History Detectives: William Allen White House

4th Grade

Who was William Allen White, and why is he a famous Kansan? Divided into small groups, students explore the William Allen White House, looking for clues to answer such questions as: How did White earn a living? Did he have a family? How did he spend his free time? What did he think about the people of Kansas? What famous people were his friends?
After exploring the William Allen White House, students are introduced to Mr. White himself. Each small group then provides the class (and Mr. White!) a tour of the area they explored, and share what they learned about William Allen White while they were history detectives.

This tour fulfills grade specific standards and provides pre-and post-visit material to help teachers meet those standards.

History: Benchmark 1, Indicator 1: The student researches the contributions made by notable Kansans in history (e.g., Dwight David Eisenhower, Alfred Landon, Amelia Earhart, George Washington Carver, Robert Dole, William Allen White, Langston Hughes, Carry A. Nation, Black Bear Bosin, Gordon Parks, Clyde Cessna, Charles Curtis, Walter Chrysler, Wyatt Earp).

History: Benchmark 4, Indicator 4: The student identifies and compares information from primary and secondary sources (e.g., photographs, diaries/journals, newspapers, historical maps).

History: Benchmark 4, Indicator 5: The student uses research skills to interpret an historical person or event in history and notes the source(s) of information (e.g., discusses ideas; formulates broad and specific questions; determines a variety of sources; locates, evaluates, organizes, records and shares relevant information in both oral and written form).

Civics: Benchmark 4, Indicator 1: The student determines how people can participate in government and why it is important (e.g., jury duty, voting, running for office, community service).

Reading: Benchmark 4, Indicator 5: The student uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions.

Length of tour: Length of tour: Approximately two hours. Cost: $2 per participant (one free adult admission per every 10 students) Number of students in a group: For the best experience, we recommend no more than 25 students per tour. For registration and scheduling: Contact Nick Gronseth, site administrator, 620-342-2800; wawhitehouse@kshs.org. A minimum of two weeks advance registration is needed.