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These questions, related to poems found in Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones), are meant to be answered in written form using complete answers on the students' own paper. A complete answer will let the teacher know what the question was because the response incorporates part of the question.
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Example
Question: Why do you think the people changed their mind about Mulligan?
Student answer: I think the people changed their mind about Mulligan because...
To make copies for each student, hightlight the question sets and then copy and paste into a new document.
Questions vary between lower and higher level responses.
Name: _______________________________________ Date: __________________
The Barrel Race - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones)
1) Why do you think Jessie didn’t stop riding after she first rounded the three barrels?
2) Why did the people return to the race track the second day?
3) What are three other rodeo events Jessie participated in before she tried barrel racing?
4) Why would we consider this story an example of a tall tale?
Name: _______________________________________ Date: __________________
Rusty Rose Takes a Bath - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones)
1) At the beginning of the poem, how do we know Rusty badly needs a bath?
2) What do you think the author means when he calls Rusty a “desperado”?
3) Why did Rusty decide to leave the soap behind?
4) What are some ways we know that Rusty doesn’t like to take a bath?
Name: _______________________________________ Date: __________________
Mulligan Martinson Marley McGraw - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones)
1) What do you think Mulligan means when he says, “A cowboy is more than the size of his hat,”?
2) Why did the people change their minds about Mulligan?
3) What do you think happened to Mulligan after he drove the prairie dogs from town?
4) The author says Mulligan was so small he bathed in a teacup, rode on a rat, and used a string for a lasso. What would have made a good bed for Mulligan? What would have made a good hat?
Name: _______________________________________ Date: __________________
The Great Chili Cook-Off - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones)
1) The author says Isabelle’s hair was like a bison’s. What does he mean by this?
2) Do you think the judge liked Bernadette Bly’s chili? Why do you think this?
3) Isabelle “sheepishly grinned.” Look up “sheepish” in the dictionary. Write the definition. Why do you think Isabelle was looking “sheepish”?
Name: _______________________________________ Date: __________________
Bad Baxter Barton - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones)
1) How do we know everyone in town is afraid of Bad Baxter Barton? What are some things people do when they hear he is coming?
2) The author says Bad Baxter Barton had a “scowl” that was darker than coal. Look up “scowl” in the dictionary. Write the definition. Write a new sentence using the word “scowl” which shows you understand what the word means.
3) What makes this poem a tall tale?
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