Internet Field Trip: The Pony Express

By Kacy Cook

"Wanted, young skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 a week. Apply Central Overland Express."

What would life be like without being able to phone a friend to chat? When you couldn't just pop a birthday card into the big blue postal box on the corner? Or when letters took weeks to arrive a few states away, and cost weeks' wages to send? Go back in time to the days of the Pony Express.

Your Internet route can begin at the Pony Express page, where you can read firsthand quotes about this adventure from the man who started it all. And if you'd like your class to write to the Pony Express Museum, you'll find its mailing address here as well. (I always like for my students to compare the journey of the letters they send here with how it might have been if they were living in the heyday of the Pony Express.)

After whetting their appetites, you can answer some of the many questions that come up by using the Pony Express Quick Facts . Your students can find out the age of the youngest rider, the average speed of a rider, and why the Pony Express was a financial failure, among other factoids.

While your students digest that, The Pony Express will start them looking at what they will be doing next: writing like the student who composed this page! The teacher's note of the grade the report earned can be inspiring to your students. This student-written page is part of a very rich site called the Pony Express Home Station. A variation would be what I'm doing in class: Have my students read the student's page, then create their own, asking them, "What could you write about?" Or, how about something historical that goes through your town/state/region?

Who could pass up an opportunity to read newspaper articles or stories of the era? Don't be daunted by the long list at the top of this site. Each item on the list will connect you to an article further down. And since it's organized chronologically, you can pick where — or when — you'd like to begin! You may want to cross-reference the listed names of the riders, and then look into some of the available biographies.

Would you like to visit any of the stations along the routes? You'll find them listed by state. Kids can find out how current U.S. roads compare and somewhat parallel the routes. Then simply break out the class atlas and begin planning your virtual road trip!

Help | Privacy Policy
EMAIL THIS

* YOUR NAME

* YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

* RECIPIENT'S EMAIL ADDRESS(ES)

(Separate multiple email addresses with commas)

Check this box to send yourself a copy of the email.

INCLUDE A PERSONAL MESSAGE (Optional)


Scholastic respects your privacy. We do not retain or distribute lists of email addresses.