Curated OER
Don't Fence Me In
Students examine historical information about the development of barbed wire and practice identifying geometric terms. After reading through background information, they participate in several activities that include making calculations...
Curated OER
Don't Fence Me In
Ensure that your class has a well-rounded understanding of new inventions, in this case barbed wired. Class members, after researching the history and development of barbed wire, assess its impact on cattle and the development of the...
Curated OER
Human Inventions with Animal Features
In this animal features worksheet, students match different animal features with the human invention that is similar. Students match 9 inventions and then complete 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
Students discuss the invention of barbed wire and how it affected various groups of peoples in the U.S. after its invention.
![Texas Council on Economic Education:texas Economics Eras & Individuals [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Texas Council on Economic Education:texas Economics Eras & Individuals [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Other
Texas Council on Economic Education:texas Economics Eras & Individuals [Pdf]
A 10-lesson, 83-page unit targeting Grades 4 and 7. Lessons cover various eras in the history of Texas, including boom and bust towns; the eras dominated by cattle, fences along the frontier, cotton, and oil; the Dust Bowl and the Great...
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.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides an elaborate lesson plan on Joseph Glidden's patent for barbed wire. Content includes extensive background information about barbed wire, images of the original patent...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Ways of the Cowboy
The cowboys were the background of the cattle boom in the 19th century. Read about their life, and their demise.
Other
Selected Essays on Barbed Wire: Brief History of Barbed Wire
Provides information on the development and use of barbed wire. Includes biographies on Joseph F. Glidden, Jacob Haish, and Isaac L. Ellwood, who were instrumental in its invention and marketing. For more information on barbed wire,...
Other
Glidden Homestead: Barbed Wire: The Saga
Read the story of barbed wire, see a copy of the patent filed by Joseph F. Glidden, and find out why it was such an important invention for farmers.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
This article from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), describes how barbed wire was important for ranchers in the West in the 1800s and how Joseph Glidden improved the original patent for barbed wire.
Other
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum: Brief History of Barbed Wire
Find out the history of barbed wire and why it was such an advancement for farms on the prairie.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Social Studies: Grade 4: Inventions and the Great Plains
Read and study the sources about inventions from the late 1800s. As you read the three sources, think about the effects that the inventions had on the American economy.
Kansas Historical Society
Kansas Historical Society: Kansapedia: Barbed Wire
Provides information on the various types of barbed wire and its uses. Includes photographs of several varieties of barbed wire.
HotChalk
Hot Chalk: Lesson Plans Page: Cattle Ranching and Barbed Wire
This lesson plan has students creating fences to identify with the cattle ranching era.
PBS
Pbs the West: Joseph Farwell Glidden
Information about the Illinois farmer who improved fencing the plains that led to the demise of open-range cattle ranching. Glidden is credited with the invention of barbed wire.