Whether you would like to prepare your class for a visit to Fort Larned or to study the fort from the classroom, the lesson plans provided here may be a useful toolkit.

"Life at Fort Larned" is a curriculum-based lesson plan for 6th through 8th grade based on the "intersection" between the relevant Kansas benchmarks and Fort Larned's principle interpretive themes. The Kansas Department of Education Social Studies curriculum specialist and several Kansas teachers helped develop this lesson plan. The lesson plan helps acquaint students with the origins of Fort Larned before focusing in depth on what life was like for those who lived on or near the fort.

This plan can be used with students who are actually planning an on-site visit to Ft. Larned or as a self contained classroom activity. Teachers may use all of the lessons for a multi-day unit or just focus on one of the featured groups of people for a single day lesson. If you would like to plan a visit to the fort, see Reservations. 

The Virtual Trunk consists of photographs related to the Being an Historical Investigator activity. We are currently working on making more images available. Teachers are invited to suggest what pictures you would like to see in the Virtual Trunk.

Lesson Plans for "Life at Fort Larned"

• Overview (.pdf) - Start with this introduction to the lesson plans.
• Being an Historical Investigator (.pdf)
• Economics of Living at Fort Larned (.pdf)
• Racial Segregation at Fort Larned (.pdf)
• A Woman's Place at Fort Larned (.pdf)
• Different Cultures and Points of View (.pdf)
• Read Kansas Card - Fort Larned (.pdf)
• Life at Fort Larned - Assessment (.pdf)
• Life at Fort Larned - Assessment Answers (.pdf)