Oklahoma Social Studies OKH.C.3.2

OKH.C.3.2 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• OKH.C.3.2.A

  Describe the economic and environmental effects of commercial extraction of Indian Territory's coal deposits on the development of regional communities, includi...

• OKH.C.3.2.B

  Trace the routes of cattle trails across Indian Territory and describe the growth of the cattle industry, including the associated role of railroad transportati...

• OKH.C.3.2.C

  Examine the origins and changing perceptions of the “American cowboy culture” (e.g., dime novels, artwork, motion pictures) versus the reality of the profession...

01

What Students Need to Do

Students explain how coal mining brought jobs and rail links to Indian Territory while damaging land and water. They trace cattle trails to Kansas railheads and explain how trains carried cattle to distant markets. They compare cowboy stories and images with records of the people who did the work.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can map the Chisholm and Great Western trails and explain how James J. McAlester helped coal towns grow. They can name a cost of mining and show how a dime novel or film leaves out the long hours and varied backgrounds of working cowhands.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may think cattle rode trains from Texas, rather than walking to railheads first. They may credit McAlester alone for the coal industry or overlook mining's damage to land and water. Cowboy films can leave them thinking most cowhands were white men who spent their days in gunfights.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a blank Indian Territory map. Ask them to draw one cattle trail to a Kansas railhead, then write how trains helped ranchers, how coal mining affected a town and its land, and one way a film cowboy differs from a working cowhand.

1. 01

   Give pairs a blank map and colored pencils to mark McAlester, the Chisholm and Great Western trails, and Kansas railheads.

2. 02

   Read a cowboy diary excerpt beside a dime novel cover; ask, 'Which daily tasks or workers does the cover leave out?'

3. 03

   Give teams coal jobs, mine waste, cattle drive, railhead, and train cards to sort into benefits, costs, and transport links.

4. 04

   Use an Oklahoma coal mine reclamation notice and a local jobs chart; ask who gained from mining and who pays for cleanup.

• OKH.C.8.2

  Analyze the impact of growth in various sectors of the state economy.

• USH.C.2.1.D

  Identify the impact of new inventions and industrial production methods on the growth of the American economy and standard of living (e.g., technologies develop...

• MWH.C.5.2

  Analyze responses to and the legacy of the Industrial Revolution.

• WG.C.6

  Analyze the impact of industrialization on economic development.