Before you read the book:
1. Discuss slavery in America; life of slaves.
2.
What restrictions were placed on slaves? [Not allowed to read and write; not allowed
to travel freely; not allowed to carry guns]
3. Discuss American Civil War and
outcome. [Emancipation Proclamation; South devastated; Reconstruction; over 500,000
men killed]
4. Discuss plight of most slaves after Civil War. [No jobs, sharecroppers,
few opportunities to advance]
5. Discuss Westward Expansion after the Civil War.
Why did no many Southerners want to move west? How did they travel?
6. Discuss
plight of Native Americans after Civil War. [On reservations; buffalo no longer available;
hungry]
7. Explain what a western frontier fort was and why they were established?
[Protect settlers, mail, stagecoaches, etc.]
8. Using stick-on stars, locate
several western forts on a large US map.
9. Show photo of a buffalo and explain
its importance to the American Indians. [see photo below]
10. Why did Plains Indians
call the black soldiers "Buffalo Soldiers?"
Display
from National Buffalo Soldier Museum, Houston, TX
After you read the book:
1. Why did Mama cry when she heard that the
war was over? [She was happy that she and family were free]
2. Although President
Abraham Lincoln declared an Emancipation Proclamation in January, 1862, slaves in
Texas did not receive word until June 19th, 1865. That day was called "Juneteenth."
Why is Juneteenth now celebrated by African Americans all across America?
3. Why
would the US Army encourage former slaves to enlist and go west? [After the Civil
War, there was a great shortage of men willing to join the army; most men were tired
of fighting; Southern white men were not allowed to join US Army or carry weapons]
4.
What were some of the things soldiers had to learn to do? [Ride horses; shoot guns;
learn military commands]
5. Go to http://www.fmaalumni.org/bugle_calls.html
and play some of the bugle calls that soldiers at forts had to know.
6. Why
did black soldiers go to school at the forts? [to get an education; it was against
the law for slaves to be literate]
7. Why did soldiers need to be literate? [Sergeants
needed to read orders written on paper.]
8. What role did stage coaches play in
western expansion? Why did bandits attack stage coaches [They carried passengers,
mail, packages, gold, and money to western areas]. What was the name of one famous
stage coach company? [Wells Fargo; Butterfield]
9. Why did Indians often leave
the Reservations and attack farms and ranches? [All the buffalo had been killed by
white men; Indians wanted cows for meat and wanted horses to trade]
10. Explain
the difference between the way Native Americans hunted buffalo and the way white
men hunted them. [Indians only hunted what they could eat; they used all the parts
of the buffalo; they hunted on horseback. White men (buffalo runners) used rifles
and automatic weapons; they took only the hide and left the carcass to rot; they
often shot the buffalo from trains for sport; they purposefully tried to eliminate
the buffalo so the Indians would starve]
11. The Buffalo Soldiers helped railroad
crews survey the western regions. What effect did the arrival of railroads and trains
have on the western part of America? [It connected west and east; it made cattle
drives obsolete; it made stage coaches and wagon trains obsolete]
12. Was the
main character smart to save his money? Explain how sacrificing for the long run
will bring rewards later.
13. Explain that the last battle of the Indian Wars
took place at Wounded Knee, S.Dakota in 1890. After that, the Indians stayed on the
reservations and did not fight again.]
14. What famous event incited the Spanish
American War? [The sinking of the USS MAINE in Cuba]. What were the results of that
war? [US obtained Puerto Rico and Guam and purchased the Philippines; Cuba gained
its independence from Spain]
15. In WWII, the US Army finally stopped using horses.
Name some equipment that took the place of horses? [Jeeps, tanks, trucks, armored
vehicles]
16. Have students make up a Buffalo Soldier's name and write a letter
home. The letter should describe some daily activities, etc.
More Resources:
For more on-line Teacher's Guides and relevant information
about Buffalo Soldiers, visit these websites:
www.nps.gov/foda/forteachers/index.htm
[excellent teacher's guide published by Fort Davis]
www.cobblestone.com/resources/cob9502+.htm
www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=buffalo+soldiers+rating=3
www.bsu.edu.eft/buffalo
www.buffalosoldier.net
www.gettysburgflag.com/BuffaloSoldiersWesternFrontier.php
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE
Return to Teachers' Guides