Illustration of a person in old timey clothes crawling on train tracks in the rain
Art by Mark Fredrickson
Nonfiction,

Kate and the Midnight Express

On a stormy night long ago, a train was about to crash. Could one brave girl stop it?

By Meg Richardson
From the February 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Children will discuss a historical narrative nonfiction text and describe a young hero’s character.

Lexile: 550L
Featured Skill: Main Idea, Key Details,
Vocabulary: creek, collapsed, conductor, snagged
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two ideas or pieces of information in a text RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meanings of words RI.1.5 Know and use various text features to locate information RI.1.6 Distinguish between information from words and information from images RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (4) Geography. The student understands the purpose of geographic tools, including maps and globes. The student is expected to: (B) locate and explore the community, Texas, and the United States on maps and globes (12) Citizenship. The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as exemplified by historical figures and other individuals. The student is expected to: (B) identify historical figures and other individuals who have exemplified good citizenship such as Benjamin Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. (15) Science, technology, and society. The student identifies individuals who created or invented new technology and understands how technology affects daily life, past and present. The student is expected to: (B) describe how technology has affected communication, transportation, and recreation.

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Jim McMahon/Mapman® 

Alaska and Hawaii are not drawn to scale or in their proper places.

A wild storm rolled across the fields. It was a summer night about 150 years ago. Kate Shelley was 17, and she lived on her family’s farm in Iowa. She watched as huge raindrops crashed against her window. 

Suddenly, Kate heard a loud “Squeak, squeak!” The barn was flooding. Piglets were trapped in there! 

Kate ran out to the barn. She grabbed the piglets and saved them from the rising water. But the piglets weren’t the only ones in trouble that night.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why did Kate need to save the piglets?

Shutterstock.com

A dark storm rolled in.

A Big Crash!

The storm kept blowing. Water rushed through Honey Creek, a creek near Kate’s house. Kate could see that the bridge over the creek was getting weaker. A lot of trains crossed that bridge. In fact, a big train called the Midnight Express was coming that night. 

Kate was worried. Would the bridge hold out?

Late that night, Kate was in bed. She heard a loud crash. She knew what had happened. 

The bridge across Honey Creek had collapsed.

PAUSE AND THINK: What do you think “collapsed” means?

Alamy Stock Photo

Trains like this crossed the Honey Creek Bridge all the time.

Kate’s Plan

The Midnight Express was still coming. But what would happen if the engineer driving the train didn’t know that the bridge was broken? The train could crash. The 200 people on board could die.

Kate jumped out of bed. She had to stop the train before it crashed. But how? She knew the train would pick up more people at a station before the bridge. If she could get to the station, she could warn them. But there wasn’t much time!

PAUSE AND THINK: Why did Kate need to get to the train station?

Map Illustration by Naomi Skinner

Race to the Station

Art by Mark Fredrickson

Kate grabbed a lantern. She ran through the storm until she got to the Des Moines River. There was another train bridge there­­—a big one. To get to the station, Kate would have to cross that bridge.

Kate took a deep breath and started crawling along the train tracks on the bridge. The wood was slippery. Kate’s dress snagged on nails. 

Just then, a strong wind blew out Kate’s lantern. Kate could hardly see. But she kept crawling. At last, she made it across the bridge.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why was it hard to get across the bridge?

Kate the Hero

Kate sprinted to the train station. 

“The bridge over Honey Creek collapsed!” she yelled. 

The people at the station were shocked. They couldn’t believe she had made it all the way there. She was so brave.

The Midnight Express had already stopped, and the people were safe. But Kate was a still a hero. She had risked her life to save the train.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why did people think Kate was brave?

Thank You, Kate

Courtesy of Boone County Historical Society

Kate Shelley

To thank Kate, the railroad company gave her family flour to bake bread and coal to keep them warm all winter. 

Newspapers across the country wrote about brave Kate. A street and a train were named after Kate Shelley. 

Later, when Kate grew up, she became a railway station worker. She worked at the very same station that she had raced to on that stormy night long ago. 

Art by Mark Fredrickson

We Asked the Author

Meet Meg. She wrote the article on Kate Shelley. Storyworks had questions for Meg. 

Bianca Alexis

Meg Richardson

Storyworks: Where are you from?

Meg: I am from Iowa, just like Kate. 

Storyworks: Did you like Kate Shelley when you were a kid?

Meg: Yes! I used to play a game about Kate Shelley. My friends and I pretended to crawl across a train bridge.

Storyworks: What do you like about Kate Shelley now?

Meg: Kate was brave! Her story can remind us to be like her. 

Shutterstock.com

Meg’s grandparents lived on Kate Shelley Drive in Iowa.

video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Comprehension of a nonfiction historical narrative through speaking and listening

Science Focus

Engineering and technology

Vocabulary

creek, collapsed, conductor, snagged

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole Group: Plan to read the article twice: first for sequencing and comprehension, and then to explore what Kate was like. The second read can also focus on the author interview.
  • Technology Time: Listen to the Video Read Aloud and Author Read Aloud.

Pairings and Text Connections

  • In this issue: “Background Builder: If You Lived 150 Years Ago . . . “
  • Suggested book: Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer

Before-Reading Resources

  • Video: The History of Getting Around (5 minutes) Build background on transportation.
  • Vocabulary Slideshow: (5 minutes) creek, collapsed, conductor, snagged

Suggested Reading Focus

Character traits (20 minutes)
  • As you read the article aloud the first time, model stopping and asking questions at each Pause and Think to check comprehension and facilitate discussion. You can ask students to give one- or two- sentence summaries of the section you just read.
  • When you read the article a second time, prompt students to think about Kate’s character. Encourage them to imagine what Kate must have been thinking and feeling as she made her way through the storm. What qualities did Kate show (e.g., bravery, resilience, strength)? You can also discuss why Kate’s story is important, given what you know about where and when it takes place. How does the story show that the people of Iowa were grateful to Kate? Have students share their ideas in think-pair-share format or as part of a group discussion.

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Key details; sequencing; character traits  (15 minutes)

Extension Activity

Skills: Interviewing (15 minutes)

  • After reading the interview with the author on page 15, have students brainstorm a short list of questions that they would want to ask an author. Prompt students to think about types of stories they would like to write, or perhaps an author they like. Have students partner up to conduct interviews with one another.

Text-to-Speech