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1 This book belongs to THE GOOD NEIGHBOR PRESS, INC. This book was developed for the Teaching & Learning Company by The Good Neighbor Press, Inc., Grand Junction, CO. Cover design by The Good Neighbor Press, Inc. Cover illustrations by Corbin Hillam Copyright 1995, Teaching & Learning Company ISBN No Printing No Teaching & Learning Company 1204 Buchanan St., P.O. Box 10 Carthage, IL The purchase of this book entitles teachers to make copies for use in their individual classrooms, only. This book, or any part of it, may not be reproduced in any form for any other purposes without prior written permission from the Teaching & Learning Company. It is strictly prohibited to reproduce any part of this book for an entire school or school district, or for commercial resale. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ii

2 Table of Contents Alabama...1 Alaska...5 Arizona...9 Arkansas...13 California...16 Colorado...20 Connecticut...25 Delaware...28 Florida...31 Georgia...34 Hawaii...37 Idaho...41 Illinois...44 Indiana...48 Iowa...52 Utah Kansas...55 Kentucky...58 Louisiana...61 Maine...64 West Virginia Maryland...67 Massachusetts...70 Michigan...73 Minnesota...76 Mississippi...80 Missouri...83 Montana...86 Nebraska...89 Nevada...92 New Hampshire...95 New Jersey...98 New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington Wisconsin Wyoming Washington, D.C United States Time Line U.S. Maps Student Map Activity Ideas Geography Bingo Directions Geography Bingo Card Master Answer Key iii

3 Dear Teacher, Why is Oklahoma called the Sooner State? What is the official state drink of Arkansas? Where would you find a city that elected a cat as its mayor? You and your students can learn the answers to these and many other questions as you travel together through the pages of Super States! Super States! is arranged alphabetically by state but can be used in any order you prefer. For each state; you ll find a map and page of fun facts about the state including state firsts, biggest, smallest, highest and lowest. Two to three additional pages of material for each state give students a chance to learn as they play games like Alabama Bingo, Florida Tic-Tac-Toe and Louisiana Question Game. They can unscramble letters to find the names of animals in Alaska and solve a word search puzzle looking for cities in Michigan. The majority of activities in this book are self-contained. Students can answer the questions, solve the puzzles and play the games without outside reference material. For each state, you ll also find two Challenge Questions which require students to reach out to other sources for the answers. At the end of the book there s a master bingo game sheet, U.S. maps, suggestions for other activities and an answer key. These activities are written for students in the third to sixth grades. Select the materials that are appropriate for your students ages and abilities. You can use these activities in conjunction with other geography, history or social studies materials. Many are also appropriate for language arts. While the majority of these activities are written for individual student use, many would work well with small groups and some could be done by the entire class. While this material has been created primarily to supplement your curriculum, you may find some items useful in proficiency and assessment programs, display materials for bulletin boards or parent conferences, take-home communiques with parents or care-givers and much, much more! Sincerely, Cindy Barden iv

4 Alabama Nickname: Yellowhammer State State Bird: Yellowhammer Capital: Montgomery The world s largest cake was baked in honor of Fort Payne s 100th birthday in Shaped like the state of Alabama, this monster cake weighed 128,238.5 pounds. Opossums, the only marsupials (animals with pouches) found outside of Australia, live in the forests of Alabama. Fort Payne Russel Cave in northeastern Alabama was home to prehistoric people over 9,000 years ago. Southern leaders met in Montgomery in 1861 to form the Confederate States of America. Nicknamed the Cradle of the Confederacy, Montgomery became the Confederate capital for a short time until it was moved to Richmond, Virginia. Alabama was named for the Alibamu Indians whose name meant thicket clearers or vegetation gatherers. During the Civil War, soldiers from Alabama wore bright yellow patches on their uniforms. People said they looked like yellowhammer woodpeckers. That s how Alabama got the nickname, the Yellowhammer State. In 1961, an Alabama farmer dug up a whale s skeleton 75 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. Fossils of sea turtles and other marine animals have also been found in Alabama, far from the nearest water. Montgomery Did you know that Alabama is also known as the Heart of Dixie? The only monument to an insect pest is in Enterprise, Alabama. On top of a fancy pedestal, a statue of a woman holds a giant boll weevil in her arms. The inscription reads: In profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity. After weevils destroyed most of Alabama s cotton crop in the early 1900s, farmers learned to plant other crops. Montgomery became the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement in 1955 when police arrested Rosa Parks for sitting in the whites only section of a city bus. Dr. Martin Luther King led protests against her arrest. A year later the Supreme Court decided that segregated buses were not legal. Enterprise Dothan Before Montgomery became the capital of Alabama in 1846, the state had four other capitals: St. Stephens, Huntsville, Cahaba and Tuscaloosa. The tarpon is Alabama s state saltwater fish. Marble is the state rock and the camellia ia the state flower. Each year a contest is held in Dothan, Alabama, for the best peanut recipe. The first Confederate submarine, the Huntley was built in Mobile during the Civil War. Mobile Residents of Mobile claim that the first Mardi Gras festival in North America was held in their city in The world s largest helicopter collection can be found at the United States Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama. 1

5 Name Hooray for Peanuts! Alabama A former slave, this man became famous for making over 300 new products from peanuts including ink, soap and shaving cream. Through his efforts, peanuts became a major crop in Alabama To find the answer, fill in the blanks below. Write the letter that corresponds with the number below each blank. 1. Where was the first capital of the Confederate States of America located? Name the insects that destroyed most of Alabama s cotton crop in the early 1800s What nickname for Alabama came from a type of woodpecker? The The word Alabama means: State or Challenge Questions 1. Describe some of Martin Luther King, Jr. s accomplishments as a Civil Rights leader in Alabama. 2. How did the 1783 Treaty of Paris affect the area that later became Alabama? Just for Fun What did the Alabama scientist get when he crossed a turkey with an octopus? 2

6 Name Alabama Alabama Bingo To the Teacher: The master game sheet, rules and game suggestions are on pages 179 and 180. Statements for Alabama Bingo One of Alabama s nicknames is the Heart of Dixie. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery. George Washington Carver became famous for making more than 300 new products from peanuts. The Gulf of Mexico is south of Alabama. Dolphins swim in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Georgia is east of Alabama. The yellowhammer is Alabama s state bird. Mississippi is west of Alabama. Alligators can be found in Alabama s swamps and bayous. Tennessee is north of Alabama. Steel and iron are made in Birmingham. Opossums live in the forests of Alabama. Alabama s state fish is the largemouth bass. Alabama was named for the Alibamus. The Cherokee lived in Alabama when white settlers first arrived. The first Europeans in Alabama were Spanish explorers. Hank Aaron was a famous baseball player from Alabama. Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for sitting in the whites only section of a bus in Montgomery. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led African Americans to fight for Civil Rights in Alabama. In 1956 the Supreme Court declared that segregation was not legal. Alabama was one of the states to secede from the Union during the Civil War. Peanuts are an important crop in Alabama. Jesse Owens won four gold medals in track at the 1936 Olympics. The boll weevil is an insect that destroyed much of Alabama s cotton crop. 3

7 Name Alabama Alabama Puzzler Research to fill in the puzzle using the clues. 1 Across 3. Helicopter collection at Fort 7. of Dixie 9. Marsupial found in Alabama woods 10. Alabama state flower Down 1. Alabama state rock 2. Confederate submarine 4. Alabama was named for this Native American tribe 5. Alabama state saltwater fish 6. Cave where people lived over 9,000 years ago 8. This city claims first Mardi Gras Silly Sayings Use the letters in the word Alabama as the first letters of words in a silly saying. Here s an example: Alvin liked Ann, but Ann married Andy. Write your silly saying below: A l a b a m a An Alabama Report Card Wouldn t it be nice to get a report card with as many As as there are in Alabama? Not many words have four As. Here are a few: Appalachian Casablanca Extravaganza Madagascar Maharajah Panamanian Can you think of any other words that have several As?

8 Alaska Nickname: The Last Frontier State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan Capital: Juneau Gold was discovered in several places in Alaska near the Stikine River in 1861, near Juneau in 1880, near Nome in 1898 and near Fairbanks in The discoveries set off the wildest gold rushes in American history. In 1728 Peter the Great of Russia sponsored the first expedition to search for land east of Siberia. Working for Russia, Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator, was the first known European to explore Alaska. The area became known as Russian America. Sitka was the capital from 1807 until Alaska has the only state flag designed by a child. Thirteen-year-old Benny Benson won a contest for school children held in His design shows the Big Dipper and the North Star on a field of blue. Point Barrow The highest place in North America is the top of Mount McKinley in Denali National Park. It is 20,320 feet nearly four miles above sea level. The next 15 highest peaks in the U.S. are also in Alaska. When the Bering Strait freezes, it s possible to walk from the small island of Little Diomede in Alaska to Big Diomede which is part of Siberia. Nome The northernmost land point in the United States is Point Barrow, Alaska. Alaska s oldest newspaper, the Nome Nugget, began publicatiion in Kodiak Island Fairbanks The Russians established the first permanent European settlement at Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island in Although Alaska is the largest state, only Wyoming has fewer people. On the average, less than one person per square mile lives in Alaska. Juneau Sitka When Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, many people thought he had foolishly spent $7.2 million. Few Americans even knew where Alaska was. They nicknamed the area Seward s Folly, Seward s Icebox, Icebergia and Walrussia. Many years passed before people realized Seward had made one of the nation s best land investments. The earliest inhabitants of Alaska were believed to have crossed the Bering Sea from Russia on a land bridge between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago. About 14,000 years ago, the Bering Sea completely covered the land bridge. Alaska is nearly twice as big as Texas, the second largest state, and nearly 500 times larger than Rhode Island. Most states are divided into counties. In Alaska, counties are called districts. Alaska and Hawaii are the only two states that have no borders with other states. 5

9 Name Look Along the Coast What can be seen along the coast of Alaska but never found along the coast of Nebraska? Alaska To find the answer, fill in the blanks below. Write the letter that corresponds with the number below each blank. 1. What peninsula was named for the U.S. Secretary of State who authorized the purchase of Alaska from Russia? Peninsula 2. When this was discovered in Alaska, it started one of the wildest in American history. 3. Where is Mount McKinley? National Park Where is the northernmost land point in the United States? Point What was the capital of Alaska when it was controlled by the Russians? Challenge Questions 1. How many lakes and rivers are there in Alaska? What is the largest lake? How many islands are part of Alaska? 2. What does the word Alaska mean? Just for Fun Kym: I was born in Juneau, Alaska. Tim: What part? Kym: All of me. 6

10 Name Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Parts of Alaska average 20 feet of snow in the winter. During one 24-hour period in 1963, 74 inches of snow fell at Mile 47 Camp. How many feet of snow would that be? Measure 74 inches on a wall and mark it. Stand next to the mark. How far above your head is the mark? Scientists say that no two snowflakes are exactly alike, but here is an exception. Two of the snowflakes below are exactly alike. Which two? b. d. c. e. f. g. h. p. a. i. q. j. k. One of a Kind Snowflakes Make your own snowflakes. Fold a piece of lightweight white paper in half, then in half again. Fold it a third time so it is triangular. Cut various shapes from the folded paper, being careful not to cut the bottom point of the triangle. Unfold the paper to see your one of a kind snowflake. r. s. l. m. t. u. n. o. v. Alaska w. 7

50 U.S. STATES AND TERRITORIES

50 U.S. STATES AND TERRITORIES BY MICHAEL KRAMME, Ph.D. COPYRIGHT 2000 Mark Twain Media, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58037-890-1 Printing No. 1361-EB Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers Distributed by Carson-Dellosa