Optional add-on · Social Studies · 30 min · Fits Week 15
My State, Part 1: Symbols, Capital and Map
Objective: Your child will find and record, with a grown-up, their state's name, capital, flag, bird, flower and nickname, and locate the state, its capital and their home on a map (D2.Civ.8.K-2, D2.Geo.2.K-2).
Materials: a map of your state (atlas, library book or printout), a map of the United States, internet access or a library book about your state, the Government Stack plates from Week 14, crayons, pencil
Helps with topics listed by: Pennsylvania, New York, California, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida
Warm-Up: From Nation to State (5 min)
Ask your child to name the national symbols they learned this week: the American flag, the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty. Hold up the middle 'State' plate from the Government Stack and say: 'Our state is one of 50 states. Each state has its own symbols too: its own flag, a state bird, a state flower and a nickname.' Find your state on the United States map together.
Research Together: Our State Facts (15 min)
Look up your state's facts together in a library book or on your state's official website. Read each answer aloud and let your child copy it onto the practice page: the state name, the capital city, the state bird, the state flower and the nickname. Your child then looks closely at a picture of the state flag and draws it, naming the colors and shapes. Ask: 'Why do you think our state chose this bird (or flower)?' Talk about whether you have seen it near your home.
Map Work: Where Are We? (5 min)
On the state map, find the capital (often marked with a star) and your own town. Your child draws a simple outline of the state on the practice page, adds a star for the capital and a dot for home, and adds a compass rose. Ask: 'Is the capital north, south, east or west of us?'
Wrap-Up (5 min)
Your child tells a family member three facts about your state from their page. Keep the page: Part 2 adds your state's history.