This post is from Our Journey Westward © 2006-2014 Cindy West. All rights reserved.
After our 1st grade trip Around the World last year, 2nd grade finds us touring our great country of the United States of America.
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Around the USA Study
Our brief stops in each state will begin with living literature “tour guide(s)” who will introduce us to important historical and geographical highlights. When appropriate, we’ll add some of the interesting people and events we learn about to our ongoing timeline. And before leaving each state, we’ll fill out a passport, adding the appropriate state flag and license plate to the passport page.
Living Literature “Tour Guides”
You can find a bazillion non-fiction books describing each state on the shelves of your local library. While we will read some of those, my intention is to enjoy living biographies or historical fiction appropriate for middle elementary as well. Those are a tad harder to find since they often aren’t cataloged by the state they represent which is why I’ve pulled them together in a handy list. You’ll even notice some of them are easy readers that my little guy might even be able to read himself this year.
Alabama
Helen Keller: Courage in the Dark by Johanna Hurwitz
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki
Alaska
Balto and the Great Race by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Arizona
Alejandro’s Gift by Richard Albert
Big Moon Tortilla by Joy Cowley
Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert by Kathleen Zoehfeld
Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Arkansas
Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac
California
Boom Town by Sonia Levitin
Picking Cotton by Sherley Ann Williams
Pop’s Bridge by Eve Bunting
Redwoods by Jason Chin
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
Colorado
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
High as a Hawk by T.A. Barron
Connecticut
26 Fairmont Avenue by Tomie dePaola
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Delaware
When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney
District of Columbia
By the Dawn’s Early Light by Steven Kroll
Clara Barton: Spirit of the American Red Cross by Patricia Lakin
Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America by Kathi Appelt
Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Florida
Hurricanes by Gail Gibbons
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon by Judy Donnelly
Sam the Sea Cow by Francine Jacobs
Sunken Treasure by Gail Gibbons
Georgia
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree Mitchell
Hawaii
Maka, the Magic Music Maker by Shannon Scott
Idaho
The Boy Who Invented the TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull
Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell
Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression by Kate Lied
Illinois
Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner
Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
Saving Strawberry Farm by Deborah Hopkinson
Indiana
The Floating House by Scott Russell Sanders
Iowa
Cora Frear by Susan Goodman
Kate Shelley and The Midnight Express by Margaret Wetterer
McBroom Tells the Truth by Sid Fleischman
Kansas
The Bravest of Us All by Marsha Arnold
Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon
Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner
Kentucky
Perfect Timing: How Isaac Murphy Became One of the World’s Greatest Jockeys by Patsi Trollinger
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
That Book Woman by Heather Henson
Louisiana
Petite Rouge by Mike Artell
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Maine
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
Maryland
Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later by Elizabeth Howard
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling
Massachusetts
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin
The Hatmaker’s Sign by Candace Fleming
A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry
Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley
The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
Michigan
An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
Eat My Dust! Henry Ford’s First Race by Monica Culling
The Log Cabin Quilt by Ellen Howard
Minnesota
The Biggest Bear by Lynn Ward
Marven of the Great North Woods by Kathryn Lasky
Mississippi
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
River Town by Bonnie Geisert
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
Missouri
How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer
Ragtime Tumpie by Alan Schroeder
Montana
Cowboy Charlie by Jeanette Winter
Mountain Town by Bonnie Geisert
Prairie Town by Bonnie Geisert
Nebraska
Dandelions by Eve Bunting
Elsie’s Bird by Jane Yolen
Nora’s Chicks by Patricia Maclachlan
Nevada
Desert Town by Bonnie Geisert
The Hoover Dam by Jeffery Zuehlke
The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell
New Hampshire
The Bear that Heard Crying by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
The Farm Summer 1942 by Donald Hall
New Jersey
The Ballot Box Battle by Emily Arnold McCully
Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Sasha
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta
New Mexico
Carlos and the Squash Plant by Jan Stevens
Coyotes All Around by Stuart Murphy
Georgia O’Keeffe by Mike Venezia
New York
The Babe and I by David Adler
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Maker’s Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Stone
The Flower Hunter: William Bartram America’s First Naturalist by Deborah Kogan Ray
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift
The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers by Mordecai Gerstein
The Snow Walker by Margaret Wetterer
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
North Carolina
First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers by George Shea
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Weatherford
Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan
North Dakota
A Prairie Boy’s Summer by William Kurelek
A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
Ohio
Lentil by Robert McCloskey
Rudy Rides the Rails: A Depression Era Story by Dandi Mackall
Warm as Wool by Scott Russell Sanders
Oklahoma
Angels in the Dust by Margot Raven
Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner
Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac
Oregon
Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
Only Opal by Jane Whiteley
Pennsylvania
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Homespun Sarah by Verla Kay
Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
Raising Yoder’s Barn by Jane Yolen
Rhode Island
Katie’s Trunk by Ann Turner
William’s House by Ginger Howard
The New Americans: Colonial Times 1620-1689 by Betty Maestro
South Carolina
Arabella by Wendy Orr
Knockin’ On Wood: Starring Peg Leg Bates by Lynne Barasch
Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue
This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson
South Dakota
Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner
So, You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George
Tennessee
Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston
Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog by Eva Moore
Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
Texas
Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett
Buffalo Music by Tracey Fern
Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg
Utah
Iron Horses by Verla Kay
Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser
The Wheat Doll by Alison Randall
Vermont
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Sugaring by Jesse Haas
Virginia
George Washington and the General’s Dog by Frank Murphy
Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay
James Towne: Struggle for Survival by Marcia Sewall
Washington
Davy’s Dream: A Young Boy’s Adventure with Wild Orca Whales by Owen Lewis
Seaman’s Journal by Patricia Eubank
The Sun, the Wind and the Rain by Lisa Westburg Peters
West Virginia
Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story by Anna Egan Smucker
In Coal Country by Judith Hendershot
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Wisconsin
Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Harry Houdini: Escape Artist by Patricia Lakin
Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson
Wyoming
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express by Eleanor Coerr
I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda White
Jackson Pollock by Mike Venezia
Leah’s Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich
If you know of wonderful picture books that go-along with particular states, I’d love for you to share in the comments!
If you enjoy using living literature in your homeschool, I’ve compiled several fabulous lists for you.
Memory Fun
Throughout the year-long study, lots of fun practice will take place to help Eli remember all this wonderful history and geography. We’re using puzzles, online games, card games and more:
Puzzle Map
Online Quizzes
Technology Rocks links several games
Board & Card Games
Printable Games
State Bingo
State Symbol Matching
Apps
Mapping Practice
Map Munching
Landmark Mapping
Songs & Videos
50 States Video
Wakko’s America Song
Marilyn’s 50 States Song
Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning is important in our homeschool because it works so well to internalize concepts. Below are the projects Eli will complete throughout our study. I’ll be sure to add photos to this post as he completes the projects.
Where in the USA Interview Project
USA Salt Dough Map
US Landmarks Postcards
Any State Brochure
We are SO excited to begin our travels across the country this year!
Cindy
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