This page has no blanks for students to complete.  Students should instead read, highlight, and study the information about the first transcontinental railroad.

A cowboy of the Old West.  The wide hat and leather clothing gave protection while moving herds of cattle along a hot and dusty trail.  Clothing styles of today are still influenced by that of the cowboy era.

An Indian of the Great Plains.  Many resented and fought against the effort to force them onto reservations.  By the late 1880s, however, the Western Indians were overwhelmed, and the Indian Wars were becoming history.

Don't forget to check the Recommended Videos list for a good title on the Old West.  There is a link to the list from the main Teacher Support Page.

   Students should work from the finished map shown on the Internet support site or from our overhead transparency map collection.  Emphasize neatness from the beginning! 

   Tell students to complete the rivers first, using a blue color pencil, then the Great Salt Lake and the Great Lakes, using light blue pencil. 
   Next, have them locate Promontory Point, near the Great Salt Lake.  That is where the two sections of the transcontinental railroad met and were joined in 1869.  (Remind students that an extensive railroad network already existed east of the Mississippi.)
   Now it's time for students to draw in each section of the transcontinental railroad, using a red color pencil.  They should draw very lightly at first, then darken the lines once the routes are in correctly. 
   The two sections of the railroad should be labeled using a # 2 pencil.  (Color pencils do not do small letters well.) 

   The railroads associated with the cattle trails go on next.  These don't have to be labeled - there isn't enough room for that.  But they do have to go in carefully, again using red lines.
   Use green lines for the cattle trails and the original range of the Texas Longhorn.  The labels are already on the map.  Point out that the cattle trails all end at railroad stops.
   Finally, have students locate the Indian Territory, Little Bighorn, and Wounded Knee.  The Indian Territory should be colored light yellow, but be sure to point out that it was not the only area of Indian Reservations in the West.