WILD WEST LIFE BUNDLE #2 - Reading Passages & Activities

44 Reading Passages cover Pioneers, Cowboys, The Transcontinental Railroad Promontory Summit, The U.S. Cavalry, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee, Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Outlaws and Lawmen (Billy the Kid, Jesse James, O.K. Corral) and much more. Classroom and enrichment activities keep students engaged as they learn. Great for use by substitute teachers, or for homeschooling or co-ops!

What was the United States like in the 1800s? The answer to that question depends on whether you are talking about the beginning or the end of the century. From 1800 to 1899, the United States underwent major changes! The products in this bundle look at Westward Expansion in America during the 1800s by examining the careers of those men and women who paved the way and settled the land in the west.

EARLY AMERICAN PIONEERS

The terms “homesteader” and “pioneer” are often used interchangeably. In the “Wild West” lesson plans “homesteader” refers to those settlers traveling west to claim a homestead; the term “pioneer” refers to those who have actually settled on the frontier. Life as a pioneer was very demanding with many factors contributing to the hardships and dangers they faced.

READING PASSAGES:

8 one-page reading passages covering the following topics:

• The Homestead Act
• Sod Homes and Log Cabins
• Pioneer Dangers and Hardships: Weather
• Dangers and Hardships: Insects and Disease
• Pioneers: Life and Chores on the Prairie
• A Demanding Life
• Pioneer Schools
• Teachers: Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses
• Rules for Teachers – 1800s

CLASSROOM AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

This product includes the following classroom activities:

• Job Application
• Make Butter!
• Play Some Pioneer Games!
• Compare School Eras
• Review Worksheet with Teacher's Key
• Play True/False - Review Game
• Analyze Some Pioneer Songs!
• Have a Spelling Bee!
• Memorize Some Poetry!
• Coloring Pages
• 2 Graphic Organizers

WILD WEST COWBOYS AND THE CATTLE DRIVE

Cowboys have been depicted in movies and television for decades – portraying their lives as non-stop adventures in the Wild West. While some of this may be accurate, in truth, the job of a cowboy involved dangers, hazards, and even boredom. This lesson plan covers the job of a 1800s cowboy and his life on a cattle drive.

READING PASSAGES:

9 one-page reading passages covering the following topics:

• Cowboys in the 1800s
• Cows and Cattle
• The Cattle Drive: Trails, Bosses and Responsibilities
• Hazards and Dangers on the Trail
• Branding the Cattle
• Cowboy Clothes
• Cookie and Food
• Chuckwagon
• End of a Cattle Drive

CLASSROOM AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

This product includes the following classroom activities:

• Job Application: Cowboy
• Create a Code to Live By!
• Analyze Cowboy Songs
• Name Your Ranch and Create a Brand
• Make Some Cowboy Food!
• Review Worksheet and Teacher’s Key
• Review Game: Bingo Words and Clues
• Cowboy Jokes
• Listen to Other Cowboy Songs
• Tie Some Knots
• Coloring Pages
• 2 Graphic Organizers

TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

The building of the Transcontinental Railroad was a significant event in American history. In 1863, workers on the Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad began work on what most would consider to be a remarkable achievement in engineering, ultimately connecting the east and west coasts of a growing country.

READING PASSAGES:

9 one-page reading passages covering the following topics:

• East Coast to West Coast
• The Central Pacific Railroad
• The Union Pacific Railroad
• All in a Day’s Work
• Life on the Job
• Who Were the Workers? Central Pacific Railroad
• Who Were the Workers? Union Pacific Railroad
• Promontory Summit
• Interesting Facts About the Transcontinental Railroad

CLASSROOM AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

This product includes the following classroom activities:

• Primary Source Picture and analysis
• Race to Build the Transcontinental Railroad!
• Job Application – Transcontinental Railroad Worker
• Review Game: True or False?
• Coloring Page
• Gold Spike Craft
• Transcontinental Railroad Activity Suggestions
• Map the Route!
• Create a Newspaper!
• 2 Graphic Organizers

OUTLAWS AND LAWMEN OF THE OLD WEST

In the early days of western settlement, towns had small populations and law enforcement was almost non-existent. In most communities, this was not a problem. However, there were exceptions: it was not unusual for a small mining camp to turn into an unruly settlement and an unruly settlement to become a lawless town. It was an era known for stagecoach and bank robberies; gunfights and cattle rustling.

READING PASSAGES:

9 one-page reading passages covering the following topics:

• Old West Crimes and Outlaws
• Wild West Lawmen
• Billy the Kid
• Jesse and Frank James and the Younger Brothers
• Robert Leroy Parker and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh
• Belle Starr
• Wild Bill Hickok and Bass Reeves
• Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday
• The Shootout at the O.K. Corral

CLASSROOM AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

This product includes the following classroom activities:

• Job Application – Town Marshal
• Create a Wanted Poster!
• Outlaw Slang
• Outlaws and Lawmen Review
• Venn-Diagram
• Coloring Pages
• Mad Libs - Fill in the Blanks Story
• Outlaws and Lawmen Bingo Words and Clues
• Graphic Organizers

THE U.S. CAVALRY AND THE INDIAN WARS

In the early 1800s, the United States government began forcing many Native American Tribes from their ancestral homeland to land set aside west of the Mississippi River. The government continued the process of Indian removal for several decades. This product cover the time after 1865 when the Civil War ended and efforts became even more focused on moving Native Americans in the western states to government-controlled reservations.

READING PASSAGES:

9 one-page reading passages covering the following topics:

• Background; Treaties and Policies
• The Cavalry: 7th, 9th, and 10th Cavalry
• Buffalo Soldiers
• George Custer and Sitting Bull
• The Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer’s Last Stand
• Following the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• Geronimo
• Chief Joseph
• The Wild West: Where the Buffalo Roam
• Reservations; Ghost Dance; Wounded Knee

CLASSROOM AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

This product includes the following classroom activities:

• Job Application – U.S. Cavalry
• Battle of the Little Bighorn – Search and Find Map Work
• Read Chief Joseph’s Speech
• Buffalo-Use Collage
• Review Worksheet and Teacher's Key
• True/False Review Game
• Timeline and Teacher's Key
• Cook and Eat Some Tribal Food!
• Coloring Pages
• Writing Prompt
• Two Graphic Organizers

CHECK OUT MY OTHER WILD WEST PRODUCTS:

WILD WEST READING PASSAGES AND BINGO

Reading Passages and Bingo - Outlaws and Lawmen

Reading Passages and Bingo - Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea

Reading Passages and Bingo - Transcontinental Railroad

Reading Passages and Bingo - Homesteaders

Reading Passages and Bingo - Frontiersmen, Davy Crockett and the Alamo

Reading Passages and Bingo - Wild West Cowboys

WILD WEST READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGES AND QUESTIONS

Reading Comprehension - Transcontinental Railroad

Reading Comprehension - California Gold Rush

Reading Comprehension BUNDLE- Indian Wars: Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee and the Cavalry

Reading Comprehension - BUNDLE: Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West

Reading Comprehension BUNDLE - Wild West Cowboys

MEGA BUNDLE - Reading Comprehension - WILD, WILD WEST

WILD WILD WEST CAREER LESSON PLANS

Wild, Wild West Careers BUNDLE: Volume 1

Wild, Wild West Careers: Pioneers

Wild, Wild West Careers: Pony Express and Showmen

Wild, Wild West Careers: Native American Chiefs, Trail of Tears

BUNDLED PRODUCTS: (These Products include the "Careers Lesson Plan, the Related Reading Comprehension Product, and the Related Bingo Product):

BUNDLE - Early American Pioneers

BUNDLE - Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West

BUNDLE - Transcontinental Railroad

BUNDLE - Cowboys and the Cattle Drive of the Wild West

BUNDLE - Indian Wars: Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee and George Custer

BUNDLE - California Gold Rush

Wild, Wild West Careers: Volume 2 by Sarah Peterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Based on a work at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sarah-Peterson-9450.