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).

Virginia

For Virginia, we learned about so many interesting people, including multiple perspectives from the most famous revolutionary leaders to the people they held in captivity, and the many people who challenged racial rules well into modern times. For each state the kids pick 2 people to represent the state if we were making our own National Statuary Hall, and this was a hard one, with so many interesting options.

Books:

• Virginia (My United States: A True Book) by Jennifer Hackett

• The Virginia Colony by Kevin Cunningham

• O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet by Pamela Duncan Edwards

• Pocahontas: Pocket Bios by Patricia Crete

• The Silver Mace : A Story of Williamsburg by Maud Fuller Petersham

• You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist! By Jacqueline Morley

• George Washington by Ingri d’Aulaire

• A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne Rockwell

• Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? By Jean Fritz

• Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman

• My name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter

• Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim

• Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine

• Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard

• Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

• Ellen’s broom by Kelly Starling Lyons

• Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson

• Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

• The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko

• A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla

• Follow Chester! A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History by Gloria Respress-Churchwell

• Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Davis Pinkney

• Mary Geddy’s Day by Kate Waters

Art Project:

Virginia State Capitol

The kids decided to depict the Virginia State Capitol, which turned out to be our most challenging art project to date. The original building itself was designed by Thomas Jefferson, which certainly makes it unique among all capitol buildings we've examined, but its history of expansion in ways meant to preserve the original look were also part of its fascination. The most recent expansion, built more stories underground (under the grass and stair-lined hill you see here), so as to preserve the building but add functionality. Look it up! (Art used sharpie, oil pastel, and water colors, as usual). 

Vermont

 The kids loved learning about the maple sugaring process (both traditional and contemporary) as part of our Vermont study, and of course we had to indulge in some pancakes with quality maple syrup as part of the unit! :)

Books:

• Vermont (My United States: A True Book) by Jennifer Hackett

• M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds

• Almost Time by Gary Schmidt

• Spring Thaw by Steven Schnur

• Sugaring by Jessie Haas

• Tricking the Tallyman by Jacqueline Davies

• Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

• John Deere, That's Who! By Tracy Nelson Maurer

• Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

• The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z by Kate Messner

• Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

• Kitty and Mr. Kipling by Lenore Blegvad

• Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys

• Soup by Robert Newton Peck

• Nora’s Ark by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

• Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

Art Project:

Maple Sugar Bush

For Vermont the kids wanted to depict a sugarbush (Maple grove) at sugaring time (in the late winter when sap begins to rise and maple syrup is made). Made with sharpie, oil pastel, and water color, plus some Colorations Make it Shimmer, to help give the snow a beautiful shiny glow (which is not adequately captured on camera).

Utah

 For Utah we especially enjoyed learning about the (5!) beautiful national parks in the state! We also learned about the joining of the transcontinental railroad, some stories from local native peoples, and the history of Japanese internment during WWII. 

Books:

• Utah by Jim Ollhoff

• A is for Arches: A Utah Alphabet by Becky Hall

• Bryce Canyon National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Jennifer Hackett

• Zion National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Jodie Shepherd 

• Arches National Park by David Petersen

• Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles

• The Magic Of Spider Woman by Lois Duncan

• Ma'II and Cousin Horned Toad: A Traditional Navajo Story by Shonto Begay

• Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser

• Iron Horses by Verla Kay

• A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai and Felicia Hoshino

• Dinosaur Mountain: Digging into the Jurassic Age by Deborah Kogan Ray

• Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida

• The Nutcracker Comes to America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created a Holiday Tradition by Chris Barton

Art Project:

Night Sky at Arches National Park

For Utah, the kids decided to depict Arches National Park, an officially designated dark sky park, at night when you can see the beauty of the earthen arches against the splendor of the night sky. Take a moment to look at some photos online if you've never been!

Texas

We loved reading about a wide variety of famous people from Texas from politicians to music stars to people fighting for equality.

Books:

• L is for Lone Star: A Texas Alphabet by Carol Crane

• Texas (My United States: A True Book) by Josh Gregory

• Selena, Queen of Tejano Music By Silvia López

• Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza

• Dropping In On Dallas

• What Do You Do With A Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan By Chris Barton

• Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story by John Jakes

• What Was the Alamo by Pam Pollack

• Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy by Andrea Davis Pinkney

• The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola

• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

• All Different Now: Juneteenth, The First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson

• The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating The End of Slavery in The United States by Alliah L. Agostini

• Beyoncé: Shine Your Light by Sarah Warren

• Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards by Meghan P. Browne

• Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro by Monica Brown

• Dark Was the Night : Blind Willie Johnson's journey to the stars by Gary Golio

• King of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin by Stephen Costanza

• Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes

• Soldier for equality : José de la Luz Saénz and the Great War by Duncan Tonatiuh

• Ricardo’s race by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

• Tomás and the library lady by Pat Mora

• Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingle

• Native Peoples: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire-stories/american-indians

• Picture Book of Sam Houston by David Adler

• Marfa by Kathleen Shafer

Art Project:

For Texas, we decided to depict cactus in the desert. Each of the kids did one of the top cacti, using sharpie and water color, and collectively we tried this cool project with black glue, water color, and tissue paper flowers that I found here. 

Tennessee

We actually finished Tennessee a few months ago, but we'd fallen behind on our art projects. Now that the project is finished, I can finally post it. The kids loved learning about Tennessee places to visit, from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the National Civil Rights Museum, and really loved learning about some amazing musicians (Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin) from Tennessee and listening to their works. And no we didn't forget about Elvis, we just read already covered him during our Mississippi study. But perhaps their favorite thing, was the Peabody Ducks (see below). 

Books:

• V is for Volunteer: A Tennessee Alphabet by Michael Shoulders

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

• The Voice That Won The Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History by Elisa Boxer

• Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull

• Native Americans: Cherokee by Sarah Tieck

• Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

• Dolly Parton (Little People, Big Dreams) by Ma Isabel Sanchez Vegara

• Who Is Dolly Parton? By True Kelley

• Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O’Connor

• Morris and Buddy: The Story of the First Seeing Eye Dog by Becky Hall

• John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco

• A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson

• Who Was Davy Crockett? By Gail Herman

• Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller

• Abby Takes a Stand (Scraps of Time) by Patricia McKissack

• Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World about Kindness by Donna Janell Bowman

• R-E-S-P-E-C-T : Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul by Carole Boston Weatherford

• Lorraine The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away by Ketcham Secor

• Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop by Alice Faye Duncan

• Evicted! By Alice Faye Duncan

• Hammering for Freedom: The William Lewis Story

• The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Miller

• Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley

• Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs

Art Project:

Ducks at the Peabody Hotel

For Tennessee the kids chose to depict the famous Peabody Ducks, which march down the red carpet to and from the fountain each morning and evening.