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Wires Across the Continent in 1861

6th grade nonfiction passage about the transcontinental telegraph: 207 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction the transcontinental telegraph 207 words

Wires Across the Continent in 1861

In the autumn of 1861, a message flashed across the United States from the Pacific coast to the East. It traveled along a single wire strung over plains, deserts, and mountains. The wire had just joined two lines, one that began in the east and one that began in the west, and it let people on opposite sides of the country talk within minutes.

Before then, news from California took days or even weeks to reach the East. Letters went by ship or by stagecoach, and the fastest riders of the Pony Express needed about ten days to carry a message across the middle of the country. Business owners, newspaper editors, and families all had to wait.

The telegraph worked by sending electric pulses along a wire. Operators tapped out messages in Morse code, a system of short and long signals called dots and dashes. At the far end, another operator listened to the clicks and wrote down the words.

Building the line was hard work. Crews started from both ends, setting up poles, stringing wire, and hauling supplies across empty land. They met in Salt Lake City in October of 1861. Soon afterward, the Pony Express shut down, because a wire could carry news faster than any horse.

Questions

  1. What did the new wire join together? in the text

  2. About how long did the fastest riders need to cross the middle of the country? in the text

  3. How did the telegraph carry messages? in the text

  4. What is Morse code? in the text

  5. Where did the two crews meet? in the text

  6. Why did the Pony Express shut down soon after the line was finished? think about it

Words to know

telegraph
a machine that sends messages over wires using electricity
stagecoach
a horse-drawn coach that carried people and mail
pulses
short bursts of electric current
operators
people who run a machine or a system
signals
marks or sounds that carry a message
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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 · 180 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

In the fall of 1861, a message flashed across the United States. It went from the Pacific coast to the East. It traveled on one wire over plains, deserts, and mountains. The wire joined two lines, one from the east and one from the west. Now people on both sides of the country could talk in minutes.

Before this, news from California took days or weeks to reach the East. Letters went by ship or stagecoach. The fastest Pony Express riders took about ten days to cross the middle of the country. Business owners, editors, and families had to wait.

The telegraph sent electric pulses along a wire. Operators tapped out messages in Morse code. Morse code uses short and long signals called dots and dashes. At the far end, another operator heard the clicks and wrote down the words.

Building the line was hard. Crews started at both ends. They set up poles and strung wire across empty land. They met in Salt Lake City in October of 1861. Soon the Pony Express stopped. A wire was faster than any horse.

▲ This passage · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

In the autumn of 1861, a message flashed across the United States from the Pacific coast to the East. It traveled along a single wire strung over plains, deserts, and mountains. The wire had just joined two lines, one that began in the east and one that began in the west, and it let people on opposite sides of the country talk within minutes.

Before then, news from California took days or even weeks to reach the East. Letters went by ship or by stagecoach, and the fastest riders of the Pony Express needed about ten days to carry a message across the middle of the country. Business owners, newspaper editors, and families all had to wait.

The telegraph worked by sending electric pulses along a wire. Operators tapped out messages in Morse code, a system of short and long signals called dots and dashes. At the far end, another operator listened to the clicks and wrote down the words.

Building the line was hard work. Crews started from both ends, setting up poles, stringing wire, and hauling supplies across empty land. They met in Salt Lake City in October of 1861. Soon afterward, the Pony Express shut down, because a wire could carry news faster than any horse.

■ Harder · 218 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.4

During the autumn of 1861, a message flashed across the United States from the Pacific coast to the East. It traveled along a single wire stretched over plains, deserts, and mountain ranges. The wire had just connected two lines, one that began in the east and another that began in the west, and it allowed people on opposite sides of the continent to communicate within minutes.

Previously, news from California required days or even weeks to reach the East. Letters traveled by ship or by stagecoach, and the swiftest riders of the Pony Express needed about ten days to carry a message across the middle of the country. Business owners, newspaper editors, and ordinary families all had to wait patiently for word.

The telegraph operated by sending electric pulses along a wire. Operators tapped out messages in Morse code, a system of short and long signals known as dots and dashes. At the receiving end, another operator listened to the clicks and wrote down the words.

Building the line was demanding labor. Crews began at both ends, raising poles, stringing wire, and hauling supplies across vast stretches of empty land. They finally met in Salt Lake City in October of 1861. Soon afterward, the Pony Express closed down, because a wire could carry news faster than any horse could gallop.

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 telegraph, stagecoach, pulses, operators and signals 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 "Wires Across the Continent in 1861"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 207 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. 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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