Materials:

Printed or online version of Cowboy Myths and Truths Game
Computers with internet access
Slide projector
Slides or computer images of The Roping by William Robinson Leigh and The Slick Ear by Charles Marion Russell (Click here to order slides.)
Lyrics to “Little Joe, the Wrangler”
Writing a Cowboy Ballad
Internet resources, textbooks, and books with information on cattle drives and cowboys

Procedure:

1. Begin this introductory lesson on cowboys and cattle drives by playing the game Cowboy Myths and Truths with the class to assess students’ knowledge and misconceptions about Texas cowboys. Use the printed version of this game and play the game orally, or have students log onto the Blanton website and go to:

   K-12 Programs > Interactive Learning > The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality > Cowboy Myths and Truths Game
   URL <http://www.blantonmuseum.org/elearning/aac/student.html>

   After playing the game, have students also look at information and images on the websites under A Closer Look to get a sense of realistic cowboy life in the 19th century.
   
2. Use the game as a jumping off point to discuss the difference between the cowboy myth and reality. Ask them:
   
   
• Where do our perceptions about cowboy life come from?
• Are images of cowboys in Western paintings, movies, and television accurate portrayals of the cowboy way of life? Why or why not?
  
  
3. Show students slides or computer images of The Roping by William Robinson Leigh and TheSlick Ear by Charles Marion Russell. Explain to students how these paintings portray the 19th century cowboy of the long cattle drives across Texas and describe some of the historic connections the works make. Ideas you may want to include:
   
   
• Texas depended on the cattle industry to recover financially after the Civil War.
• Between 1866 and 1890, about ten million longhorns were driven across Texas to Northern markets.
• The Texas cowboy industry era only lasted about 25 years because once railroads reached Texas and the price of cattle declined, there was no reason to drive cattle north. The invention and use of barbed wire closed in the frontier making it almost impossible to drive cattle.
  
  
4. Have students carefully observe the two paintings and discuss with them the works’ artistic details by asking:
   
   
• How would you describe the feelings suggested by these paintings?
• Is this an accurate portrayal of everyday cowboy life? Why or why not?
• How do these scenes compare to the photographs of real cowboys you found on the websites?
• In your opinion what do the artists think of cowboys? What details in the works make you think that?
  
  
5. Tell students that an important part of cowboy culture was the songs that told of cowboy legends like the ballad “Little Joe, the Wrangler.” From the Blanton website have students go to:

   K-12 Programs > Interactive Learning > The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality > Respond and Create
   URL <http://www.blantonmuseum.org/elearning/aac/student.html>
   
   Read to them or have them play and listen to the song “Little Joe, the Wrangler.” Point out and explain the references in the song that refer to 19th-century cowboy life. Ask students:

• What realities of cowboy life are revealed in the song?
• How significant were the cowboys and the cattle drives to the development of the cattle industry and economy of Texas?
  
  
6. Have students get into groups of 3 to rewrite one or two verses from the ballad "Little Joe, the Wrangler" on cowboys using information they find in their textbooks, books and internet resources. Display finished ballads on a bulletin board so students can read each other's ballads.
   
   
7. Ask students to summarize the main ideas about cowboy life that they learned and reflect on their learning by asking:
   
• Although the cowboy life was not glamorous and it was only a short part of Texas history, why do you think people have been fascinated by cowboys for so long?
• How has the legend of the Texas cowboy defined what people outside of Texas think of Texans?
• In what ways do cowboy ballads tell us about what cowboy life in the 19th century was like?
• How did your ideas about cowboys change from the beginning of the lesson to the end?
• What cowboy myths did you discover were false?