William Allen White: A Legend in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
When people think back in history about important people in the journalism world, some of the people who come to mind might be Joseph Pulitzer or William Randolph Hearst. However, in Emporia, Kansas, the newspaper man from history that everyone knows is William Allen White. William Allen White is somewhat of a legend in Emporia with a William Allen White Library, an elementary school named after him, and a book reward given out every year in his name. White was owner and editor of the Emporia Gazette, a newspaper that is still around today. In addition, he is a writer of several books, and a Pulitzer prize winner. He also was actively involved in politics during his life. Since I currently work in Emporia, I took some time this summer to visit William Allen White’s house.
The first place I went when I arrived at White’s house was the welcome center. There is a video for visitors to watch and there is information provided about White’s career as a newspaper owner, editor, writer, and politician. Then, a guide took me into White’s house right into the living room, which is beautifully decorated. I was especially fascinated by the wood work. I then moved on to the second floor. The second floor has bedrooms as well as White’s office. His office has books that belonged to him on the bookshelves. After coming back downstairs, I saw the kitchen and pantry that looks like it did the last time it was used. Lastly, I went outside to see his car, which has been kept up and is pretty impressive.
Resources
Newsela- Newsela provides articles for language arts, science, and math at different reading levels. Consequently, teachers and parents can look at a topic and have their students/children read at each of their reading levels.
PBS Journalism in Action- This website looks at journalism over time. It looks at some key events in American history where journalism played a key part. The website also has an educator’s guide that includes good resources.
World Teen- This website has articles that look at current events through a Biblical worldview.
Science News Explores- A website that has a variety of current science news articles.
William Allen White Children's Book Award- This website provides information about this book award.
Newsies: The Musical- A musical about how the newsies stood up to Joseph Pulitzer. I saw this musical on Broadway in New York City. Definitely one of my favorite musicals.
Activities
Recognizing Author’s Purpose in Newspaper Articles- Students choose a current event and look at newspaper articles focusing on that event in several different newspapers or online news outlets. Some examples of newspapers and online outlets might include local newspapers, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, FoxNews, and the BBC. The more diverse the variety of newspapers are the better. Point out to the students that all of these news sources are focusing on the same event. However, each new source might have a different purpose by how they write the news articles. What are some of the differences they see in how the news articles have been written? What words are the writers using and what feelings are they trying to invoke? There was once a time that I would have said this would be more appropriate for secondary students, but since students today have grown up on 24 news availability, I think this activity could be done with upper elementary students. This activity could lend itself to a discussion and/or a writing activity.
Writing a Newspaper Article- Students can write newspaper articles based on a day in history, an event from a novel, or an event in their daily life. The key is to help students understand that they are looking at the event as a reporter, reporting the facts. They can get creative and use comments from other people. For example, if they are writing about an event in a novel, they can either use comments made in the novel by other characters or they can pretend that a character made a specific comment based on what they know about that character. Students can create there own set up for their articles and newspaper, or there are many templates available online that students can use, although not all the templates will be free.
A tip from someone who has been there.
White’s daughter died in a horse riding accident when she was 16. White donated land for a historic park that is called Peter Pan Park in her memory. Peter Pan Park has a disc golf course, a splash pad, a playground, a lake, sports courts/fields, picnic tables, and shelters. If you come to Emporia to see his house, why not go all in and visit the park that White made possible.
