History Time
A Newsletter for Kansas Educators

November 2021
Make and Take:
Make a Claim Board Game
What did it take to own land in Kansas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Students can find out by playing the board game, Home on the Range – A Claim Game. As they roll the die, and move across the board, students will learn about homesteading, staking a claim, filing at the land office, and much more.
Tragic Prelude Video Tour
Tragic Prelude, featured on the second floor of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, is considered one of John Steuart Curry’s best murals. However, the painting’s rich symbolism was so heavily criticized throughout the 1930s and 1940s that Curry left without completing the murals planned for the rotunda. He even refused to sign the two murals he completed.
 
Take your class on a tour with Capitol Visitor Center Coordinator Joe Brentano, as he explores the history behind the mural and the symbolism depicted in it.
All detectives use clues to solve mysteries. Detectives study their clues and check their sources. Asking questions is an important part of studying clues. Historians are detectives, they look for history clues, and they know the importance of asking questions. In “Case #1
 A 100-year-old History Mystery” students can test their detective skills. Their assignment is to solve the mystery of what it was like to be a child in Kansas in the early 1900s.
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Standards Based Activity:
Rural School Days Nearpod
HGSS Standard #4:
Societies experience continuity and change over time.
 
Students will visit the historic one-room Stach School in this Nearpod.com lesson. Miss Drown, the schoolteacher, directs lessons as they were taught in 1920. This program offers a virtual living history experience through videos, historic photographs, and actual lessons from 1920s textbooks. Students will complete assignments in reading, spelling, history, and penmanship.
 
The free Nearpod.com program provides an interactive lesson that can be teacher led or self-paced for students. Students use historical thinking skills to actively engage in "doing" history. The platform allows parents and teachers to check the progress of their student's work online. Teachers interested in adding this lesson to their Nearpod library can contact kshs.education@ks.gov to request an editable copy of this lesson. A variety of other Nearpod lessons are available for primary, intermediate, and middle school students.

Which Kansas Day Topic Are You Most Interested In?
Which Kansas Day topic are you most interested in?
Famous Kansans
Kansas Symbols
The State Capitol
Native Americans
19th Century Kansas Settlers
Meet Our Staff: Joe Brentano
Capitol Visitor Center Coordinator
Joe Brentano is the Capitol Visitor Center Coordinator where he schedules and gives tours for groups ranging from Kansas students to International Military Officers to lifelong learners from all over the world. Joe enjoys engaging diverse audiences and learning more about their interests. He supervises both the Capitol Visitor Center staff and volunteers who ensure visitors have a great experience at the Capitol. One of his first assignments was to help create and give tours of the Capitol dome when it reopened to the public in 2006.

Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth. When not working Joe and his wife enjoy ballroom dancing, cooking for family and friends, and visiting historic and legacy sites throughout the nation, especially state capitols. He can honestly say that the Kansas State Capitol is the most beautiful! Take a video tour with Joe and enjoy his enthusiasm for the Capitol.
Don't Forget!
Student Photo Contest entries are accepted through December 15, 2021.

State historic sites offer guided tours. Assistance with admission and transportation costs are available at some. Look for a site in your area.
 
The Kansas Museum of History provides visual and hands-on learning opportunities for students of all ages.
 
A variety of virtual tours, videos, and Nearpod lessons are available to use in your classroom.  
 
Traveling resource trunks are available to borrow. Reserve one now for the school year.
Upcoming Professional
Development Opportunities
November 10, 2021; 7:00 p.m.; virtual event - Classroom Based Assessment Spotlight with the Kansas State Department of Education. Highlights available KSHS resources and how they can be used to create Classroom Based Assessments. Enter the meeting here. Use passcode "CBA" to enter.

November 13, 2021; 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.; Cherryvale - Kansas History, Government, and Social Studies for Museum Educators with the Southeast Kansas Museum Alliance at the Cherryvale Historical Museum

Shop online at our Museum Store and discover a variety of Kansas made items and historical resources. Members receive a 10% discount in the museum store.
Support the Kansas Historical Society and our educational programs by becoming a member. You will receive a quarterly magazine, discounts on merchandise, and free admission to the Kansas Museum of History and our historic sites.