December 2004/January 2005

All people have stories that they pass down from one generation to the next. Kansans are no exception. Sometimes these stories honor special people, places, or events. Frequently stories are told to preserve memories of both good times and bad. Other stories are just plain funny. They were created to poke fun at a situation and in so doing, help people cope with difficult times. Kansas history is preserved through these stories. They can teach us a lot about Kansas' past.

For Parents and Teachers:

This issue of Kansas Kaleidoscope explores the stories of Kansas. Students will learn the importance of stories and songs in their lives and how narratives can shape their social values and preserve their heritage.

The issue addresses the Kansas curricular standards for language arts in the fourth and fifth grades that require students to identify fiction and nonfiction and a variety of genres such as folklore, poetry, historical fiction, realistic fiction, and biographical text.

Samuel Reader came from Illinois and settled in Indianola, Kansas.

Dr. Brewster Higley wrote the state song, Home on the Range. He lived in a small cabin on the banks of Beaver Creek in Smith County. His home is now a museum. You can visit the Brewster Higley Cabin, which is located near Athol, Kansas.

Many early settlers came to Kansas after hearing good things about this new state. Land was cheap and plentiful.

The song, Kansas Land, is an old folk song. It was first sung by early settlers, most of whom were farmers.

American stories are full of bigger-than-life heroes. Johnny Appleseed planted and supplied apple trees across America.

Johnny [Kaw] really went to work to make Kansas a better place to live. Mention has been made of how he leveled the land with his cradle.

Home on the Range tells of a wonderful place that people are proud to call home. The words praised Kansas as a good place to live.

Kansas is known for its extremes in weather. It is the extremes that people often write about in poems and songs.

A Kansas farmer was driving his cattle and realized the heat was tiring them out. He rushed to get a bucket of water for the cows to drink. Then the weather changed!

The summer of 1931 was a real hot, dry one. The grasshoppers were so bad they would eat overalls off the clothesline, leaving only the buttons and suspender buckles in a pile on the ground.

Throughout history people have sung songs while they worked or made up songs about their work. Sometimes jobs were not easy or fun.

In the Wild West days, cowboys needed to be skilled at riding horses, lassoing cattle, and singing. Singing?

Oh move slow, dogies; quit roving around,
You have wandered and trampled all over the ground.

In the 1800s, railroads changed America. People could travel farther and faster than ever before.

I'll never marry a farmer,
He's always in the dirt,
But I'm going to marry a railroad man
Who wears a calico shirt.

Teacher Supplement