edHelper.com
The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
 Pony Express

Pony Express
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.89

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    emails, transcontinental, heading, entire, pouch, ever, longer, rider, saddle, technology, service, route, east, thousand, dangerous, message
     content words:    United States, Pony Express, In October

Print Pony Express
     Print Pony Express  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format
     Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
     Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format
     Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Pony Express
     Leave your feedback on Pony Express  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Pony Express
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     Do you ever get emails? An email message is received very quickly. It doesn't matter if the message is from the house next door or if it's from halfway around the world. Emails are fast! Today many people call sending a paper letter through the mail system "snail mail." Snails move very slowly. Compared to emails, getting a letter through the mail system might seem slow. But it's not nearly as slow as it used to be!
 
2     In the 1840s, many people in the United States began to move west. Gold was found in California in 1848. The thought of getting rich quick and new land lured many pioneers to the West. People wanted news from their old homes. At that time, mail from the east could take many months to get across the country. There was a need for quicker service. Three men decided to start their own mail service.
 
3     They started the Pony Express. One end of the route was in St. Joseph, Missouri. The other end was in Sacramento, California. The route covered almost two thousand miles. The job was very dangerous. Only young men without families were hired as riders.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
             The United States Grows
(1865-1900)

United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 

United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861) 		 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830) 		 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870) 		 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991) 		 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806) 		 
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
    The 1940's  
 
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865) 		 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945) 		 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900) 		 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918) 		 
 
    World War II  
 

50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit

Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets


Back to School
Graphic Organizers
Alphabet Worksheets
Sight Words
Math Worksheets
Mazes
50 States

Monthly Themes
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Fractions
Place Value
Time and Calendar
Money
Earth Day
Solar System
Analogies
Nouns
Following Directions
Listening
Capitalization
Cursive Writing
Patterns and Sequencing
Dinosaurs
All About Me

Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Sixth Grade
Multiplication
Division
Main Idea
Cause and Effect
Measurement
Decimals
Rounding
Order of Operations
Verbs
Community Helpers
Adjectives
Plants
Grammar
Addition and Subtraction
Contractions
Bulletin Board Ideas
Word Searches
Crossword Puzzles
Printable Puzzles

Reading Comprehension
Reading Skills
English Language Arts



Copyright © 2011 edHelper