Curriculum areas:
Language Arts: reading & literature, writing, vocabulary and spelling
Science: biology, geography & mapping, botany, agriculture, weather
Social Studies: history
Math: measurement (recipes, the size of things in the stories)
Art: making sunflowers, drawing illustrations, creating tall tale characters, building a prairie schooner.
Music: sing "Home on the Range" and Katie’s version of it, and other pioneer songs.
See these internet links for resources on the themes in the books, too. 
      There are links to websites for nearly every element listed on this page.
See our Teacher and Librarian Resource pages for many more classroom and library ideas for these books.

Curriculum Elements in Johnny Kaw:
Geography: Kaw River, Westport, Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, Santa Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, Chisholm Trail, Dust Bowl
History: Westport, prairie schooner, pioneers, Santa Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, Chisholm Trail,
   scythe, wheat cradle,  Dust Bowl, soddy
Kansas animals:  catfish, jayhawk (not real, but still a Kansas animal!), wildcat
Kansas weather:  tornado
Kansas plants and crops:  wheat, wheat cradle, scythe, sunflowers, dandelions, potatoes,  
   (there are different kinds or sunflowers and potatoes; how big they can get?), cottonwood
   tree
Kansas Symbols:  jayhawk, sunflowers, cottonwood
Tall Tale Characters:  Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox, Finn McCool, Pecos Bill
Pioneer Food: buffalo (real name: bison), potatoes, flapjacks, molasses (most kids don’t
   know what it is)
Other: the Johnny Kaw statue

Curriculum Elements in Kansas Katie:
Geography: Westport, walking over the map of Kansas
History:  post rocks, barbed wire fences, soddy, Home on the Range, walking West
Kansas animals: cattle, meadowlark, blue jay
Kansas plants and crops: prairie grasses, cattails, cottonwood trees, sunflowers
Kansas Symbols: sunflowers, meadowlark, cottonwood
Tall Tale Characters: Paul Bunyan, Johnny Kaw
Food: Sunflower seed oil, bread, cookies (cookie recipe in book)
Other: buttercups