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TEACHING STUDENTS TO READ AND THINK CRITICALLY

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"Buffalo Bill: Inventor of the Wild

West"
Reading Comprehension Assessment

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© Copyright Read Theory LLC, 2012. All rights reserved.

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 READTHEORY Passage and Questions

Name________________
Date________________
• Reading Comprehension Assessment
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.

Buffalo Bill: Inventor of the Wild West

William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, is
easily the most famous cowboy of all time. Except for one problem.
He was no more an actual cowboy than Gene Autry or John Wayne
was. That is, like them, he was just an actor. Or, more accurately,
he was a showman, an impresario. So if Buffalo Bill wasn’t a
cowboy, what was he?
Cody became “Buffalo Bill” after the Civil War, when had a
contract to supply railroad workers with buffalo meat. Over an
eighteen-month period, Cody killed over 4,000 bison, and he later
entered a buffalo-hunting contest with William Comstock to see who
could officially use the name “Buffalo Bill.” Cody, of course, won. The author Ned Buntline wrote a popular
biography of him that earned the newly officially christened Buffalo Bill international fame.
In 1883, “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” was launched in Nebraska. The show involved a circus-like
atmosphere and became the first major Wild West show in existence. The show would tour, and in each
city it traveled to, different events would go on for days at a time. People from all over the world would
compete in staged horseback races (the Americans always won), shooting contests, plays, and
supposedly historic reenactments.
In fact, the show was far from historical, showing instead a mythic portrayal of the West. For
instance, the show would end by staging a savage Indian attack on a Western settler’s cabin instead of
showing the Western settler taking over sacred Native American lands with the help of the United States
Army. But the myth proved popular, and while the Wild West was far from glamorous or exciting, people
who did not settle the West assumed the show to be accurate. The show often showcased actual
Western figures—Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Sitting Bull—but did so in a myth-building way, so that
figures like Annie Oakley and Wild Bill Hickock lived on in legend. “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” toured for
thirty years and even played before European royalty, but perhaps its major contribution was creating the
idea of the West that early Hollywood would later scoop. Buffalo Bill essentially invented the West.
So, if Buffalo Bill wasn’t a cowboy, what was he? He was a showman who embodied and, in fact,
created the idea of a cowboy.

1) Based on information in paragraph 1, it can be assumed that Gene Autry and John Wayne are

A. actors who portrayed cowboys

B. historical figures from the Wild West D
C. showmen who started Wild West shows
D. biographers of real-life cowboys

2) The main purpose of the first paragraph is to

A. introduce the subject of “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West”

B. describe the beginning of William Cody’s transformation into Buffalo Bill
A
C. compare famous Western icons of the past 150 years
D. ask a question that will be answered later in the passage

3) As used in paragraph 2, the word christened most nearly means

B
A. baptized
B. renamed

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 READTHEORY Questions

C. legal
D. hardened

4) Each of the following appeared in “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” EXCEPT

A. Sitting Bull D
B. Annie Oakley
C. Ned Buntline
D. Calamity Jane

5) The author’s main point about Buffalo Bill is that he

A
A. is famous for being a real-life cowboy
B. invented traveling theater shows
C. was a fraud who pretended to be a cowboy
D. created the mythic American West

6) Based on the information in the passage, trace the development of Buffalo Bill’s career in your own
words.

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7) Paragraph four explains how Buffalo Bill’s show is an oversimplification that erases certain parts of
history that are difficult for some audiences to accept. Can you think of other parts of history that often
become oversimplified? Why do you think some historians leave out difficult details?

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 READTHEORY Questions

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8) Do you think the mythicized ideas of the Wild West are harmful or harmless? Is it acceptable to
maintain inaccurate ideas for the sake of cultural pride or entertainment? Explain your reasoning.

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9) What do you think is the background of the author of the passage? What are his or her personality
traits, skills, or qualifications? Explain your inferences.

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