For this review, my 9 (almost 10) year old used STATE: The Facts, A Guide to Studying Your State by Laurelwood Books.
My son did this book a little at a time (he hates writing) 3-5 days a week during the review period. We found the information to fill in the book online and in Maryland books from the library. He hoped around in the book a lot
Each page is filled with open-ended questions that can be applied to ANY state you choose to research.
It starts out with a How To Use This Book page. Followed by Addresses and Phone Numbers of President, Senator, Governor, etc…
Some other pages he enjoyed, was the flag page:
(we printed and glued the flags) It was neat to compare the original Maryland flag to the current one. There was also a place for what the US map looked like at the time MD became a state, that was neat to see, as well!
He also enjoyed looking up information about famous men and women from Maryland
He thought it was neat that one of the authors from our poetry memorization was from Maryland!
I can’t really say overall that he liked this, it was a struggle to get him to do it (mostly because of the writing, I think all the blank pages were overwhelming to him. Once he got into it, he liked learning about the state (but could have done without having to write it down). I think he spent a lot of time trying to find the ‘easiest’ page to do first, and then often times got lost in the book trying to find information. I didn’t mind that, because if he was reading, he was learning. I feel like this book helped to spark his interest in the these aspects. We have studied US States before, but never any state in depth like this. It was a great way to learn more about our home state (and the state he was born in).
Other sections include plants and animals that are native to the state, state facts (such as bird, flower, tree, animal), agriculture, weather, natural resources, travel information, tax information.
It also includes a script for making phone calls to gather information, my son was not interesting in doing this part, but I think it’s a great idea!
I love that it is adaptable to any of the 50 U. S. States, and in many ways could be used for countries as well!
The back of the book includes a page of suggested field trips for learning more about your state, a timeline of the Presidents of the United States (though it only goes to G.W. Bush), a blank US Map and a state labeled US Map, and a list of other suggested resources for state studies.
The books are $13.95 and are suggested for ages 8+. I found it a great opportunity for my son to learn and practice researching, including the use of Google!
Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Laurelwood-Books-173789899339380/
20% discount code good through August 15th 2016: blogger121
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