Appropriate for elementary school students, this resource unit on the American cowboy provides four activities for small group work. The unit also lists objectives and discusses the organization and dynamics of small groups. The general objective is for the student to learn how to work within groups and how to resolve group conflict. The activities involve students in writing a group poem about the American cowboy as depicted in movies and on television and drawing murals based on two verses of a poem about cowboys. A research project requires groups to choose a topic from five suggestions: Texas longhorn cattle, cattle branding, cowboy songs, cowboy dress, and cattle rustling. The project includes a creative group effort such as poetry, art, or fiction which illustrates the results of research. For the final activity students participate in a brainstorming session to determine the characteristics of a cattle ranch in the Old West. (KC)