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Tracking Down the Real Billy the Kid

Overview

This lesson relates to the westward movement in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students analyze the role that gunfighters played in the settlement of the West and distinguish between their factual and fictional accounts using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940.

Billy the Kid alias, William H. Bonney, alias Henry McCarty, alias Kid Antrim, etc. is an example of the typical gunfighter. He was born in the 1850s and died in 1881 when he was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Billy serves as the focus of the lesson.

Objectives After completing this unit students will be able to:
  • develop techniques to analyze primary sources;
  • become aware of effective interview techniques;
  • enhance computer technology skills;
  • assess the significance of the contributions of the gunfighter to the settlement of the West;
  • develop a holistic, multidisciplinary perception of the progression of the settlement of the West; and
  • become familiar with the American Memory collections and learn how to use them effectively when doing historical research.
Time Required Four-to-five class periods
Recommended Grade Level 8th through 12th grade
Curriculum Fit Settlement of the West in United States history and American literature and European immigration to America
Standards McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks

Historical Understanding
Standard 2. Understands the historical perspective

Language Arts
Standard 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Standard 7. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Standard 9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
Resources Used American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940

Flaherty, Thomas H., ed. The Wild West. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1993.

Rosa, Joseph G. The Gunfighter: Man or Myth? Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.

Rosa, Joseph G. Age of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons on the Frontier. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.

Trachtman, Paul. The Gunfighters. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1974.

Utley, Robert M. Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.

Utley, Robert M. High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.

Overview  |  Teacher's Guide

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Last updated 01/26/2004