Kansas State Symbols

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Kansas State Symbols

• What are the state symbols?
• Why are they important to Kansas?

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Spring Sellars, Contributor4th grade

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Goals

• Students will learn the Kansas State symbols and
  some information about each one.
• Students will be able to tell why these symbols
  were chosen and are important to Kansas.

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Related Standards

• History Standard The student uses a working
  knowledge and understanding of significant
  individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and
  developments in the history of Kansas, the United
  States, and the world, utilizing essential
  analytical and research skills.
• Benchmark 3 The student understands the
  significance of events, holidays, documents, and
  symbols that are important to Kansas, United
  States and World history.

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Vocabulary Terms

• American Bison
• Meadowlark
• Jayhawk
• Cottonwood Tree
• Sunflower
• Amphibian

• Great Seal of the State of Kansas
• Salamander
• Honeybee
• Ornate Box Turtle
• Reptile
• Home on the Range

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• A pre-test may be given prior to the lesson to
  assess prior knowledge of Kansas state symbols.

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Pre-test

• What is the Kansas state flower?
• What is the Kansas state bird?
• What is the Kansas state animal?
• What is the Kansas state tree?
• What is the Kansas state song?
• What is the Kansas state insect?
• What is the Kansas state reptile?
• What is the Kansas state Amphibian?
• What pictures are found on the Great Seal of the
  State of Kansas?

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Answers to pretest

• Flower Sunflower
• Bird Meadowlark
• Animal American Buffalo or Bison
• Tree Cottonwood Tree
• Song Home on the Range
• Insect Honeybee
• Reptile Ornate Box Turtle
• Amphibian Salamander
• State Seal answer may include various objects.

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Activities

• Students are given coloring pages of the
  different Kansas state symbols. Students are told
  to decorate them anyway they choose using
  creativity. These are kept in a binder or folder
  in which notes on each symbol may be added.
• Students may be divided into groups of 2 or 3 and
  assigned one symbol per group. Names may also be
  picked out of a hat and students allowed to pick
  their symbol when their names are called. Each
  symbol will be chosen only once. Each group will
  make an informative poster with their symbol
  drawn and colored on it. The poster will include
  information about the Kansas symbol assigned.
  Teacher will check to see that important
  information has been selected for the poster by
  the group. (Information will be found from
  handout teacher prints off the internet or
  research done by students.
• Research/ poster making days will be given to
  allow students to complete their projects.

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Activities contd.

• Students will be expected to give a presentation
  to the class about their poster and hold a
  question/answer session over their symbol. Each
  group will provide a typed list of three
  important facts that they want their classmates
  to remember about their symbol. These will be
  given to students to put in their folders or
  binders with their decorated coloring pages.
• Students will display their posters around the
  classroom. After having time to review their
  notes, they will be quizzed over the important
  facts gathered by students.
• Students will be given a post-test (same as the
  pre-test) to assess their knowledge of the Kansas
  state symbols after the unit.

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Activities contd

• As a fun wrap up activity, students will be asked
  to draw and write a proposal proposing that a new
  state symbol be added. The student may choose
  anything they want for their proposed symbol, but
  must tell why they think it would be a good
  symbol to represent Kansas. They are encouraged
  to have fun with this assignment.

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Resources

• Websites
• http//www.kidskonnect.com/Kansas/KansasHome.html
• http//www.gpnc.org/ornate.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/western.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/barred.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/bison.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/sunflower.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/honeybee.htm
• http//www.gpnc.org/cottonwood.htm
• http//www.governor.ks.gov/Facts/kansasseal.htm
• http//www.50states.com/songs/kansas.htm

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Assessment

• Pre-test
• Post-test
• Student-made posters
• Student presentations
• Quiz over information picked by students