DocsTeach
Patent Analysis: Joseph Glidden's Barbed Wire
Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Beef Moves to Nebraska
Just how long was the Long Drive? Learners investigate the movement of cattle in the Great Plains during the mid-1800s. They incorporate photographic, newspaper, video, and primary source evidence into their posters, artwork, and written...
Curated OER
The American Cowboy
Middle Schoolers produce a class newspaper about the American cowboy and the times in which he lived with illustrations, feature stories and advertisements typical of the times. This is an ambitious, yet worthwhile project for youngsters...
Curated OER
Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy
Who was Bill Picket? Interested readers work through an informational passage to find out about a famous "bulldogger" from the old West. They answer several reading comprehension questions and use a seven step process to decode new...
Curated OER
The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
Upper elementary learners read about jobs on a cattle drive and the lives of cowboy during U.S. Westward Expansion. They create a "Help Wanted" poster for one of the jobs. After reading primary source accounts of cowboys, they write...
Curated OER
Getting the Point!
Students explore the American cattle industry history. In this United States history and reading comprehension cross curriculum lesson, students read an article about the history of longhorn cattle, then answer comprehension questions on...
Curated OER
Images of Cowboys
Students examine the image of the cowboy that is presented in popular culture. Students read about Native American, African American, Mexican, and Canadian Cowboys. For homework, they analyze a classroom textbook's depiction of cowboys.
Curated OER
The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality
Students create "cowboy ballads" in this interactive, multi-day lesson. The cowboy is researched using various sources and class discussions. Students evaluate individual work at the end of the lesson.
Curated OER
Music and Tall Tales
Students examine how cowboys lives have changed over the years. They also explore what a tall tale is and create their own.
Curated OER
Food
Students examine the types of foods eaten after the Civil War. They create their own cowboy style menu.
Curated OER
Cattle Drive Research
Students research the live of cowboys in 18th Century America. In this cattle drive lesson, students locate a variety of online resources and take notes. Students compile notes and write a brief report.
Curated OER
Making a Brand for Ourselves the "Cowboy" Way
Students define cowboys and learn about their roles on rangelands. In this rangeland lesson, students define cowboys and cowgirls and complete a KWL chart. Students read Cattle Kids and Til the Cows Come Home. Students visit the Diamond...
Curated OER
Cowboy Word Search
In this word puzzle worksheet, students locate and circle 20 cowboy-related words in a horse-shaped word search puzzle. A word bank is provided.
Curated OER
Cowboy: Print and Color 2
In this word recognition worksheet, students trace the word "cowboy," write the word independently, and color the picture of the cowboy.
Curated OER
What Does a Cowboy Do?
Students participate in a variety of activities as they study cowboys and the cowboy culture. They read stories and sing songs about the cowboys. They study the area of the United States cowboys are from and review the tools cowboys...
Curated OER
Birth of the Cowboy
Students examine how the image of the cowboy changed at the turn of the century. They read about cowboys' shifting reputation at the turn of the century and connect popular perceptions of the cowboy to a trend in popular culture that...
Curated OER
Cowboy Tourism
Students disucss the role the tourist industry played in popular perceptions of cowboys and Indians. They discuss the image of cowboys, as it is presented in fashion and contemporary advertisements. Students read about a town in Montana...
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Cowboy Myth
Students explore the concept of historical myth. They read speeches by two presidents who allude to the mythic cowboy and they answer questions about the purpose of each speech. For homework, they read two historian interpretations of...
Curated OER
Cowboys in the 1890s
Students study the rise of cattle ranching in the West and the economic conditions under which cowboys worked in the 19th century. They examine the economic changes that affected cowboys in the 1890s. They analyze the effects of the...
Curated OER
The West in Brochures
Young scholars explore the daily life of the American Cowboy in the 1800's and compare it to the life of the Native Americans.
Curated OER
Cattle Industry and Cowboys- Overview
In this cattle industry worksheet, students answer 11 essay questions pertaining to cowboys, ranching, and the history of the cattle industry in America. Prior knowledge or research will be needed.
Curated OER
Round Up
Students are chosen to be either cowboys or cowgirls. They use the hoppity hops for horses for the cowboys or cowgirls to ride. Students that are left are cows. They wait for the teacher's signal, the cows try to move away from the...
Curated OER
Cowboy Violence
Students examine images of cowboys and gunfighters in Western films and dime novels and discuss whether cowboys were really violent. They read several historical interpretations of cowboy violence. In addition, they distinguish between...
Curated OER
A Cowboy Song
Fifth graders sing "Cowboy Lullaby" with two-part harmony and discuss the text of the song.