Curated OER
Hit The Trail
Young historians research one of the most colorful periods in US History: the cattle drives of the 1800's. They research the three most popular trails, and complete mapping and writing assignments about each one. The lesson has many...
Curated OER
Hit the Trail
Students read about the history of cattle trails and complete language arts, math, social studies, and more activities about barbed wire. In this barbed wire lesson plan, students read poetry, research changes over time, draw cattle...
Curated OER
The Brief American Pageant: The Great West and the Agriculture Revolution
What comes to mind when you think of the 1860's - other than the Civil War? Paired with The American Pageant textbook (or not), this series of images completes a lecture on the mid-19th century. Cattle trails, Indian wars, and explosions...
Curated OER
Cattle Trails
Learners identify and locate cattle trails on a globe. In this map skill lesson, students use a marker to locate Texas and Montana and use the map scale to calculate the distance of the cattle trail.
Curated OER
Cattle Trails
In this cattle trails study guide worksheet, learners read about the American West. Students read 4 sections of information.
Curated OER
The Life of a Cowboy
In this "Life of a Cowboy" study guide activity, students read about the American West. Students match 6 vocabulary terms to their definitions.
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: High Falutin' Beef
This is an impressive history of the introduction of beef to the Great Plains region complete with videos, photos, and lesson plans.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: School Publishers: Join a Cattle Drive
At this site take a look at maps of cattle drives from the ranches and ranges of Texas to the market places in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.
Other
Seymour Chamber of Commerce: The Great Western Cattle Trail
Learn about the Great Western Cattle Trail, that was used in the 1800s, and stretched from Bandera, Texas to Dodge City Kansas.
Other
Southwest Collection: The Texas Ranching Frontier
Discusses the cattle drive era that occurred in the late 1800s. It gives details about the drives from Texas to the north.
Oklahoma Historical Society
Oklahoma Historical Society: Shawnee Trail
The Shawnee Trail, also known as the Texas Road, was a major corridor for transporting cattle, goods and people across Indian territory in the 1800s and stretched from Texas to Oklahoma. Briefly described it its history.
Legends of America
Legends of America: The Goodnight Loving Trail
Named after Charles Goodnight, the Goodnight-Loving Trail spanned more than 2000 miles. Trace the history of the trail and the cattle drives that made their way across the dangerous territory in the 1800s.
Other
Ellis County Museum: Texas Cattle Trails
This article surveys the cattle kingdom and cattle boom in Ellis County, Texas that started in the 1840s.
Other
The History of the Cattle Trail Chuck Wagon
Ever wonder what it was like to be a cowboy on the range? What did they eat? Who cooked it? This site provides a nicely done background on cowboy cooking, chuck wagon etiquette, and links to recipes.