WHY THE COWBOY SINGS teaching guide

WHY THE COWBOY SINGS teaching guide

Teaching Guide for the Documentary Film "Why the Cowboy Sings"

Resources and Strategies for Classroom Engagement

Prepared by Dr. Joanna Zattiero


 

Film Title: Why the Cowboy Sings

Running Time: 58 minutes

Filmmakers: Hal Cannon and Taki Telonidis

Copyright: 2002, Western Folklife Center

Accessible at: https://www.folkstreams.net/films/why-the-cowboy-sings

Introduction

"Why the Cowboy Sings" is a documentary film that explores the tradition of cowboy music, its origins, evolution, and significance in the culture of the American West. This teaching guide is designed to help educators of students in grades 6-12 facilitate thoughtful discussion, critical analysis, and creative activities based on the documentary. The guide provides background information, discussion questions, and activity ideas to enrich students’ understanding and appreciation of the film’s themes. All activities can be scaffolded to meet the needs of various grade levels and diverse learners.

Learning Objectives

  • • Examine cowboy culture and traditions in relationship to broader American culture.
  • • Analyze the impact of storytelling and music in shaping cultural identity.
  • • Explore themes of heritage, tradition, and the American West as depicted in the film.
  • • Develop critical thinking and critical listening skills through contextual analysis.
  • • Encourage creative expression inspired by the documentary’s content.
  • • Become more familiar with documentary films as primary resources.


 

Background Information

Cowboy music traces its roots to the songs sung by ranchers and cattle workers in the American West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These songs served practical purposes, such as calming cattle, as well as personal and communal functions, expressing the joys and hardships of cowboy life. Over time, cowboy music became an iconic cultural element in the American West, influencing country and western musical genres and remaining a vibrant tradition today as witnessed by its presence in national and international cowboy music and poetry festivals, its use in various commercial films, advertisements, and television series, and the ubiquity of songs such as “Home on the Range” in 21st century American culture.

Pre-Viewing Activities

  • • Class Discussion: Ask students what comes to mind when they think of cowboys. Do cowboys still exist today, or are they only a part of the past?  What are some common stereotypes or images associated with cowboys in popular culture?
  • • Research Assignment: Have students research cowboy songs and/or poetry and pick one example that they find particularly interesting to share with the class.
  • • Music: Ask students to think about how songs are created, why they might be created, and what different audiences songs might be created for.
  • • Literature: Discuss the role of poetry in songwriting. Do songs start out as poems? Are poems inherently songs? What is the role of storytelling in poetry and songwriting?

Viewing Strategies

  • • Encourage students to take notes on recurring themes, especially interesting people, and key moments throughout the film.
  • • Ask students to pay attention to the role of music and storytelling in the documentary.
  • • Suggest students consider how the filmmakers use interviews and visual imagery to convey the film’s message.

Discussion Questions

  • 1. Does the film answer the question posed in the title, and if so, what do you think the answer is? Can there be multiple answers?
  • 2. What role(s) does music play in the daily lives of cowboys and ranchers, as depicted in the film?
  • 3. How does the documentary challenge or reinforce stereotypes about cowboy and ranching culture? Did watching the film change anyone’s opinion of what cowboys and ranchers do?
  • 4. How are music and poetry similar and different?  Can music be poetic and can poetry be musical?
  • 5. What similarities and differences do you notice between cowboy music and other musical traditions? This could include instrumentation, vocal style, textual/lyrical topics, performance spaces, etc.
  • 6. How do the personal stories shared in the film challenge or deepen your understanding of cowboy and ranching culture?  Does anyone in the class have experience with cowboy and/or ranching life? How about with cowboy music?
  • 7. What does the film suggest about the preservation of tradition in a changing world?

Post-Viewing Activities

  • • Creative Response: Invite students to write their own cowboy song lyrics or short poems inspired by the themes of the documentary. Consider suggesting topics such as landscapes that inspire them, vibrant memories of friends or family, tall tales, etc.
  • • Comparative Analysis: Have students review texts from several different cowboy songs or poems and note differences and similarities in style, format, tone, and topic.  Examples of songs that could be used: “Home on the Range”, “Whoopee Ti Yi Yo” (Git Along Little Dogies), “Chopo”, “Little Joe the Wrangler”, “Night Herding Song”, etc.
  • • Ask students to work in small groups to write a new stanza to an old song, just as Stephanie Davis and others did in the film. “Home on the Range” is a good song to work with, although nearly any song would work.
  • • Group Project: In small groups, students can create a short presentation on how cowboy music has influenced contemporary genres or how it is being preserved today through modern recordings, cowboy poetry festivals and gatherings, use in films, etc.
  • • Reflection Essay: Ask students to write a reflective essay on what they learned from the documentary and how it altered or reinforced their perceptions of cowboy culture historically and in the 21st century.

Extension Activities

  • • Invite a local musician, folklorist, or historian to speak to students about cowboy music or American songwriting and poetry traditions.
  • • Organize a class performance or listening session featuring cowboy songs from different time periods.
  • • Arrange a field trip (virtual or in person) to a local museum or cultural center focused on the American West and/or music history.

Additional Resources

Related Films