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Episode 3 – Setting & STEM on the Ranch

Students explore how setting shapes a story while comparing two distinct ranch environments. Literary analysis is paired with a hands-on STEM engineering challenge inspired by the story, where students design and test knots to solve a real-world problem. This interdisciplinary lesson integrates reading comprehension, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, encouraging students to think critically and creatively.

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Additional Episodes

Standards

TEKS: ELA Reading & Analysis; Science Engineering Design
NGSS: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3

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Listen And Learn!

“It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog!” — this opening statement has been the start of over 74 children’s books in an ongoing series by John R. Erickson which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Now, that very same line will open a brand-new podcast series starring Matthew McConaughey as none other than…”Hank the Cowdog.”

From Tri-State Pictures, HTC Productions and QCODE, “Hank the Cowdog” is written, directed and executive produced by Jeff Nichols (SHOTGUN STORIES, TAKE SHELTER, MUD, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL and LOVING) and stars McConaughey as HANK who will also serve as an executive producer. The 5-episode season, which will also feature original musical numbers, will launch on September 14 through QCODE and be available on Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms.

The pairing reunites the two who collaborated on the 2012 film, MUD. McConaughey is joined by a fantastic supporting cast which includes Jesse Plemons, Cynthia Erivo, Kirsten Dunst, Leslie Jordan, Joel Edgerton, Scoot McNairy, Michael Shannon and John R. Erickson. Nichols and McConaughey are joined by executive producers Sarah Green & Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Tri-State Pictures, Mark Erickson of HTC Productions and Rob Herting of QCODE.

The National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University has partnered with the Hank the Cowdog podcast family to create educational material for each episode of the podcast. These activities are aligned with national curriculum standards and feature activities that focus on literacy, science, STEM, and social and emotional well-being.

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