmented listening and additional visual aids.
Advanced levels: Encourage an oral summary and a debate in English on the theme.
Large groups: Organise group work with differentiated roles.

🔒 Restricted content

This resource requires a subscription to be viewed.