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The Pony Express Riders

4th grade nonfiction passage about mail in the old west: 174 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction mail in the old west 174 words

The Pony Express Riders

In 1860, there were no airplanes, no trains that crossed the whole country, and no phones. A letter from Missouri to California took weeks by wagon or ship. Then a company started the Pony Express.

The idea was simple. Riders on fast horses would carry the mail in relays, like runners passing a baton. A rider galloped along a trail until he reached a station. There, a fresh horse was waiting, already saddled. The rider swapped horses in a minute or two and kept going. After a long stretch, he handed the mail to a new rider.

To keep the load light, riders carried only a small amount of mail in leather bags on the saddle. Many riders were young and did not weigh much, which also helped the horses go fast.

With this system, mail crossed the country in about ten days. That was a huge improvement.

The Pony Express did not last long. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished, and messages could travel over wires in moments. The riders were no longer needed.

Questions

  1. Where did the Pony Express carry mail from and to? in the text

  2. What was waiting for a rider at each station? in the text

  3. Why did riders carry only a small amount of mail? in the text

  4. About how long did mail take to cross the country with the Pony Express? in the text

  5. Why did the Pony Express end in 1861? in the text

  6. Why is the system compared to runners passing a baton? think about it

Words to know

relays
a way of doing a long job in parts, with a new person taking over each part
station
a stop along a route where riders could rest and change horses
telegraph
a machine that sent messages along wires
saddle
the seat that a rider sits on, placed on a horse's back
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 153 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

In 1860, there were no planes. No trains crossed the whole country. There were no phones. A letter from Missouri to California took weeks. Then a company started the Pony Express.

The idea was simple. Riders on fast horses carried the mail in a relay. A rider raced along a trail to a station. A fresh horse was waiting there, with its saddle on. The rider changed horses in a minute or two and rode on. After a long ride, he gave the mail to a new rider.

The mail was kept light. Riders carried only a small amount in leather bags. Many riders were young and did not weigh much. That helped the horses go fast.

Mail now crossed the country in about ten days. That was a huge gain.

The Pony Express did not last long. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished. Messages could zip over wires. The riders were not needed.

▲ This passage · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

In 1860, there were no airplanes, no trains that crossed the whole country, and no phones. A letter from Missouri to California took weeks by wagon or ship. Then a company started the Pony Express.

The idea was simple. Riders on fast horses would carry the mail in relays, like runners passing a baton. A rider galloped along a trail until he reached a station. There, a fresh horse was waiting, already saddled. The rider swapped horses in a minute or two and kept going. After a long stretch, he handed the mail to a new rider.

To keep the load light, riders carried only a small amount of mail in leather bags on the saddle. Many riders were young and did not weigh much, which also helped the horses go fast.

With this system, mail crossed the country in about ten days. That was a huge improvement.

The Pony Express did not last long. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished, and messages could travel over wires in moments. The riders were no longer needed.

■ Harder · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.1

In 1860, there were no airplanes, no railroads spanning the entire continent, and certainly no telephones. A letter traveling from Missouri to California took several weeks by wagon or by ship. Then a business venture called the Pony Express set out to change that.

The concept was remarkably simple. Riders mounted on swift horses would carry the mail in relays, much like runners passing a baton from hand to hand. A rider galloped along the trail until reaching a station, where a fresh horse stood waiting, already saddled. He exchanged horses within a minute or two and continued onward. After a long stretch, he handed the mail to a new rider.

To keep the burden light, riders carried only a modest amount of mail in leather pouches fastened to the saddle. Many riders were young and slender, which also allowed the horses to move faster.

Under this system, mail crossed the country in roughly ten days, an enormous improvement.

Nevertheless, the Pony Express was short-lived. In 1861, a telegraph line was completed, and messages could travel across wires almost instantly. The riders were no longer necessary.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put relays, station, telegraph and saddle on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 6 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Pony Express Riders"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 174 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.1. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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