TEACHER’S GUI DE
TEACHER’S GUI DE
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.americanfolklore.net/tt.html
This site contains links to a variety of stories including tall tales, legends,
ghost stories, urban legends, and holiday, weather and animal folklore.
• falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/talltales.htm
This comprehensive site contains information on American tall tale characters and a variety of activities and links.
• falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/tradless.htm
This site has a variety of literature lesson plans, including lessons covering
tall tales and legends, plus many links to folklore of different countries.
Suggested Print Resources
• Kellogg, Steven. Pecos Bill. William Morrow & Company, Inc., New York,
NY; 1992.
• Murdoch, David Hamilton. Eyewitness: Cowboy. DK Publishing, New York,
NY; 2000.
• Osborne, Mary Pope. American Tall Tales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY;
1991.
• Stanley, Jerry. Cowboys & Longhorns:A Portrait of the Long Drive. Crown
Books for Young Readers, New York, NY; 2003.
Pecos Bill
Grades K–4
T
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Julia McMeans, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• ANNIE OAKLEY
• CREATING A TALL TALE
• DAVY CROCKETT
• JOHN HENRY
• JOHNNY APPLESEED
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• MOSE HUMPHREYS
• OLD STORMALONG
• PAUL BUNYAN
• PECOS BILL
• REGIONAL TALL TALES
800-843-3620
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2006 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
K6994
Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger
V6179
Programs produced and directed by Top Dog Media
All rights reserved.
all tales are stories in which the ch a ra c t e rs and their actions
and adve n t u res are ex t re m e ly ex ag gerated, and the audience
is awa re of the exag ge ration and there fo re in on the joke. Most
A m e rican tall tales grew out of specific parts of the country and
are connected to particular lines of wo rk : l u m b e r j a cks in the
M i dwe s t , c ow b oys in Texas, and fro n t i e rsmen and women in the
South and along the Mississippi Rive r.The tall tale is not static; it
is a living thing.The tall tale is very much a part of American folkl o re tradition, c o n s t a n t ly evolving as it is retold with the teller’s
own particular spin. American tall tales have been around fo r
several hundred years.They began in the oral tradition, as a form
of entertainment, and have continued to evolve ever since.
Program Summary
Follow-up Discussion
In this program, students will meet cowboy Pecos Bill, his wild horse,Widow
Maker, and his sweetheart Slue Foot Sue. Raised by coyotes out in the wilds of
Texas,Pecos Bill grew up to be the roughest, toughest cowboy who ever lived.
He roped cattle with rattlesnakes, rode a tornado clear across Arizona and
California, and turned an ornery bunch of outlaws called the Dry Gulch Gang
into a respectable band of cattle ranchers.Pecos Bill was a cowboy of many talents, including the ability to tame all manner of wild critters and varmints. He
is credited with inventing both roping and the cowboy song!
• Have students rate the adventures of Pecos Bill on a scale of “could
happen,” “might happen” and “could never happen.” Encourage them to see
the importance of mixing truth with exaggerations in order to create a
good tall tale.You may have them design a graphic organizer of sorts to do
this, but it is not necessary.
• Have students evaluate the humor in this tall tale.What did they find the
funniest and why?
• One of the things that makes a tall tale humorous is the manner in which it
is told. Have students think about how they would retell the story of Pecos
Bill.Would they be standing or sitting? Use a loud or soft voice? What kind
of sound effects might they use?
Background to Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill’s story is not a tall tale in its truest sense.The stories of Bill did not
evo l ve out of the cow b oy tradition. Instead, Pecos Bill and his sagas we re the
creation of magazine writer Edwa rd O’Reilly, who wo rked for Century
M a ga z i n e.They we re origi n a l ly published in 1923, and subsequent to their
publication, other writers elaborated upon and added to the tales. Pecos Bill is
the subject of books, p l ay s , poems and even songs. O’Reilly’s inspirations fo r
“the best cow b oy who ever live d ” we re, no doubt, the real life cow b oys who
found their way west after the Civil War. It is estimated that there were nearly
fi ve million free ra n ging cattle in Texas at that time and a growing demand in
the North for beef.Trails began to appear (e.g., Chisholm Trail) and cowboys
drove up to 1,000 head of cattle at a time along these trails to Kansas.
The sagas of Pecos Bill re flect the real lives that cow b oys led. G e n e ra l ly,
c ow b oys only traveled 15 miles a day, so the trek to Kansas took about thre e
months.The life of a cow b oy was monotonous and filled with dange r. Wi t h
unpredictable weather, rattlesnakes, t i cks and other pests, disease, accidents,
treacherous river crossings, stampedes and the stresses of living in such close
p roximity to each other, the cow b oy ’s life , while mythically romantic, was in
reality full of hazards and hard s h i p s . The sagas of Pecos Bill are about the
v i rtues a man must possess in order to tame the Wild West: stamina, b rave ry,
b rava d o , horse sense and the ability to outsmart critters and va rmints of all
kinds.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• Using a word web, have students brainstorm to discover what they already
know about cowboys and the “Wild West.”
• Encourage students to discuss where they think the word “cowboy” comes
from.
• Remind students about the elements of fiction, such as characters, setting
and plot (containing a problem and a solution), and explain the importance
of exaggeration in tall tales.
• Using a large wall map, show students the area in which the story of Pecos
Bill takes place.
Follow-up Activities
• In small groups, have students retell the story of Pecos Bill from the point
of view of another character:Widowmaker, Slue Foot Slue or a member of
the Dry Gulch Gang.What might the listener learn about Pecos if one of
these charters was telling the tale? Stories can be collected in a class book
called,“Pecos Bill:As Told By…”
• Using an outline map of the southwestern United States, have students
trace the path that Bill took when he rode the twister. Students should label
the states he passed through, identify the Grand Canyon and draw Bill’s
pockets on the floor of Death Valley.
• Students can research the lives of real cowboys: what they wore, the types
of work they did and what kinds of food they ate. Have students create an
informational poster which illustrates these details of the cowboy’s life.
Useful resource: cyberkids.ccsd.k12.wy.us/sunflower/Cowboy.html
• Cowboys were known for singing songs to break up the monotony of those
long cattle drives. One of the most famous is “Home on the Range.” Students
can learn this song and other cowboy songs and perform for their peers.
Useful resource: lonehand.com/cowboy_songs.htm#
Home%20On%20The%20Range
• Pecos Bill was raised by coyotes. In small groups, have students research
this desert mammal. Students can investigate habitats, food, predators and
physical characteristics of the animal. Useful resources:
• www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/dog/
Coyoteprintout.shtml
• www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot.html
• Using shoe boxes, construction paper and other relevant art supplies, have
students make a diorama of their favorite scene from the Pecos Bill tall tale.
Dioramas should reflect the appropriate setting and include the important
characters. Have students explain their dioramas to the class.Alternately,
students can act out their favorite parts of the story in front of the class.
• Pecos Bill rode a twister through three southwestern states. Have students
research real-life tornados. Students can create posters which detail how
tornados are formed and how they move, what areas are most affected by
them and how to protect yourself from a tornado.The following link has a
variety of activities and links to tornado sites:
www.proteacher.com/110078.shtml