Kansas Map

Have students locate the Kansas map on the sheet.  On the map provided have students find the county they live in and have students color with school color. Depending on the age of your students you may want to put a star on the county before you print copies. Have students share what towns their friends live in or what large cities are located in Kansas. This is an opportunity to find other important places in the state, like Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City. Where is their favorite college town located? For older students use this map to identify the surrounding states and to reference which direction is north, south, east and west.

State Symbols

Throughout the “Kansas Agriculture” page students will find Kansas symbols. Talk to the students about our flag and show them your classroom flag. Where might they see the Kansas flag?

Look at the animals on the page and talk about them. Have them enjoy coloring the symbols. Can they find the box turtle?

• State Flower-Sunflower-between state mottos
• State Tree-Cottonwood-top left corner
• State Mammal-Buffalo-top right corner
• State Insect-Bumble Bee-left side
• State Reptile-Box Turtle-behind the box that asks “What does Ad Astra Per Aspera” mean?
• State Amphibian-Barred Tiger Salamander-under the buffalo

Use the following links to familiarize yourself with these symbols or share links with your older students and have them present their findings in class.

• Symbols of Kansas | State Symbols USA-has videos.
• Kansas State Symbols – Kansapedia – Kansas Historical Society (kshs.org)-has actual dates of when they were claimed as state symbols.
• Kansas Pictures and Facts (nationalgeographic.com)– this is a fun website your kids can explore.

Match 6

Have the students match the six crop names to the plants. These are the most common crops grown in Kansas. Agriculture is the largest industry in the state and these crops are used to produce many products we use every day. Below is a short list of what each crop is used for after it is harvested.

• Corn (second on left side)-livestock feed, fuel, cereal, corn syrup, corn oil, corn starch, corn meal
• Cotton (second on the right side)-clothing, bedding, toys, curtains, many other items
• Wheat (bottom on the left side)-bread, biscuits, cake, animal feed
• Sunflower (bottom on the right side)-oil, animal feed
• Sorghum but also called milo (top on the left side)-animal feed
• Soybeans (top on the right side)-animal feed, oil, food

Ad Astra Per Aspera

The motto for Kansas is “Ad Astra Per Aspera.” It is Latin and translates to “To the stars through difficulties.”  It was coined by John James Ingalls in 1861 and reflects the aspirations of Kansas to reach the unattainable and the impossible. It is believed that the hardships the first settlers went through to get to Kansas would be rewarded with land and they would prosper.

• What do you think were some of the hardships that the settlers faced?
• Do you think Kansas settlers were rewarded with land and prospered?
• 1861, how many years ago was that?
• How has Kansas changed since 1861?

State Seal

There are two seals. In the blank seal you can have your students draw what they feel Kansas means to them or they can try their hand at making a new seal for our state and using images that represent Kansas today. Another option is to have students draw what agriculture looks like today and compare their drawing to 1861 agriculture.

Top 5

There are many agriculture products grown in Kansas, the word scramble focuses on the top 5. The first answer is cattle.  Kansas ranks as one of the top three states in the United States in raising/feeding cattle.  This is why so much corn and other grains are grown in Kansas.  There are a lot cattle to feed. As a hint when completing the word scramble “all but the first one is already listed on the page.”  Answer key:

• Cattle
• Corn
• Wheat
• Sorghum
• Soybeans

Helping the Animals Find their Food!

There are many different animals on the farm. In this section talk about the needs of animals such as food, water, air, shelter and space. Can the students identify which feeding location goes with each animal?

• Feed bunk- cow
• Dog bowl- dog
• Feeder- chicken

Note what the chicken is saying “we all have corn in our food.” Talk about the importance of a healthy diet for humans and that animals need a healthy diet too. A cow and chicken may eat grass, but they need other food too like corn to stay healthy. You can extend the learning by having older students brainstorm careers at agexplorer.ffa.org that go along with each of the animals such:

• Animal nutritionist
• Farm technician
• Feed/grain operator
• Production manager

Deliver Corn to Storage

After harvest, a farmer will deliver their corn to a storage location. This storage location can be on their own farm or at a company who has their own storage. The grain will be stored in the bins until it is ready to be sold or used. Once sold or ready to be used it may travel by truck, train or boat to the final location. Most of Kansas’ corn is used to feed livestock and to make ethanol fuel for our vehicles. Some of our grain is exported overseas by boat to be used to feed livestock and to make fuel.

Word Search

Have fun with the word search! Before the students begin, talk about each word and how they are used on the farm.

• Corn- raised to be used for livestock feed, to make fuel or other products.
• Combine- used to collect grain from the field such as wheat, corn, soybeans and sorghum.
• Truck- used to haul grain and other products on the farm.
• Tractor- used to pull other equipment like planters, grain carts, feed wagons, etc.

How many corn kernels can you find?

Have the students trace around the ear of corn. Explain that this is where they would find corn kernels. Did they know that most of the corn grown in Kansas is called dent corn also known as field corn? The corn we eat from the store is sweet corn. Dent corn is harvested when it is hard and called a grain. It is used for products like feeding livestock, making fuel, etc.

There are 13 corn kernels hidden on this page. This is a great time to discuss other things they may find on the farm. Have them enjoy coloring what they find.

Printout of how dent corn is used: