LESSON 23 TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Goodnight-Loving Trail
by Russell Watson
Fountas-Pinnell Level U
Informational Text
Selection Summary
What is the Goodnight-Loving Trail? It has to do with two men who
played key roles in shaping the cattle industry in the West. After the
Civil War ended, long cattle drives from Texas to market began to
occur frequently.
Number of Words: 2,738
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Informational text
• Third-person narrative organized into nine chapters
• Chapters explore development of cattle drives and how Loving and Goodnight helped
shape them
• Chronological sequence of events
• How cattle drives drove early Texas economy
• How Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving came to form a partnership
• The difficulty of driving cattle in a dry environment
• Two men formed a team to efficiently drive cattle along a specific trail.
• Obstacles in the open plains could be overcome with perseverance.
• One trail blazed the way for the cattle industry for about 20 years.
• Author tells reader to “go back in time” and imagine the Texas plains in the 1830s.
• Extended description of cattle driving
• A mix of short and complex sentences
• Dependent and independent clauses
• Some economics words, such as profit, market, provisions, contracts
• Multisyllable words, some of them challenging, such as acquaintance, brackish, rampant
• Mix of historic photographs, a map, and fine art illuminate the details in the text
• Sixteen pages of text, easy-to-read chapter headings, and illustrations on most pages.
• Italics and quotations used to highlight unfamiliar terms
• Em dashes
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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The Goodnight-Loving Trail
by Russell Watson
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of cattle drives and the history of the American West
to visualize the selection. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What
would it be like to ride a horse all day, following a herd of 2,000 cattle, and then sleep on
the hard ground? Read the title and author and talk about the fine art on the cover. As
informational text, this passage will have lots of facts.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 3: Explain that this is a selection about a famous route that flourished for
cattle drives in the American West.
Page 4: Talk about the Texas Longhorn. Suggested language: The Texas Longhorn
is a very tough breed of cattle that was well suited to survive long cattle drives.
Page 7: Read the selection title and explain that this chapter introduces the two
men who formed the cattle trail. Ask: Can you guess what kinds of characteristics
these men had?
Pages 12–13: Point out that cattle drivers faced many perils along their journey.
Tell students this was a very demanding and dangerous job.
Page 14: Call attention to the caption above the photograph. Ask: Why might a
river pose danger during a cattle drive?
Now turn back to the beginning of the selection to learn how the Goodnight-Loving
Trail came to be.
Target Vocabulary
acknowledged – to recognize or
accept something, p. 7
dominated – to have strongly
controlled it, p. 18
prospered – to have been
successful, p. 18
acquainted – to know and be
familiar with something, p. 7
extending – stretching from one
point to another, p. 16
residents – the people who live in
a place, p. 5
decline – a falling off, a lowering
or weakening, p. 17
flourished – to have thrived or
prospered, p. 3
sprawling – extending over a
wide area, p. 3
hostile – not friendly, p. 8
Grade 5
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy
of the text in their own words as they read.
and to put the parts
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the text.
Suggested language: Why do you think cattle drives were so difficult and dangerous in
the 1800s?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Cattle drives were difficult but
essential to western economy.
• Perseverance and commitment
are important to getting things
done.
• The text builds up to the
establishment of a cattle trail.
• Charles Goodnight and Oliver
Loving created a prosperous
business with the GoodnightLoving Trail.
• By the mid-1880s, the cattle
industry changed and declined.
• The work of a few people shaped
an entire industry that thrived for
about two decades.
• Being willing to work together
and being resourceful are useful
personality characteristics.
• The author uses vivid description
to help readers visualize the
obstacles of cattle drives.
• The text features sidebars that
provide additional information
incidental to, but supportive of,
the narrative.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to participate in a readers’ theater. Remind them to pause for
punctuation as they read. Have students use a more rapid rate when they are reading
sections of the text that describe dangers.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that many common words are based on
words with Latin and Greek roots. For example, the word provisions on page 9 comes
from the Latin word providere, meaning “to see ahead.” The word profit on page 5
comes from the Latin root word proficere, which means “to make progress,” or “to
profit.” Other words that share this root include profitability and unprofitable.
Grade 5
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 23.8.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the
comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Main Ideas and Details
Remind students they can use details to support
a main idea. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like
the one below:
Think Aloud
The main idea on page 4 is that the Texas Longhorn was an excellent
animal for the cattle industry. There were lots of them roaming the plains.
They were large and had a lot of meat on them. Add these items to the
chart to outline the main idea and details.
Practice the Skill
Have students share an example of another text that includes various text and graphic
features, and how these helped them to better understand the selection.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• Which chapter from the selection contains information about missions?
• The main idea of this selection is that
________________________________________________________________.
• What does the first paragraph on page 6 tell you about the cattle industry in the
1860s?
Grade 5
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English Language Development
Reading Support Check regularly on students’ oral reading to determine accuracy,
fluency, and comprehension. Remind students that this selection is about the dangers and
opportunities of early cattle drives.
Idioms The passage includes some idioms that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meaning
of expressions such as California Gold Rush (p. 5) and blazed a trail (p. 6).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is speaking?
Speaker 1: What new breed of cattle
developed after the missions closed?
Speaker 1: Why did Charles
Goodnight want to create a new
trail?
Speaker 2: a narrator
Speaker 1: Where does the trail begin?
Speaker 2: Texas
Speaker 1: Who is the selection about?
Speaker 2: Charles Goodnight and
Oliver Loving
Speaker 2: Texas Longhorns developed.
Speaker 1: Who was in charge of the
partnership?
Speaker 2: Loving was in charge.
Speaker 2: Goodnight recognized
that the established trails passed
through hostile areas. He thought
he could create a safer path to
take cattle to market.
Lesson 23
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 23.8
Date
Critical Thinking
The Goodnight-Loving
Trail
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text What is the Texas Longhorn?
a breed of cattle from Mexican and Anglo cattle
2. Think within the text Name some details the author gives about
what cowboys did for fun along the trail.
told stories, sang songs, and played games
3. Think beyond the text Do you think it was a good idea for
Goodnight and Loving to team up?
It was a good idea since they could combine their experience,
knowledge, and heads of cattle to the benefit of both men.
4. Think about the text In this story, is the author trying to entertain,
persuade, or inform? Explain your answer.
I think the author is trying to inform the reader about the
Goodnight-Loving Trail. He uses it to show how the Texas
Longhorn was important to the development of the American
West.
Making Connections Would you have wanted to be a cowboy like Goodnight
or Loving? Explain your answer.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
10
Critical Thinking
Grade 5, Unit 5: Under Western Skies
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Name
Date
The Goodnight-Loving Trail
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
In your opinion, were Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight an effective
team? In what ways did they work well together? What do think they should
have done differently?
Grade 5
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Lesson 23
BLACKLINE MASTER 23.8
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
The Goodnight-Loving
Trail
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What is the Texas Longhorn?
2. Think within the text Name some details the author gives about
what cowboys did for fun along the trail.
3. Think beyond the text Do you think it was a good idea for
Goodnight and Loving to team up?
4. Think about the text In this story, is the author trying to entertain,
persuade, or inform? Explain your answer.
Making Connections Would you have wanted to be a cowboy like Goodnight
or Loving? Explain your answer.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 5
7
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Student
Lesson 23
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 23.12
The Goodnight-Loving Trail
The Goodnight-Loving
Trail
Running Record Form
LEVEL U
page
12
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Days on the trail started early, before the sun was up. After a
hearty breakfast, the outfit set out. On a good day, the outfit
rode about six hours in the morning, stopped for lunch at
noon, and rode some more in the afternoon. A typical day’s
drive covered 12 to 15 miles.
It wasn’t possible to talk much; the pounding of hooves and
the bellowing of longhorns were too loud. Cowboys used hand
and arm signals to communicate about things like a change in
direction or a hazard to avoid. Cowboys had to ride night
patrol, too, so they were often sleepy.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/103 ×
100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 5
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414344
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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