SDSRM
Follow along
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Hours - Fees
    • Museum Hours
    • Admission Fees
    • Memberships
  • Education - About Us
    • About Us
    • Student Activity Guide
    • The Badlands Route GPS Coordinates
  • News/Events
    • Blog
    • News Notes
    • RCP&E/Museum hoppers
    • Hill City Antique & Rail Show
    • Railroad Ledger Art program
    • Hill City Quilts & Car Show
    • Trees & Trains
  • Gift Shop
  • Supporters
  • SD Railroad Hall of Fame

Student Activity Guide

How can the South Dakota State Railroad Museum help in your classroom?

Here at the Museum we offer FREE guided tours for
Public School and Home-Schooled groups. Each child will
receive an activity book that will grow with them as it contains
4 different grade levels; 
Kindergarten, 4th, 7th and 11th grade.
Picture

A letter from the Museum Curator: Rick Mills

Americans have always had a fascination for railroads — there is simply nothing else like them in size and scope. Railroads and our nation grew up together and in ways both good and bad, this dynamic combination changed this continent, its people, and its history forever. The study of this relationship remains important to us in modern times.

By the time Dakota Territory was divided into North and South Dakota in 1889, the railroad and commerce on the High Plains were intertwined. Agriculture depended on the railroads for shipping, as did mining and timbering in the Black Hills. Settlements were established based on the placement of the lines. South Dakota was realized, in large part, thanks to the men, women, investment, and machines of the railroad. The encroachment of the railroad and resulting white settlement into treaty lands impacted the indigenous Native Americans in ways that are still being felt today.

The goal of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum’s The Railroads of South Dakota Activity Guide project is to provide stand-alone educational lesson plans at four critical grade levels. Resources are also provided in the back of this guide for additional research and appreciation of railroading’s dynamic role in our his- tory, its relevance in our lives today, and railroading’s continuing role as we move into the future.

Through the valued efforts and input of a panel of educators and rail authorities; the generosity and vision of both the Elmen Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation, plus the Museum’s staff and Board of Directors, this guide’s curriculum concentrates on age-appropriate topics and activities dealing with railroad construction, historic places, dates of development, communications, and significant aspects of the South Dakota rail experience.

We welcome your ideas and comments on this edition, and for future versions of The Railroads of South Dakota Activity Guide.

Rick Mills, Museum Director, and the
Board of Directors, South Dakota State Railroad Museum


Activity Guide Structure and Application

The purpose of The Railroads of South Dakota Activity Guide is to familiarize its users with relevant people, dates, and events of South Dakota railroad history, to help in a better understanding of railroading’s significance for today, and to provide additional resources for further research and enjoyment, either at the museum, in a classroom or in independent learning situations.

The study and understanding of historical events and themes remains an important subject in modern times. This guide offers insights into American and South Dakota history including the settling of the West; Manifest Destiny; contact and conflicts between Native Americans and white settlers; experiences of rail workers, and the technical, mechanical, and engineering challenges of building and operating railroads across Dakota’s varied landscapes.

The curriculum contained in The Railroads of South Dakota Activity Guide focuses on age-appropriate topics and activities in Science, Writing, Social Studies, and Statistics/Probability for Kindergarten, Fourth, Seventh, and Eleventh grade levels. Additional grade level curricula are being planned for future editions of the guide.

This guide book is based on information, methods, and resources gathered from a panel of certified educators, historians, and museum professionals. The lessons and projects included incorporate recognized levels of content, rigor, and developmental appropriateness. The suggested assignments are in accordance with the Common Core Standards adopted by the South Dakota Board of Education on November 29, 2010.

The TimeRail chronological concept was developed by the Board of Directors of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum, which reserves all rights for its use in its entirety.


Picture

The SDSRM Activity Guide

Picture
sdsrm_study_guide_2014_jan24.pdf
File Size: 6040 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Study our state railroad history

Picture
sdrrtimeline.pdf
File Size: 86 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Kids Book & Story Cards

Picture
Picture
The PDF story book "All Aboard for the Black Hills” is the companion book to The Railroads of South Dakota Activity Guide for children in grades K through 4. “All Aboard” has been created to provide an additional resource for educators and parents with which to familiarize elementary students with train travel in the early days of Dakota and American rail history.

The “All Aboard” story cards (based on the book) provide additional activities for students in a classroom, while visiting the Museum, or in independent learning situations. The images can be printed for such uses.

final_kidsbook_2014.pdf
File Size: 4150 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

final_story_cards_2014.pdf
File Size: 3937 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

South Dakota Rail Map

sd_rail_map.pdf
File Size: 299 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Online Educational Aids

Chinese Railroad Workers and Immigrants

New York City transportation:
https://www.topviewnyc.com/packages/brief-history-of-new-york-city-transportation
 https://www.topviewnyc.com/packages/brief-history-of-new-york-city-transportation
​

Still not sure if a school trip is right for your students? Look what our last group of kids had to say...

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

A Huge thank you to all contributors! This project would not have been possible without you.

Lark Bennett, Advisor
Educator, Hill City School District, Hill City, SD Black Hills State College


Jerilyn Hodder, Layout and Design
University of Maryland

Mary Laurence, Ed. D., Curriculum Designer/Writer
Assistant Professor, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD
Doctor of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, University of South Dakota


Brad Keizer, Advisor
Youth Program Advisor/SDSU Extension Service, Custer, SD Murray State University, Murray, KY
Reid Riner, Advisor
Director, Minnilusa Historical Association/The Journey Museum, Rapid City, SD University of South Dakota, Arizona State University

Deb Hesnard-Smith, A
dvisor
Educator, Custer School District
Black Hills State College; Masters in Curriculum, St. Scholastica College, Duluth, MN


Amber Tjeerdsma, Graphic/Web Designer
Rapid City, SD

Larry Vickers, Advisor
Educator, Retired
Northern State College, Aberdeen, SD
Peggy Wahl, Advisor
Educator/International Student Coordinator, Sioux Falls Christian Schools University of Northern Colorado

David Wolff, Ph.D., Advisor
Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD •Ph.D., Arizona State University

Sponsored in part by:
  • Grant funding provided by the James and Eloise Elmen Foundation Grant funding provided by the South Dakota Community Foundation South Dakota Operation Lifesaver
  • William (Ken) Naylor, Federal Railroad Administration
  • Jo Anna Warder and Janna Emmel
  • South Dakota Department of Transportation - Division of Railroads
HOME
ABOUT
EVENTS
MEMBERSHIPS
EDUCATION
CONTACT

We are all about the
People, Places, and Trains... Join Us!

Unless stated, website material and content
 © South Dakota State Railroad Museum, Limited - 2021