Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Wild, Wild West
West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett
Print West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.76

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    snotty, cowhand, bulldogger, bulldog, steers, competitive, ethnic, accomplishment, setback, despite, injury, subdue, champion, truth, method, result
     content words:    African American Pioneers, African Americans, African American, Nat Love, Davidson County, Dodge City, American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, Great Plains

West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett
By Trista L. Pollard 		  
1     In West to Freedom - African American Pioneers, you read about the many pioneers who settled in the West. African Americans were part of this group. They came west as slaves and as freedmen and women. African American men joined cattle companies as cowboys or cowhands. Some of these cowboys became famous for their riding and herding skills.
 
2     Nat Love was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1854 as a slave. He moved to Dodge City, Kansas, when the American Civil War (1861-1865) ended. In 1863 he gained his freedom. President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation during that year. Love was now free to travel in the West. He wanted to find adventure. At the age of fifteen, he started working for cattle companies. These companies were located in Texas and Arizona. However, he herded cattle to many other states. Love drove cattle and horses on the trails through the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and down to Mexico. He worked many cattle drives to Kansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Love worked as a cowhand for over 20 years. He also entered rodeo competitions. On July 4, 1876, Love won a roping, shooting, and wild horseback competition in Deadwood, South Dakota. He rode a wild mustang for 12 minutes and 30 seconds, which was the fastest time. For his accomplishment, he was named "Deadwood Dick" by other cowboys at the competition.
 
3     We know a lot about Nat Love because he wrote his own autobiography. In 1907 his book, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick", was published. Some historians believe that Love "stretched the truth" in his book. However, in his autobiography, he talked about meeting famous cowboys like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Kit Carson, and Buffalo Bill Cody. He also talked about surviving Indian attacks and western storms. He participated in and witnessed gunfights. All of this occurred as he traveled through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. In 1889, Love was married and decided to start a new life. He retired from the cowboy life in 1890. Love moved to Colorado and became a Pullman porter for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. He also worked as a bank guard later in life. Nat Love died in 1921 at the age of 67 in Los Angeles, California.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Feedback on West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett
Leave your feedback on West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
             Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

Wild, Wild West
             Wild, Wild West

United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 

United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861) 		 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830) 		 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870) 		 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991) 		 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806) 		 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865) 		 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945) 		 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900) 		 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918) 		 
 
    World War II  
 

50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit

Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



Copyright © 2018 edHelper