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American Indian Homes in Kansas

Guided tour — Kansas Museum of History, Topeka

Grades —1st

Wichita Grass LodgeHow did people build their homes long ago without a Home Depot or lumberyard? Students will learn how Kansas Indians built shelters using only the natural resources found on the prairie. They will explore the museum gallery comparing and contrasting the construction techniques of a full-size Cheyenne tipi, a Wichita grass lodge and a model of a Pawnee earth lodge. At the end of the tour students will get to set up a tipi, go inside and "step into the past."

This tour addresses grade specific history and reading standards and provides pre- and post-visit materials to help teachers meet those standards. Included within these materials is Read Kansas! "American Indian Homes in Kansas" lesson. 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".

Kansas Standards for History Government and Social Studies:

  • Standard #5: Relationships among people, places, ideas, and environments are dynamic. 5.1 The student will recognize and evaluate dynamic relationships that impact lives in communities, states, and nations.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards

  • RF.1.4: The student will read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (a) read on-level text with purpose and understanding; (b) read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive reading; (c) use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
  • SL.1.1: The student will participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Download PDF with tour information

Cost per student including museum admission: $4. One adult enters free for every 10 students. Additional adults pay the student rate.

Length of tour: approximately 75 minutes, with a maximum of one tour per hour.

Number of students in a group: for the best experience, we recommend approximately 20 students per tour.

Registration and scheduling: register online, or contact Education at 785-272-8681, ext. 414; email education@kshs.org.  Tours must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.