US Territories

Finishing up our 50 states project with a unit on US overseas territories. We struggled with finding kids books on territories other than Puerto Rico, but we made a effort to still learn at least a bit on each.

Books on Puerto Rico:

• Puerto Rico (My United States: A True Book) by Nelson Yomtov

• Coquí in the city by Nomar Perez

• Parrots over Puerto Rico  by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

• Schomburg : the man who built a library by Carole Boston Weatherford

• My Grandparents and I / Mis Abuelos y Yo by Samuel Caraballo

• The golden flower : a Taino myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe

• Roberto Clemente : pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter

• Juan Bobo goes to work : a Puerto Rican folktale, retold by Marisa Montes

• Across the bay by Carlos Aponte

• Maxy survives the hurricane  by Ricia Anne Chansky

• Broken butterfly wings / Alas de mariposa rotas by Raquel M. Ortiz

• My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada

Books on Other Territories:

• U.S. Territories and Possessions by Jada Bradley

• U.S. territories by Sylvia McNair

• Sina and the Eel: Samoan Myth 

• https://www.nps.gov/npsa/learn/historyculture/sinatuna.htm 

• Tim Duncan : champion on and off the court  by J. Chris Roselius (Virgin Islands)

• Efa and the Mosquito by Alscess Lewis Brown (Virgin Islands) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hXEapsN-U

Resources:

• The National Geographic Kids States page has articles on each of the territories at the end: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/states

• Puerto Rico Capitol: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/prvi/pr5.htm

• American Samoa Arts/Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9clsR3_2OYE&t=34s 

• Guam culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlsZX6Lt8VE 

• Northern Mariana Islands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIkjMA0S1Fg 

• US Virgin Islands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcI_h0kMVI

• Virgin Islands National Park: https://www.nps.gov/viis/index.htm 

• National Park of American Samoa: https://www.nps.gov/npsa/index.htm 

DC

I just realized (belatedly), that I never posted our last couple units to our states project. After finishing up all 50 states in alphabetical order, we did units on Washington DC,  and the territories. We didn't do art projects for these but I want to at least share the books and some other resources.

Books:

• Washington, D.C.  (My United States: A True Book) by Karen Kellaher

• N is for Our Nation’s Capital: A Washington, D.C. Alphabet by Roland & Marie Smith

• All The Way To The Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel

• How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea By Susan Campbell Bartoletti

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Rookie National Parks) by Stephanie Fitzgerald

• The Capitol Building by Lisa Bullard

• How to Build a Museum by Tonya Bolden

• Mamie on The Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues by Leah Henderson

• Sweet land of liberty by Deborah Hopkinson

• First garden : the White House garden and how it grew by Robbin Gourley

• Dream builder : the story of architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyons 

• Grace goes to Washington by Kelly DiPucchio

• Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen

• Libba : the magnificent musical life of Elizabeth Cotten by Laura Veirs

• Brick by brick by Charles R. Smith Jr.

• Keep on! : the story of Matthew Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole written by Deborah Hopkinson

• The peace tree from Hiroshima : a little bonsai with a big story by Sandra Moore

• We want to go to school! : the fight for disability rights by Maryann Cocca-Leffler and Janine Leffler

• Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution by Judith E Heumann

• If You Want a Friend in Washington: Wacky, Wild & Wonderful Presidential Pets by Erin McGill

• About Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC’s non-voting congressional representative)

• https://norton.house.gov/about/full-biography 

Resources:

• US Capitol: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/about-capitol 

• Video Tour: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/education-resource/video-tour-capitol 

• DC Virtual Tour: https://washington.org/discover-dc-360
• About DC Statehood movement: 
• Current DC Governance: https://statehood.dc.gov/page/dc-governance 
• Why Statehood: https://statehood.dc.gov/page/why-statehood-dc 
• Go go music: https://washington.org/visit-dc/gogo-music
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiWIsX-kAjc
• Smithsonians: https://www.si.edu/about

Wyoming

We made it to our final state! (Don't worry, we also learned about DC and the US overseas territories). 

Books:

• Wyoming by Jim Ollhoff

• C is for Cowboy: A Wyoming Alphabet by Eugene Gagliano

• Grand Teton National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Jodie Shepherd

• Yellowstone Moran: Painting the American West by Lita Judge

• Jackalope by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel

• The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola

• I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda White 

• or When Esther Morris Headed West by Connie Wooldridge

• Volcano Dreams: A Story of Yellowstone by Janet Fox

• Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

• Dinosaur Hunter by Elaine Marie Alphin

• Charlie’s Raven by Jean Craighead George

• Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan

• My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara

• Ancient Wyoming: A Dozen Lost Worlds Based on the Geology of the Bighorn Basin

• Article: https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Nellie-Tayloe-Ross/276795 

• The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland (author of the Wings of Fire series)

• Red Cloud’s War by Paul Goble

• The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez

• Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo

• The Wolves of Yellowstone by Catherine Barr

Art Project:

Yellowstone National Park

For Wyoming our art project depicts Yellowstone National Park. Completed using colored sharpie, oil pastel, and water colors. 

Wisconsin

For Wisconsin, the kids especially enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic, Little House in the Big Woods as a depiction of life in the Northern Wisconsin wilderness, but we also enjoyed reading about a wide variety of people with Wisconsin roots.

Books:

• Wisconsin (My United States: A True Book) by Vicky Franchino

• B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet by Kathy-Jo Wargin

• Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler

• The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright by K.L. Going

• Prairie Boy by Barb Rosenstock

• Who Was Frank Lloyd Wright? By Ellen Labrecque

• The Raft by Jim LaMarche

• Time for Cranberries by Lisl H. Detlefsen

• The Giant Ball of String by Arthur Geisert

• Rascal by Sterling North

• Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

• Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan

• Colin Kaepernick by Blake Hoena

• Farmer Will Allen and the growing table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

• Swinging for the fences: Hank Aaron and me by Mike Leonetti

• Remembering Green by Lisa Gammon Olson and Lauren Rutledge

• The Hundred-Year Barn by Patricia MacLachlan

• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder? By Patricia Demuth

• Harry Houdini: Escape Artist by Patricia Lakin

• Article on Aldo Leopold, Enviromnentalist https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Aldo-Leopold/314961 

• Mini Bio on Dr Howard Temin, Nobel scientist whose work ultimately helped with the development of AIDs medication and more recently COVID vaccines https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1975/temin/facts/ 

• Rhino in Right Field by Stacy DeKeyser

• Goldie Takes a Stand by Barbara Krasner

• Milwaukee Art Museum, especially the Santiago Calatrava wing: https://mam.org/info/quadracci.php 

• In Mary’s Garden by Tina Kugler

Art:

Wisconsin Cranberry Bog

For Wisconsin the kids decided to depict a cranberry bog. Materials included tempra paint (cranberries and trees), water color (sky and water), and oil pastel (grass). The cranberry effect was made by dotting q-tips with various shades of red tempra paint.  

West Virginia

 For West Virginia the kids espeically enjoyed learning about Appalachian music and culture.

Books:

• West Virginia by Jim Ollhoff

• M is for Mountain State: A West Virginia Alphabet by Mary Ann McCabe Riechle

• Pioneer Children of Appalachia by Joan Anderson

• Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker

• Chuck Yeager Goes Supersonic: An Action-Packed, True Flying Adventure by Alan Biermann

• A Piece of Home by Jeri Hanel Watts

• When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

• In Coal Country by Judith Hendershot (Not available at LAPL)

• Passing the Music Down by Sarah Sullivan

• John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads by Christopher Canyon

• Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

• Way Down Deep by Ruth White

• Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

• Above the rim : how Elgin Baylor changed basketball by Jen Bryant

• Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston

• Let Me Fix You a Plate by Elizabeth Lilly

• Mountain Chef by Annette Bay Pimentel - the National Park Service is based in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, though this story isn’t about there

• History of Fiestaware: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/west-virginia/articles/a-brief-history-of-fiesta-the-colorful-dinnerware/

• Leaders Like Us: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. by J.P. Miller

Art Project:

New River Gorge National Park

Our art project was a depiction of New River Gorge National Park inspired by this photo. Mostly oil pastel, with a bit of sharpie for detail and water color for sky, river, and background of the bush.

Washington

For Washington we especially enjoyed learning about the National Parks (Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic), and the wildlife and environment of the area. 

Books:

• Washington (My United States: A True Book) by Melissa McDaniel

• E is for Evergreen: A Washington Alphabet by Roland Smith & Marie Smith

• Mount Rainier National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Joanne Mattern

• Olympic National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Audra Wallace

• World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan

• Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber

• Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A story of the young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio

• For the Love of Autumn by Patricia Polacco

• Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate

• The Sun, the Wind and the Rain by Lisa Westberg Peters

• Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

• Seaglass Summer by Anjali Banerjee

• Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

• Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith

• Trapped!: A Whale’s Rescue by Robert Burleigh

• Whales Passing by Eve Bunting

• The Tree by Dana Lyons

• A Salmon for Simon by Betty Waterton

• Kodi by Jared Cullum (graphic novel independent read)

• I Survived the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens

• Wild Orca by Brenda Peterson

• Eva of the Farm by Dia Calhoun (for obvious reasons)

• McKenna and McKenna, Ready to Fly! By Mary Casanova (American Girl books)

• Mysterious Bones by Katherine Kirkpatrick

• Totem Pole by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith

Art Project:

Olympic National Park

The kids decided to depict Olympic National Park for Washington State. Mostly used oil pastels, along with some colored sharpie (outlines) and watercolor (sky, and background to the meadow).