Any recommendations on a laid-back "state study" (esp. engaging books) of the 50 states for an 8 year old?

[pehp]

My husband recently suggested that we introduce a 'states study' for our son (after husband was horrified to learn about how Americans seriously lack geographical knowledge of their own country).  I think it's a great idea!  But most of what I've seen online focuses on "state bird" and "state flower" which is all good and well but my husband wants to focus more on geographical features of each state and the role the state plays in the country overall.  We are pretty laid-back schoolers so formality and memorization are not going to be emphasized (and anyhow, my son is pretty good at geography thanks to Geopuzzles and my own desperate love of maps).  

 

So my question is--out there Somewhere, is there a nifty resource on the states that would fit the bill for us? I am almost daydreaming of something like Material World--pictorial, engaging, but containing some facts as well. My son is an excellent reader and has strong comprehension so it doesn't necessarily need to be something written to 8-year olds! 

 

Thanks!

[aaplank]

Have you watched the series "How the States Got their Shapes"? It's on Netflix.

A good follow up would be drawing maps by hand are the best way to go. A good atlas is all you need. You can use tracing paper at first to draw the general outline and then look on the atlas to draw in details. He could draw individual states or the whole U.S.

[pehp]

Have you watched the series "How the States Got their Shapes"? It's on Netflix.

A good follow up would be drawing maps by hand are the best way to go. A good atlas is all you need. You can use tracing paper at first to draw the general outline and then look on the atlas to draw in details. He could draw individual states or the whole U.S.

 

I have not--I will check it out!  Sounds like a good addition to our little program!

[shawthorne44]

Mine is still too young for this, but I've had an idea rolling around in the back of my brain.  I've lived in two states as a kid.   For both of them I had a little book, about the size of a comic book but maybe a little thicker which was a history of that state.  It was in the Usbourne style with lots of pictures and side-notes.  But, there was still lots of good information in there.  The idea rolling around in my brain is to get one of those books for every state, then make it a year-long study with a new state a week.   I have no idea on the publisher or brand-name of them.  

[purpleowl]

My girls are currently doing a states study. I made up a general worksheet with questions to explore for each state. The front side has things like state bird, state abbreviation, a map of the state where they need to put a star for the capital, a spot for them to sketch and color the state flag, etc. I go through that side with them together. The back has open-ended questions: what's something interesting that happened in this state, what would be something interesting to see or do in this state, who are some famous people from this state, and what's something else you learned. For that side, I give each of them a library book and they decide what answers they want to put down. It was pretty simple to set up; I just made up the general format and then found outline maps for each state, so that's the only thing to change each time. Oh, they also have a US outline map and they get to color in each state as we get to it.

 

Anyway, I figured I would share what I'm doing in case you want to do something similar, tweaked for the things you want to emphasize.

[Lori D.]

How about:

Smart About the Fifty States (Smart About History series)

or

The 50 States: Explore the USA with 50 Fact-Filled Maps (Balkan)

or

50 States: A State by State Tour of the USA (McHugh)

 

Along about grades 3-4, we really liked the Complete Book of Maps & Geography which covers each state in 1 page -- map outline, capital, where the state fits in with the rest of the US, and a handful of interesting factoids (and another 250 pages of loads of other great geography topics! :) ). You can see sample pages in that link -- the state pages are towards the end of the sample). There's also a Complete Book of US Presidents and States, but as I recall, we didn't care for that version as much, as it was not as interesting or as visual.

 

You might enjoy the Sheppard Software US Geography games (free, online). And puzzles with each piece in the shape of a state are GREAT for teaching state shapes and locations! :)

 

Read Aloud ideas (because of more text, higher vocabulary)

- Yo Sacramento -- memorize states and capitals, with fun facts

- Don't Know Much About the 50 States (Davis) -- fun facts

 

 

Edited January 20, 2016 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

 I had a little book, about the size of a comic book but maybe a little thicker which was a history of that state.  It was in the Usbourne style with lots of pictures and side-notes.  But, there was still lots of good information in there. …  I have no idea on the publisher or brand-name of them.  

 

Were those the Which Way USA series from Highlights magazine?

[happypamama]

I love:

-50 States and Where to Find Them, Barefoot Meandering

-Trail Guide to US Geography (go as brief or as deep as you like; I add any places that are of particular importance to our family to the map exercises)

-the individual state books from Sleeping Bear Press, like K is for Keystone -- can be used for a springboard for deeper studies or just a cursory look at each state

 

Also, Google Elizabeth Foss geography, as she has some good ideas too.

 

Oh, and The Scrambled States of America is a funny book too!

Edited January 21, 2016 by happypamama

[kbutton]

We are also using 50 States and Where to Find Them with an 8 y.o. He loves it. He learns the state by sight and in the context of the region, the capital, and the postal abbreviation. He draws a picture of something significant to the state's history from what we read in the guide or in an atlas. He colors the state flag. He outlines the state (it's drawn lightly), and then he labels the surrounding states, bodies of water, major cities, etc. from a map. The guide includes some other suggested reading, but we don't do that. He does about one state per week. 

[katilac]

My kids enjoyed the Which Way USA packets from HIghlights at around that age - maps, facts, puzzles. They´re not cheap, about $11 a month delivered for 2 states, but it´s open and go and pretty much covers everything you mentioned. 

 

Stack the States, cheap fun app 

 

Sheppard Software  online, free

 

 

[Arcadia]

My DS10 who reads at a slower speed used this book as a spine at that age and just read up more booke and other materials at his own pace.

 

National Geographic Kids Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas

http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Kids-Ultimate-Atlas/dp/1426309333

[rwilk]

-the individual state books from Sleeping Bear Press, like K is for Keystone -- can be used for a springboard for deeper studies or just a cursory look at each state

 

 

As a side note: Sleeping Bear Press alphabet books (ie K is for Keystone) are amazingly detailed and interesting. As part of a general geography study last year, we stumbled across D is for Desert and learned DD's favorite new word ("haboob"). 

[mommymonster]

This is a little OT, but my kids LOVE this video, and now have their states and capitols memorized without any sort of memorization tricks on my part ... other than playing the song once a day and letting them dance to it.

 

 

[Ellie]

Well, you could put up a map of the U.S. on a wall near where you eat or otherwise gather. :-) You might be amazed at the discussions that take place because someone is staring at the map while eating his Cheerios. :-)

 

When there's a reference to any state on TV (the news, a movie, anything will do), put a map tack in that state.

 

Read the Little House books and find the places where Laura lived. Ditto other books such as The Island of the Blue Dolphins, or Mr. Revere and I, or The Black Stallion--any book that takes place anywhere in the U.S. Ditto movies.

 

Naturally, you'd plan your next vacation on that map, or look for the grandparents' home, or the place where you grew up.

 

If you want something that looks more Official, you might like the Audio Memory songs.

 

[pehp]

Well, you could put up a map of the U.S. on a wall near where you eat or otherwise gather. :-) You might be amazed at the discussions that take place because someone is staring at the map while eating his Cheerios. :-)

 

When there's a reference to any state on TV (the news, a movie, anything will do), put a map tack in that state.

 

Read the Little House books and find the places where Laura lived. Ditto other books such as The Island of the Blue Dolphins, or Mr. Revere and I, or The Black Stallion--any book that takes place anywhere in the U.S. Ditto movies.

 

Naturally, you'd plan your next vacation on that map, or look for the grandparents' home, or the place where you grew up.

 

If you want something that looks more Official, you might like the Audio Memory songs.

 

I feel good b/c this is stuff we already do!  He's actually quite well-versed on geography in general (the midwest is a little hazy, because...it's the midwest...) ---he has gained a fair amount of general knowledge from the maps we already have + his geopuzzles +  our own travels) simply as a result of this...b/c it's basically how we school/learn.  I like to keep things low-key like this.  That's why I'm dreaming of a Material World-ish states book....shoot, I may have to just write it myself!! :) 

[pehp]

My girls are currently doing a states study. I made up a general worksheet with questions to explore for each state. The front side has things like state bird, state abbreviation, a map of the state where they need to put a star for the capital, a spot for them to sketch and color the state flag, etc. I go through that side with them together. The back has open-ended questions: what's something interesting that happened in this state, what would be something interesting to see or do in this state, who are some famous people from this state, and what's something else you learned. For that side, I give each of them a library book and they decide what answers they want to put down. It was pretty simple to set up; I just made up the general format and then found outline maps for each state, so that's the only thing to change each time. Oh, they also have a US outline map and they get to color in each state as we get to it.

 

Anyway, I figured I would share what I'm doing in case you want to do something similar, tweaked for the things you want to emphasize.

 

Thanks--I like this!!--this is probably what I'd end up doing, if I ended up doing anything formal-ish.  Actually I may have my husband do it--b/c he came up with the idea, and he'd do a better job at something like this than I would!  It would be nice to have a simple, homemade book that we can reference later. (Says the woman who never keeps anything. Hmm.)

Edited January 21, 2016 by pehp

[Ellie]

I feel good b/c this is stuff we already do!  He's actually quite well-versed on geography in general (the midwest is a little hazy, because...it's the midwest...) ---he has gained a fair amount of general knowledge from the maps we already have + his geopuzzles +  our own travels) simply as a result of this...b/c it's basically how we school/learn.  I like to keep things low-key like this.  That's why I'm dreaming of a Material World-ish states book....shoot, I may have to just write it myself!! :)

 

Well, there you go. :-)

[FawnsFunnyFarm]

We really love Which Way USA, they are expensive but if you watch ebay you can get them cheap.  I bought mine off of someone on Craigslist for under $70 which included shipping since they weren't local.  I just emailed the seller and said I was a homeschooler and really wanted them, if I paid extra for shipping and her time would she consider mailing them and she did without a problem.  

 

We also love the Complete Books of Maps and Geography posted above.

 

This year we joined a 50 state post card exchange on facebook.  It was fun getting a card from every state.  We plan on eventually hanging a huge map on the wall and surrounding it with postcards, we had started this but then I decided to paint that part of my house.  I took it down and it never got put back up there.  Maybe someday soon ;) 

 

Eat Your Way Around the USA is fun to add to anything!