Cowboys Pathfinder

COWBOYS
FACT OR FICTION

A fun part of childhood is pretending to be someone else. Stories about the "Wild-Wild-West"
always have a few Cowboy stories in the collection. Cowboys did exist. They were
an important part of the settlement of the west. Cattle drives and the cattle ranches contributed
to the economy of the country. The cowboy and his horse were a necessary part of this life.
The skills he developed helped make the ranch profitable. They were also fun
to watch and thus developed contests and led to our present day rodeos. Cowboy life was
hard and tough and the men who lived it had to be that way too.
Books, movies, and television have romanticized this, but there is some fact behind the fiction.
Cowboy themes can be a fun way to integrate different skills into your curriculum.
Have fun riding the range!

ELEMENTARY BOOKS

Easy H434C	Cowboy Baby by Sue Heap Grades K-2 This story about a toddler who wants to be a cowboy and his cowboy father.
Easy J73C	The Cowboy and the Black-eyed Pea by Tony Johnston Grades 1-4 A western version of "The Princess and the Pea" with a twist.
Easy H235O	Old Blue by Sibyl Hancock Grades K-4 A young boy goes on a cattle drive and is helped by a Texas Longhorn called Old Blue.
978. S425C	Cowboy Country by Ann Herbert Scott Grades 2-6 An old cowboy takes his young friend out to see Cowboy Country and shares his favorite memories - wonderful illustrations.
978 F853C	Cowboys of the Wild West by Russell Freedmen Grades 4-8 A lot of information about about the role of the cowboy in the settlement of the West. Photographs and drawings.
921 J29j	Cowboys in the Making by Will James Grades 2-4 A biographic story about the early years of Will James, a famous western author and artist.
921 R476D	Gene Rodeos: Cowboy by Beth Feagles Day Grades 3-6 Gene Rhodes was an example of the best type of cowboy. He also became a writer about cowboy life and the west.
Child Fic W527s	A Saddlebag of Tales by Western Writers of America Grades 3-8 Some good tales about western and Cowboy life. Good read-aloud stories.
978 M649R	Reflections of a Black Cowboy by Robert H. Miller Stories about the black cowboy and his part in the history of the west.

VIDEOS & CD'S

VTV 3084 Video	The Real American Cowboy In this film we finally separate the fact from the fiction about this uniquely American icon. Filled with treasured film clips, rare photos and interviews, this program takes you back to our frontier days.
VTV 2888 Video	The Last Cowboys Take a journey to the ranges of southern Utah and northern Nevada and discover "Robber's Roost" and other ranches where two of America's oldest cowboys work. There is also a look at a modern day rodeo.
Curr/Ta Computer	Wild Western Town Great Adventures Series by Fisher-Price Win/Mac CD-Rom this cd has seven sing-along songs and seven activities to choose. Lots of wild west fun and surprises.

SECONDARY BOOKS

F591.043 Folio	The Cowboys by Time-Life Books One of a series of books on the Old West. Lots of photographs and illustrations.
F596.B87 Folio	Before Barbed Wire by Mark Herbert Brown Included in this book are photos by L. A. Huffman, a frontier photographer and stories about ranch life when the west was free.
M1629. F44C7 Folio	Cowboy and Western Songs: A Comprehensive Musical Anthology by Austin Edwin Fife Here is a wide variety of the songs about the extraordinary and every day life of the Old West.
F596.D29	Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries by David Dary This book has drawings, maps, and rare photographs.

PERIODICALS

Apr/May/Jun 1997 p. 3-12	Teacher's Helper Grades 2-3 "Wild West" provides English activities including capitalization, reading for facts, alphabetizing etc. Reproducible pages.
Feb/Mar 1999 p. 11-16	Teacher's Helper Grades 2-3 "Steer-rific" Cowpokes. Reproducibles to use with an emphasis on consonants.
Apr/May/Jun 1998 p. 3-41	Teacher's Helper Kindergarten A literature unit on the book "Armadillo Rodeo." Introduces story recall and information about the desert life as well as a very good "Rootin-Tootin" math unit. Reproducibles, including a desert animal booklet to make.
Mar/Apr 2000 p. 42-47	Lollipops "Cowboys in the Classroom" includes art and craft ideas, games, music, snacks, math, and science ideas plus one reproducible. Includes a list of books to read.
Jan/Feb 1997 p. 8-13	Oasis "The Cowboy Way" compares old time cowpoke and the present day cowboy. Activities and research involving cooking, clothing, music, art, and ranch life.

Compiled by Colleen P. Asplund

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Last updated 08/14/02

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