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COWBOY DREAMS
By Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by Barry Root
(HarperCollins, Inc. 1999)
Classroom Ideas
When I was a child, my biggest dream was to join a cattle drive and
ride the trail, sleeping out on the prairie with only the moon and stars
above me and my fellow cowpokes for company. I wanted to be just like
Rowdy in the old television show, "Rawhide." Furthermore, the
horse of my dreams was a palomino, just like Roy Rogers' famous pony,
Trigger. Ahh, that would be the life for me.
I never went on a trail ride, but I did spend lots of time riding horses
and dreaming about going on one. Ahh...what a great dream.
HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES
- The great cattle drives played a significant role in our country's
history--the Goodnight Trail, the Chisholm Trail, etc. Have your students
research these famous cattle drives and the people who participated
in them. What were some of the challenges that the cowboys faced?
- Barbed wire slowed down the cattle drives and changed the whole atmosphere
of the American West. It symbolized a kind of "settling down"
that many people were not prepared for.
- Who were the cowboys? Where did they come from? What were their jobs?
Can you name some famous cowboys?
- Television and movies have helped to create myths about the Wild
West, some of which were far from the way it really was. However, there
are lots of great old western movies that your students might enjoy.
Check some of them out and have an old fashioned cookout.
- If you have one in your area, invite a working cattleman to come talk
to your class about what life is really like in the cattle business.
What are cowboys like today?
- History has basically overlooked the role played by Mexican and African-American
cowboys. Have your students research the roles these ethnic groups played
in the settling of the old west and the obstacles they had to overcome.
NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
- This book takes place on the prairie. Introduce your students to
different eco-systems, including the prairie. What is special about
prairies?
- The Great Prairie covers a huge area on our continent. Use a map to
show your students the vast space that it covers. Today's prairies are
smaller because people have converted some of our grasslands to farms
and even forests. Show your students how they've changed.
- Water has always been a big factor in the prairie. What is its role?
What are "prairie potholes"?
- Some of our grasslands have been set-aside as reserves and parks.
Talk about the importance of parks and the conservation that takes place
in them.
- Many animals live on the prairie. You can find several of them in
this book. What other animals live on the prairie?
CREATIVE WRITING
- This book is about a dream. Have your students write a story that
is really a dream. They can use their own dreams or ones they've made
up.
- Make a list of all the animals that are in this book. Then use those
animals to make your own stories.
- Several of the words in this book are based on Spanish words, particularly
La Luna. Have your students find the Spanish words and write a story
using those words, plus any other Spanish words that they might know.
- Have your students write about a journey--one they've taken or one
they'd like to take.
- What kinds of food would the Camp Cookie prepare? Write a story about
a delicious or a horrible dinner that Camp Cookie made--maybe rattlesnake
stew or heavenly biscuits or armadillo stir-fry. What happened when
everyone at it?
- Have your students imagine that they are on a cattle drive--what might
happen? What would they do if a huge thunderstorm came and spooked the
cattle? What would they do?
- This is a bedtime story. Have your students write their own bedtime
story--it can be a poem or a song or a prose piece. Start with a list
of all the things that they find comforting--a teddy bear, a blanket,
a glass of water, a prayer--and use those in their stories.
- Choose one of the critters in this book and write a story from that
critter's point of view. How would the coyote get his pups to go to
sleep? What does the cicada sing about? Have your students write their
own myth based on one of these critters.
- Watch an old Roy Rogers movie or a John Wayne movie and have your
students write a letter to them about what they liked or didn't like
about their movie.
- Check out some cowboy poetry and invite your students to write their
own cowboy poems--then have a "gathering" and share those
poems.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
- Have a camp-out and serve real "cowboy food."
- Listen to lots of cowboy songs and learn a few. Sing them together.
- Draw pictures of the prairie.
If you have any other good ideas for using this book, please send them
to me at HarperCollins Children's Books, 1350 Avenue of the Americas.,
New York, NY 10019 or email me at
.
Kathi Appelt
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