Kansas Day

Karen Hay, Kindergarten

Standards:
MU:Re7.2.Ka: Demonstrate how a specific music concept (such as beat or
melodic direction ) is used in music.
Standard #3: Societies are shaped by beliefs, idea, and diversity.

Objective:
Students will discriminate how the melodic direction of the Kansas State
song is symbolic for the state of Kansas, given the date the song was created
and when Kansas became a state in 1861. Students will perform the song as
a class.
Students will evaluate how they are part of a larger social and cultural group
by learning significant Kansas events, symbols, and the Kansas State song.
By the end of the week, students will draw and/or write 3 symbols about
Kansas.

Materials:
construction paper
sunflower, buffalo, meadowlark, Kansas flag and other symbols of Kansas
for coloring
trunk show from the Discovery Center in Manhattan, KS.
All About Kansas Worksheet
State song for Kansas, Home on the Range
Projector
S is for Sunflower, A Kansas Alphabet, by Devin Scillian
One Kansas Farmer, A Kansas Number Book, by Devin Scillian
Kansas, by W. Scott Ingram
http://ksh.org/kansapedia
http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=56567 , use
this website to play to different variations using different instruments.


Background for teachers: This would be a weeklong lesson during the
week of January 29 learning about Kansas, celebrating Kansas Day on Jan. 29 and
where we live, how it has changed over time, and how we as a society are part of a
larger social group, just like when we are school and are part of that social group.

Kansas became a state in January 29, 1861
State song: Home on the Range by Dr. Brewster Higley
State flower: Sunflower
State Tree: Cottonwood
State Motto: To the stars through difficulties
State Capital: Topeka, KS
Largest City: Wichita, KS
State Bird: Western Meadowlark
State Tree: Cottonwood
Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American Tribe that inhabited the
area.
Agriculture: wheat, sorghum, sunflowers
Livestock: cattle, bison, hogs, poultry
Football: Kansas City Chiefs
Baseball: Kansas City Royals


Steps in the lesson:

Introduction/Building Background Knowledge:

Weeklong lesson about the state of Kansas, creating a book about Kansas
while learning the history and symbols that are symbolic to Kansas, ending
with a celebration on Kansas Day.
Read each book listed on a different day, each one tells the history while the
students also gain language arts, math, social studies and science from each
one. One day would also be using the website http://ksh.org/kansapedia to
learn other information more in depth.
Question: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think
about Kansas? Ask for responses.
Music Integration: Learning 2-3 verses of Home on Range, the Kansas state
song. Learning the melodic direction and how it relates to tempo, and the
"nature" of Kansas at the time it was written, being a slower paced lifestyle
compared to faster pace lifestyles in big cities.

Body:

1. Begin the week by reading one of the books about Kansas and have students
start creating their Book about Kansas for the week.

2. Begin learning Home on the Range, 2-3 verses. This will be practiced daily to
help learn the song.

3. Give and discuss background information about the state song and how it came
about.

The poem was first published in a December 1873 issue of the Smith County
Pioneer under the title "Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam".
The music was written by a friend of Higley, Daniel Kelly(18451905).
Higley's original words are similar to those of the song today, but not
identical. The song was adopted by settlers, cowboys, and others and spread
across the United States in various forms. During the early 20th century, it
was arranged by Texas composer David Guion (18921981), who is often
credited as the composer. It was officially adopted as the state song of
Kansas on June 30, 1947, and is commonly regarded as the unofficial
anthem of the American West.
In contrast to the lyrics, no actual antelope species is native to the Americas;
the pronghorn is often called an antelope, however.
4. Have a discussion about the melodic direction of Home on the Range, melody
or pertaining to the melody as distinguished by harmony and rhythm. After
listening to just the music of the song using the website:

http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=56567

so the students can hear it played using different instruments and how those
instruments change it and how this sets the "stage" for the feel of Kansas and
life during the times when this song was written.

Discuss how each verse is different and talks about the different things that
have become symbolic to the state of Kansas and how as a person, while you
live here, these same things become part of your social culture.

5. From previously learned information about Kansas, discuss how this song
seems fitting to the times and the lifestyles/cultures that were forming of Kansas
that are now symbolic to Kansas. Discussion of all the verses can be done or some
of the easier ones, clarify words and their meaning.
6. Begin practicing the song. Listen to it as it sung, and then have the words on
the overhead for the students to see to start learning the song.
7. Practice rehearsing the song every day. Note how the song ties into different
things learned each day about the state of Kansas and the symbolism and this
relates to their culture that they are a part of due to living in Kansas.
Closure:
1. On the final day, celebration day, have the students perform Home on the
Range. Invite parents for the celebration and performance. Have students share
their books about Kansas.
2. Students will draw and/or write 3 symbols about Kansas that have been
discussed throughout the week.


Assessment (linked directly to objectives):
1. Assessment will be based on observation and listening to the students
discussion about the song Home on the Range. How does the song and melody or
rhythm effect the song and how this song is relates to the culture of Kansas.

2. Assessment for Social Studies: Students will draw and/or write 3 symbols
about Kansas that have been discussed throughout the week.

Adaptations/Extensions (include at least one strategy for
differentiation):
Students can learn movement, use instruments, or body percussions to help
facilitate the rhythm of the song.
A student can also be in charge of video recording the class.

Rationale: Why is it important that students learn my lesson?
What will they gain from my content?
I believe that in the Junction City/Ft. Riley community, because it is such a
transient community, that it is important for the students to learn about the culture
that they are a part of. There tends to be a big misconception that there really isn't
a "culture in Kansas" when in fact Kansas plays a very important role in our
history of the United States. Learning about Kansas gives the students a sense of a
large community that they are a part of while living here and to help them grow as
a person.



Next Steps/ Connections to Other Subjects: What lesson will
come next? How will you build on this learning?
Since this lesson would span over an entire week, the different books and
websites I have included allow for language arts, science, and diversity
lessons to be learned all to facilitate the learning that the students are a part
of many different types of cultures/communities other than the immediate
ones.























All About Kansas

Nickname:_______________________________
Capital:_________________________________
Natural Resources
__________________ __________________
__________________ __________________
Agriculture
__________________ ___________________
__________________ ___________________

Fun Fact: ________________________________
_________________________________________

Fun Fact: ________________________________
_________________________________________

The Kansas State Song
Home On the Range
words by Dr. Brewster Higley, music by Dan Kelly
VERSE 1
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not clouded all day.

CHORUS
A home, a home where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not clouded all day.

VERSE 2
Oh, give me the gale of the Solomon vale,
Where life streams with buoyancy flow,
On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever
Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

VERSE 3
Oh, give me the land where the bright diamond sand
Throws its light from the glittering stream
Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

VERSE 4
I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours;
I love too the wild curley's scream,
The bluffs and white rocks and antelope flocks
That graze on the hillsides so green.

VERSE 5
How often at night, when the heavens are bright
With the light of the glittering stars,
Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds this of ours.

VERSE 6
The air is so pure, the breezes so free,
The zephyrs so balmy and light,
I would not exchange my home here to range
Forever in azure so bright.