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
Texas Challenge
In this state facts activity, students explore the state of Texas. Students complete ten multiple choice questions involving facts about Texas.
Curated OER
Texas Vocabulary
In this recognizing words about Texas worksheet, students use the word bank to match terms with their descriptions. Students match 10 answers.
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
Texas Transportation
Students examine the effects of transportation on the settlement of Texas. They read and discuss articles, view Wichita Falls and Abilene on the Texas Bird's-Eye View website, and analyze a Frederic Remington painting.
Curated OER
Texas Crossword Puzzle
In this Texas worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle, using 10 clues given at the bottom of the page. A reference web site for additional activities is given.
Curated OER
Cattle Trails
Students 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
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
Get the Point!
First graders, after reading about cattle drives, measure the width of the horns on drawings of longhorn cattle and then convert the measurements from inches to centimeters and from inches to feet. Ranching and the American cattle...
Curated OER
The Cattle Industry
In this cattle industry worksheet, students read about the industry and Joseph McCoy. A series of level 1-4 activities comprises page 2 of the worksheet.
Curated OER
HIT THE TRAIL
Students draw three cattle trails that passed through Indian Territory, using a written description of the trails and will create a diary of trail life. Students research a historical trail as assigned. Students share their information...
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
GET THE POINT!
The student will measure the width of the horns on drawings of longhorn cattle and then convert the measurements from inches to centimeters and from inches to feet.1. Review with students the steps required to measure an item and to...
Curated OER
Food
Students examine the types of foods eaten after the Civil War. They create their own cowboy style menu.
Curated OER
A Cowboy Song
Fifth graders sing "Cowboy Lullaby" with two-part harmony and discuss the text of the song.
Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Texas Almanac: Cattle Drives After Civil War
Read the story of the birth and demise of the cattle drives in Texas after the Civil War as the country expanded westward.
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
Ellis County Museum: Texas Cattle Trails
This article surveys the cattle kingdom and cattle boom in Ellis County, Texas that started in the 1840s.
Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Agriculture: Ranching in a Changing Land
Looks at the history of agriculture in Texas, from the cattle drives of the past to the mechanization of food production today. One section discusses the major crops that are produced today, and the production and economic figures for each.
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.
Ancestry
Ok Gen Web Project: The Chisholm Trail and the Overland Cattle Trade
Description of the establishment and use of the Chisholm Trail for cattle drives in the mid- to late-1800s.
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.
PBS
Pbs the West: Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) was one of the most prosperous cattleman of the American West. Read a thorough biography about him here at this site.