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Social studies activity

Kansas's Story: Sunflowers, Sodbusters & the Wheat Capital of the World

Kansas is so flat and windy that the wind never stops blowing. Settlers who moved there found something amazing — and something overwhelming — about all that open space. Let's make a sunflower and explore what it feels like to be somewhere with no trees, no hills, and sky going forever in every direction.

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Kansas is so flat and windy that the wind never stops blowing. Settlers who moved there found something amazing — and something overwhelming — about all that open space. Let's make a sunflower and explore what it feels like to be somewhere with no trees, no hills, and sky going forever in every direction.

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Tear or cut yellow paper into petal shapes and glue them around a brown circle to make a sunflower.
  2. Blow on your sunflower — 'That's the Kansas wind! It blows ALL the time on the prairie.'
  3. Ask: 'If you moved somewhere with NO trees, NO hills, and you could see for MILES in every direction, how would you feel?' Let your child answer.
  4. Say: 'Some settlers loved the open sky. Some felt so lonely and amazed that they wrote letters home about it. The prairie was beautiful AND overwhelming at the same time.'
  5. Hold your sunflower up and spin around slowly: 'This is Kansas — open in every direction!'

Learning objectives

  • Wonder at what it might feel like to be on a vast flat prairie with no trees or shelter
  • Notice that the same landscape can feel both beautiful and overwhelming
  • Ask: why would some people love open space and others find it hard to get used to?

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

When settlers moved to the Kansas prairie, there were almost no trees — so they had a serious problem: what do you build a house from with no wood? Their solution was genius and a little gross. They cut the thick prairie ground into bricks — called sod — and stacked them like giant dirt Legos. Sod houses were warm in winter and cool in summer. But they also had one BIG problem. Can you guess what it was?

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Show a picture of a sod house. Ask: 'What do you notice? How is this different from your home?'
  2. Ask: 'If your house was made of dirt and grass, what problems might happen when it rains? When bugs come? When the grass keeps growing?'
  3. Go outside and find dirt and grass (or use playdough). Mold small flat brick shapes.
  4. Stack the 'sod bricks' to build a tiny house wall. Ask: 'Is this strong? What makes it hold together?'
  5. Write or dictate: 'Pioneers built sod houses because _____. The problem with sod houses was _____.'

Learning objectives

  • Explain why pioneers built sod houses — no trees — and how they built them
  • Identify at least one problem with living in a sod house (leaking, insects, grass growing from the ceiling)
  • Understand that pioneers adapted creatively to their environment using only what was available

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Kansas is called the 'Wheat State' for a reason: it grows enough wheat each year to bake 36 BILLION loaves of bread — enough to give every person on Earth five loaves! Dodge City was once the wildest cowboy town in the West, with more cattle passing through than any other town in America. And did you know The Wizard of Oz is set in Kansas? Create a 'Kansas Records' poster celebrating the state's amazing achievements and surprising facts.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Write 'KANSAS RECORDS' at the top of your paper in big letters.
  2. Draw a giant wheat field in the center. Write: 'Kansas grows enough wheat each year to bake 36 BILLION loaves of bread. That is about 5 loaves for every person on Earth!'
  3. Add a section about Dodge City: draw a cowboy town with cattle. Write: 'In the 1870s and 80s, Dodge City was the busiest cattle shipping point in the world. Cowboys drove herds of longhorn cattle hundreds of miles to reach it.'
  4. Add a Wizard of Oz corner: draw a tornado and a farmhouse. Write: 'The most famous story set in Kansas is The Wizard of Oz. Author L. Frank Baum said Kansas's flat landscape inspired the story.'
  5. Add a 'Did You Know?' box: 'Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was born in Atchison, Kansas!'
  6. Write at the bottom: 'The most surprising Kansas fact I learned was _____.'

Learning objectives

  • State at least three remarkable Kansas facts with specific numbers or details
  • Explain why Kansas became the cattle-shipping capital of the 1870s West
  • Connect Kansas to well-known cultural touchstones like The Wizard of Oz and Amelia Earhart
  • Practice representing information visually in a poster format

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Kansas holds a record almost no state can match: it grows more wheat than any other U.S. state — enough to bake 36 billion loaves of bread per year. But Kansas's history is also full of pivotal political moments. In the 1850s, Kansas was at the center of one of the biggest debates in American history: should new states be allowed to have slavery or not? Both sides flooded the territory with settlers trying to win a vote, creating such turmoil that the territory was nicknamed 'Bleeding Kansas.' The debate in Kansas was a preview of a much larger national conflict. Analyze why one prairie territory became the flashpoint for an entire nation's argument.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Research the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: who proposed it, what exactly did it say, and what earlier agreement did it replace (the Missouri Compromise's 36°30' line)? Write a one-paragraph summary.
  2. Research 'popular sovereignty': what did this term mean, and why did Senator Stephen Douglas think it was a democratic solution? Write the strongest version of his argument.
  3. Research the specific sequence of events in Kansas 1854-1861: rival governments, competing constitutions, the town of Lawrence, and John Brown's activities. Write two to three sentences on each event — focusing on the political and economic stakes rather than graphic details.
  4. The dilemma: You are in Congress in 1854. The Missouri Compromise has held for 34 years. Douglas wants to repeal it for popular sovereignty. Do you vote yes or no? Write your reasoning — and try to think from 1854, not knowing what comes after.
  5. Write a 5-7 sentence persuasive paragraph: was the Kansas-Nebraska Act a reasonable compromise or the single decision that made the Civil War inevitable? Argue one side using specific evidence.
  6. Connection: Amelia Earhart was born in Kansas. So was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who commanded the Allied forces in World War II and later became President. What does Kansas's history of producing bold, consequential people tell you about the state's character?
  7. In the 1870s cattle drovers pushed longhorns up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas, where cattle bought for $4 in Texas sold for about $40. If you drive 1,000 head and lose 50 on the trail, calculate your revenue and profit after paying 10 cowboys $30 each for the trip. Would you do it again next year?
  8. Kansas wheat farmers use combine harvesters that cut, thresh, and clean grain in one pass. Draw a combine and label the header, threshing drum, and grain tank. If a combine harvests 10 acres per hour and a field is 160 acres, how long does it take? Sketch one upgrade a farmer might want.

Learning objectives

  • Explain the Kansas-Nebraska Act, popular sovereignty, and what they replaced
  • Evaluate Stephen Douglas's argument on its own terms — the strongest case FOR popular sovereignty
  • Describe the sequence of political events in Kansas 1854-1861 with specific evidence
  • Write a persuasive paragraph arguing whether the Act made the Civil War inevitable
  • Connect historical political conflict to Kansas's broader identity and notable figures

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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