The focus of this PBS lesson plan is to analyze the effect of the Transcontinental Railroad on American life Using a variety of maps students assess the need for a transcontinental railroad in the 1860s They then analyze two founding documents for the settlement of the West and view sections of the PBS documentary "The West" Divided into four groups students react to the advent of the railroad from a variety of perspectives promoters settlers Chinese immigrants and American Indians and use creative writing to record their reactions Students compare and contrast the classic photos and paintings of the meeting of the rails at Promontory Point Utah in 1869 with what they have learned in the lesson This resource is referenced in the EDSITEment lesson titled "I Hear the Locomotives The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad"