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Read Kansas! Middle School - M-13 All Eyes on Kansas Territory

The purpose of this lesson is to give the students an understanding of how important the events in Kansas Territory were to the nation. This can be used for Kansas or United States history. The students will use a primary source document (a newspaper article from 1858) and work cooperatively to summarize and organize the information found in the article. The lesson is presented as a two-day lesson but can be adjusted to meet the individual needs of each classroom. Select each image to see a PDF with the front and back of each card.

M-13  All Eyes on Kansas Territory M-13  All Eyes on Kansas

mp3 audio                                                                 mp3 audio

Lesson plan

Kansas History, Government and Social Studies Standards:

Standard #3: Societies are shaped by beliefs, ideas, and diversity.

  • 3.2: The student will draw conclusions about significant beliefs, contributions, and ideas, analyzing the origins and context under which these competing ideals were reached and the multiple perspectives from which they come.
  • 3.3: The student will investigate specific beliefs, contributions ideas, and/or diverse populations and connect those beliefs, contributions, ideas and/or diversity to contemporary issues. (Possible extension)

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards:

  • RH.6-8.2: The student determines the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
  • SL. 7.1:  The student will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
  • SL.7.5: The student will include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.