Legends of the Wild West - Living Monuments Groupwork Activity

Bring the Legends of the Wild West to life with Living Monuments! Students will work in groups of three to design a monument to reflect the life of a famous or infamous person from the American West. The lesson begins with warm-up questions about characteristics of western towns, good guys and bad guys from the west and what makes an individual famous or infamous from this time. Groups of three follow the groupwork direction guide that leads them step-by-step through the statue design. Each group member has an active part in the statue by acting as either a Historical Character, a Docent or a Graphic Artist. During class presentations, the Docent greets the “visitors” to the museum and introduces them to the Legend. When the docent activates the animate button, the Historical Character comes to life and shares their story. The Graphic Artist reads the plaque and works behind the scenes gathering props and costumes. After the statue re-freezes, the group answers questions from the “visitors.” Finally, students create a dime novel book jacket on one of the Wild West Legends.

When you purchase this activity, you will receive:

-teacher directions

-power point to guide instruction

-Warm-Up Activity

-Groupwork direction guide to create the Living Monument

-Handouts for the Living Monument: Plaque, Monument Sketch, Script and Introduction

-Matrix for students to complete during the presentations

-Rubric for the presentations

-Background Reading-Dime Novels

-Writing prompt-Dime Novel Jacket Cover Assignment

-Thirteen Biographical Readings on Legends of the Wild West

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