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The Pony Express Rides

4th grade nonfiction passage about American history: 162 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction American history 162 words

The Pony Express Rides

In 1860, there was no telephone, no email, and no railroad all the way across the country. A letter sent from Missouri to California could take weeks. A company set up a faster way. It was called the Pony Express.

The plan was to have riders pass the mail along like a relay race. Stations stood about every ten to fifteen miles along the route. At each station, a rider jumped off a tired horse, grabbed the mail bag, and leaped onto a fresh horse. Then the rider galloped to the next station. After several stations, a new rider took over. This way, mail traveled about two thousand miles in around ten days.

The riders were often young and light, so the horses could run fast. They rode through heat, snow, and rough land.

The Pony Express lasted only about eighteen months. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished that could send messages across the country in moments. The riders were no longer needed.

Questions

  1. How long could a letter from Missouri to California take before the Pony Express? in the text

  2. How often were stations built along the route? in the text

  3. What did a rider do at each station? in the text

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

  5. Why were riders often young and light? think about it

  6. Why did the Pony Express end? think about it

Words to know

relay
a race or job where each person does one part and passes it on
route
the path from one place to another
galloped
ran at a fast pace, as a horse does
telegraph
a machine that sent messages along wires
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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 · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

In 1860, there was no telephone and no email. There was no railroad all the way across the country. A letter from Missouri to California could take weeks. A company set up a faster way. It was called the Pony Express.

The plan was to have riders pass the mail along like a relay race. Stations stood about every ten to fifteen miles. At each station, a rider hopped off a tired horse. He grabbed the mail bag and jumped on a fresh horse. Then he raced to the next station. After a few stations, a new rider took over. This way, mail went about two thousand miles in around ten days.

The riders were often young and light, so the horses could run fast. They rode through heat, snow, and rough land.

The Pony Express lasted only about eighteen months. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished. It could send messages across the country in moments. Riders were not needed.

▲ This passage · 162 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

In 1860, there was no telephone, no email, and no railroad all the way across the country. A letter sent from Missouri to California could take weeks. A company set up a faster way. It was called the Pony Express.

The plan was to have riders pass the mail along like a relay race. Stations stood about every ten to fifteen miles along the route. At each station, a rider jumped off a tired horse, grabbed the mail bag, and leaped onto a fresh horse. Then the rider galloped to the next station. After several stations, a new rider took over. This way, mail traveled about two thousand miles in around ten days.

The riders were often young and light, so the horses could run fast. They rode through heat, snow, and rough land.

The Pony Express lasted only about eighteen months. In 1861, a telegraph line was finished that could send messages across the country in moments. The riders were no longer needed.

■ Harder · 171 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.4

In 1860, there was no telephone, no email, and no railroad stretching all the way across the country. A letter sent from Missouri to California could take weeks to arrive, so a company organized a much faster service called the Pony Express.

The plan was to have riders pass the mail along like a relay race. Stations were built approximately every ten to fifteen miles along the route. At each station, a rider leaped off an exhausted horse, grabbed the mail bag, and vaulted onto a fresh horse. Then the rider galloped toward the next station, and after several stations, a new rider took over. Using this method, mail traveled about two thousand miles in around ten days.

The riders were often young and light, so the horses could run swiftly. They rode through blazing heat, deep snow, and rough, unfamiliar land.

The Pony Express lasted only about eighteen months. In 1861, workers completed a telegraph line that could transmit messages across the country in moments, and the riders were no longer needed.

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 relay, route, galloped and telegraph 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 5 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 Rides"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 162 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.2. 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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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