American Indian Homes in the Central Plains -- Fairway
Guided tour—Shawnee Indian Mission State Historic Site, Fairway
Grades—1st
Students will travel back in time to learn about traditional American Indian homes, as they existed for the Cheyenne, Wichita, and Pawnee. They will compare the natural resources and methods the American Indians in Kansas use to build their homes. They will also observe models of three different Indian homes and make inferences about the Plains Indians’ life style (i.e., food and clothing, sedentary or nomadic, building materials).
Students will be introduced to a hands-on tipi building activity. Not only did the tipi reflect a use of natural resources, it reflected a cultural development of the Plains Indians.
This tour addresses grade specific Kansas history and reading standards and provides pre-and post-visit materials to help teachers meet those standards. Included within these materials is Read Kansas! lesson P-6, "American Indian Homes in Kansas." Teachers might also be interested in either of these educational resource trunks - "Indian Homes in Kansas" or "People of the Plains: Native Americans in Kansas".
Standards addressed:
History: Benchmark 2, Indicator 4: The student compares types of shelter used by American Indians in Kansas over time (e.g., grass house, earth house, tipi, frame house).
Geography: Benchmark 5, Indicator 2: The student describes how the physical environment impacts humans (e.g., choices of clothing, housing, crops, recreation).
Common Core Reading: RI 1. 10: The student, with prompting and support, will read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
Download PDF with tour information for Kansas schools.
Cost: $2 per student. One adult enters free for every 10 students. Additional adults pay the student rate.
Length of tour: approximately two hours
Number of students in a group: for the best experience, we recommend no more than 30 students per tour.
Registration and scheduling: Contact the site administrator, 913-262-0867; e-mail Shawnee Indian Mission. Tours must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
Other guided tours available at the Shawnee Indian Mission:
Jumping Off to the Oregon Trail
Manifest Destiny and Its Impact on American Indian Culture
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