Kansas Farm Livin

A WebQuest for 2nd grade

accompany classroom reading
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia McLaughlan
designed by
Michelle Allen

Introduction | Task | Process |Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

to
of

Introduction
The story Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia
MacLaughlan, is set in Kansas in 1910. Sarah
was from Maine and answered an ad asking for
a wife from a man she had never met before, in
a state that she had never visited. Sarah was
scared and missed her family and home state
of Maine. Kansas is very different from Maine.
The food Sarah ate was different, her chores
were different, and she had to get to know new
people and learn to love them.
As our class reads Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia
MacLaughlan, imagine how would you feel if you
were Sarah?
Lets go on a Webquest! You suddenly find
yourself to be a Kansas farm wife in the early
1900s! Proceed to the task section to follow in
Sarahs steps as you get used to your new life.

Task
During this WebQuest you will find out what it was like to live on a Kansas
farm in 1910. What did you eat? What did the land look like? What could
you buy in town?
Sarah finds herself learning the answers to these questions in each chapter
of Sarah, Plain and Tall. Lets learn along with her, as we read the book in
class and complete this WebQuest, to find out for ourselves what she
discovers!
You and your group will be learning lots about Kansas by discovering the
agriculture of this state located in the Midwestern region of the United States.
First, read the background knowledge articles at the of the Student
HandoutYour group will research what they grew on the farm as food? As a
group, you will use your map skills to compare and contrast the landforms of
the Great Plains. Your group will use a T-chart to present your findings.
Finally, your group will create a budget to buy presents in town.
Are you ready? Lets go!

Process
Task 1
Wanted: Wife
(Chapters 1-5)
1. Think about what it would
be like to live on a farm
during this time. Would
there be lots of chores to do
to in order have food to
eat? What chores did
women do?

uestions above, look at this diary from a farm wife on the Eyewitness to History website: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com

3. What kinds of foods did families eat in Kanas in the 1900s? Look at these two Kansas Historical Society
websites for the answers: http://www.kshs.org/p/food-in-kansas-2/18303
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/agriculture-in-kansas/14188
4. If Annas father was harvesting crops, would he have time to care for Anna and her brother?
Opinion Writing: Why do you think it was important for Annas father to remarry?

Task 2

Plowing the Fields (Chapters 6-7)

1. What is a plain? The word

plain is a noun. Write the
definition found online from
Websters dictionary.
Remember to look for the
definition that is a noun.
http://www.learnersdictionary.
com/definition/plain
2. Look at the map of Kanas to
the right; how much of the
land of Kansas is plains?
1/3, 2/3 or 3/3?

een a prairie and a plain? Write the answer you find here: http://www.differencebetween.com/differenc

www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/grassland

and contrast the landforms of hills and plains, both of which are present in Kansas (see legend on ma

Task 3

Going to Town

Most farm families in 1910 could grow their

own food. They also had cows and
chickens to give them milk and eggs.There
was also stores in town that sold these
items as well.
1. How much would butter and eggs cost in a general store during this time?
Click on this link and write down the price of butter per pound and the price of eggs per
dozen: http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/his/e_prices1.htm
2. How much would an unskilled female like Sarah expect to make in a job in 1910?
Click on this site and find unskilled female and write the annual (total per year) salary:
http://panam1901.org/visiting/salaries.htm Using the same website, what would that
salary be equal to in 2000 (hint the number in green)?
3. If you had $10 (or a months salary) and you needed to by 3 pounds of butter and 4
dozen eggs, how much money would you have left over for presents for your family?

Resources

Task 1:
http://tcpl.org/local-history/documents/itha
ca-tc/women-roots/lifestylesp19-27.pdf

Task 2:
http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/landfo
rms.htm

Task 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4mc7
oLpfM4

Evaluation
Rubric
Exemplar
y
3
4
TASK

All tasks were Most tasks

addressed
were
with careful
consideration. addressed

thoroughly.

Poor
1

Few tasked
were
addressed
thoroughly.

Work was
rushed and
incomplete.

TEAMWO
RK

The team worked The team had

It is evident that
together well, but trouble working
together;
the group worked could have used
together to create each others skill minimum
a final product.
to a more
collaboration
satisfying degree. occurred.

The final
product
shows not
cohesive
collaboration
.

RESEARC
H/
INTERNET
USE

Few links
Provided links Majority of links used
followed
used correctly.
correctly.
Minimum
correctly. No
Some
supervision
supervision
supervision
needed.
needed.
needed.

Needs supervision
to use suggested
Internet links and
find answers with
the sites.

GRAMMA
R,

The final
The final
product is free product has 1

The final
product has 3
or more

The final
product is 5 or

Conclusion
A job well done! You are now a 2nd grade student again! I hope you learned a lot about Kansas and the early
20th century. If you want to keep learning try the suggestions below at home!
Independent practice: Follow a recipe provided by the Kansas Historical Society to create a authentic meal from the
time period, draw a picture of the prairie where Sarah learned to plow, visit the Pink Palace Museum country store or
grocery and write down the prices of 10 items.

Credits & References

Images

Kansas town in 1910 http://www.kansashistory.us/fordco/graphics/frontst1879.jpg

Map of Kansas with legend http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Current/2007/Harbaugh/gifs/fig2B.jpg
Smiley face fractal- (creative commons licensure) https://pixabay.com/en/smiley-laugh-funny-cheerful-432563/
Woman milking a cow http://www.kshs.org/teachers/graphics/milking_cattle.jpg
Student Resources
Agriculture in Kansas. Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved from https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/agriculture-in-kansas/14188
Eck, S. 2001. Salaries in 1901. Doing the Pan. Retrieved from http://panam1901.org/visiting/salaries.htm
Eck, S. 2001. Other costs in 1901. Doing the Pan. Retrieved from http://panam1901.org/visiting/othercosts.htm
Farm Wife, 1900. Eyewitness to History. Retrieved from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/farmwife.htm
Farm wife-Local History. Tompkins Co. Public Library. Retrieved from
http://tcpl.org/local-history/documents/ithaca-tc/women-roots/lifestylesp19-27.pdf
Food in Kansas. Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved from http://www.kshs.org/p/food-in-kansas-2/18303
Grassland definition. Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/grassland
Income and Prices 1900-1999. U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany- http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/his/e_prices1.htm
Kid Size Shopping Trip Part 2: Learning to Budget Money. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4mc7oLpfM4
Landforms. Southern Kings Consolidated School. Retrieved from http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/landforms.htm
Plain definition. Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/plain
Prairie vs. Plain definition. Difference Between- http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-prairie-and-vs-plain/
Other Resources
Common Core Standards- http://www.corestandards.org/
Opinion Writing Worksheet- http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/posts/u133/images/opinion_writing_basic.jpg
Second Grade Lined Paper- second-grade-blank-writing-paper_663538.jpg
TN Department of Education- https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/academic-standards
WebQuest Template - The WebQuest Page - http://webquest.sdsu.edu/

The WebQuests Learning Objective(s)

Students will become knowledgeable about a period of time in

Kansas.

Students will be able to answer text dependent questions using

online resources.

Student will write an opinion paragraph and support their

answer with information from their research and from the
readings.

Students will interpret a legend on a map and answer questions

based on the map.

Students will compare and contrast landforms.

Students will create a budget and determine how much money

if left after buying items needed.

The WebQuests Curriculum Standard(s)

TN State Standards and Common Core
Standards
Standards
present in Task 1:

TN State Standards-Literature: Key Ideas and Details- 2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1
Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the
opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Standards present in Task 2:

TN State Standards- Social Studies: Geography- 2.16 Utilize legends, cardinal directions, and grids to determine locations on different
types of maps.
TN State Standards- Social Studies: Geography- 2.18 Compare physical features of the earth, including islands, lakes, mountains,
oceans,peninsulas, plains, plateaus, rivers, and valleys.
TN State Standards- Social Studies: Geography -2.19 Compare and contrast the regions of the United States (Southeast, Northeast,
GreatPlains, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest) in terms of climate, physical features, and
population.

Standards present in Task 2:

TN State Standards-Mathematics-Geometry: Reasoning with shapes- 2.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal
shares, describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc., and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds,
four fourths. Recognize that equal shares of identical wholes need not have
the same shape.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.G.A.3
Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third
of, etc., and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths. Recognize that equal shares of identical wholes need not have
the same shape.

Standards present in Task 3:

TN State Standards-Social Studies-Economics- 2.12 Describe the purpose of a budget and create a simple budget using money to buy
goods and services.