Studying the 50 States is something my girls alway enjoyed when they were young, and was one subject that with the wealth resources, many of which are free, I had no problem formulating with little to no effort. But to aid you in that process, I'm going to share them with you! Since I've already done the leg-work, I figure why not pass it along! I hope that this will inspire you to take off on a cross-country journey yourself and learn about the places and people that make up our great country!
On the first day of school I hand my child a copy of
this map of the United States and have them list the states that they know. This is a fun activity to do at the beginning of the year and then repeat again at the end, It is always exciting when they compare both maps and realize how much they have learned! Just be sure to reassure your child at the beginning of the year that you don't expect them to know very many of the states and it doesn't matter if they are only able to label a few! Then again, you might be surprised by how many they do know!
For the binder I purchased a simple white three ring notebook with a clear view pocket on the front. I then printed a
labeled map of the United States and put it in the clear pocket on the front of the binder. As we study each state you can then have them color in or cut and paste a matching piece for each state they study. By the end of the year the front of her binder will be bright and colorful!
The first page in our 50 States binder is a sheet I made using the information from
this website, which just lists each state, state abbreviation, capital and date of succession. This is a good quick reference page.
Behind this page we begin our pages for each state. We study the states in their order of succession, beginning with Delaware and ending with Hawaii. My original plan was to cover two states per week, but there were weeks when were only able study one. Choose the pace that is right for you. To introduce each state we play a little game using the
Mystery State resources from Education World. This is a fun way to learn a few quick facts about the featured state right up front.
Another thing we do, is to write the Department of Tourism for each state and ask if they could send us some brochures, catalogs and a postcards about their state. Usually if you explain that you are homeschooling family and you are learning about the 50 States, they are more than happy to send you some information. Getting the packages in the mail and seeing all the neat things they send is a lot of fun. A few of the states we wrote to even sent magnets and bookmarks. You may either choose to send a form letter or have your students write the letters themselves, which in turn, will reinforce their penmanship, grammar and writing skills. You can find the websites and contact information for each state's tourism department,
here.
While we were waiting for our packages to arrive, and be forewarned that occasionally you won't get a response, we do some worksheets from a several different websites.
First, you can print out a map of each state
here, and
here. I like to use the first map, from Education Place to do something similar to the map of the United States we do for our cover, and have the student color it in. And then we use the map from Enchanted Learning as a reference for highlighting major cities, lakes and rivers. Also be sure to have your child color in t the state you are currently studying on the map on the front of their binder. This helps to reinforce where the state in located.
For facts about each state, you will find that information
here (be sure to look for a coloring page for the state stamp at
this site. and learn more about Greetings from America,
here!) and here. Younger children could use this information to fill in
this book (site requires membership, but is WELL worth the cost!). If you don't want to pay for a membership, then you might find some of
these resources useful. Older children could write a report on each state, and you find some information on what to include and a rubric,
here. For younger children you might also enjoy
these coloring pages from Crayola.
Another fun activity, and one that we did, is to collect the state quarters! You will find some fun coloring and activity pages for these,
here. There are also a number of lesson plans for all grade levels,
here.
And
here's a little interesting kick for your curriculum, the super graphics that you find on the side of UHaul trucks has its very own website and coloring pages, with more fun facts and information about each state.
Hopefully by now you see how easy it is to find FREE resources that are both fun and educational and will teach your children about the great states in our country! This list is by no means exhaustive, and I already have plans for a follow up post with links to every MORE resources, carefully curated and organized for your use!
Enjoy the journey!
