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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Joseph Glidden's Barbed Wire

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Beef Moves to Nebraska

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Cowboy

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy

For Teachers 3rd Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy

For Teachers 4th - 6th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the Point!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the American cattle industry history. In this United States history and reading comprehension cross curriculum lesson plan, students read an article about the history of longhorn cattle, then answer comprehension...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Images of Cowboys

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music and Tall Tales

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine how cowboys lives have changed over the years. They also explore what a tall tale is and create their own.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the types of foods eaten after the Civil War. They create their own cowboy style menu.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cattle Drive Research

For Teachers 5th - 7th
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. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Brand for Ourselves the "Cowboy" Way

For Teachers Higher Ed
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...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Cowboy Word Search

For Students 1st - 5th
In this word puzzle activity, students locate and circle 20 cowboy-related words in a horse-shaped word search puzzle. A word bank is provided.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Cowboy: Print and Color 2

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this word recognition learning exercise, students trace the word "cowboy," write the word independently, and color the picture of the cowboy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Does a Cowboy Do?

For Teachers K
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Birth of the Cowboy

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cowboy Tourism

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cowboy Myth

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cowboys in the 1890s

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The West in Brochures

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore the daily life of the American Cowboy in the 1800's and compare it to the life of the Native Americans.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Cattle Industry and Cowboys- Overview

For Students 5th - 6th
In this cattle industry learning exercise, 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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Round Up

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cowboy Violence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Cowboy Song

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders sing "Cowboy Lullaby" with two-part harmony and discuss the text of the song.