Engaging Reproducible Nonfiction Passages About Each State With Fun Crosswords That Help Build Reading Comprehension and Teach Fascinating Facts About the Nifty Fifty BY SYLVIA CHARLESWORTH New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong Buenos Aires
Dedication To Gerald, who loves to travel these United States as much as I do. Acknowledgments Thanks to Maria Chang and June English for a crackerjack editing job, and my friend Yve Zinaman for her encouragement. Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the activity sheets from this book for classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Cover and interior design by Holly Grundon Cover illustration by Dave Clegg Interior illustrations by Mona Mark ISBN 0-439-29707-9 Copyright 2002 by Sylvia Charlesworth All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Contents Introduction..................... 5 Alabama........................ 6 Alaska.......................... 8 Arizona........................ 10 Arkansas....................... 12 California....................... 14 Colorado........................ 16 Connecticut..................... 18 Delaware....................... 20 Florida........................ 22 Georgia........................ 24 Hawaii......................... 26 Idaho.......................... 28 Illinois......................... 30 Indiana........................ 32 Iowa.......................... 34 Kansas........................ 36 Kentucky....................... 38 Louisiana...................... 40 Maine......................... 42 Maryland....................... 44 Massachusetts.................. 46 Michigan....................... 48 Minnesota...................... 50
Mississippi..................... 52 Missouri....................... 54 Montana....................... 56 Nebraska....................... 58 Nevada........................ 60 New Hampshire.................. 62 New Jersey..................... 64 New Mexico..................... 66 New York...................... 68 North Carolina.................. 70 North Dakota................... 72 Ohio........................... 74 Oklahoma...................... 76 Oregon........................ 78 Pennsylvania................... 80 Rhode Island.................... 82 South Carolina.................. 84 South Dakota................... 86 Tennessee...................... 88 Texas......................... 90 Utah.......................... 92 Vermont....................... 94 Virginia........................ 96 Washington..................... 98 West Virginia................... 100 Wisconsin..................... 102 Wyoming...................... 104 District of Columbia............. 106 Answers...................... 108 4
ALABAMA (AL) Heart of Dixie Fast Facts State Capital: Montgomery Population: 4,447,100 (Census 2000) Land Area: 50,744 square miles Year Admitted to the Union: 1819 State Flag Huntsville Birmingham Tuscaloosa ALABAMA Montgomery Selma Mobile n Enterprise, Alabama, the Boll Weevil Monument celebrates the Ilong-snouted beetle that almost destroyed Alabama s all-important cotton crop. Why? The boll weevil forced Alabama to try other industries besides cotton farming. The city of Birmingham, for example, is famous for its ironworks. The old Sloss Iron Furnaces are now a national historic landmark. Nearby a huge iron statue of Vulcan, the god of fire, stands atop Red Mountain. Birmingham is also home to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, honoring Olympic great Jesse Owens, football hero Joe Namath, and baseball stars Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. In Mobile, the Battleship Memorial Park features the U.S.S. Alabama and the U.S.S. Drum a World War II ship and submarine. Mobile is Alabama s only seaport, which sits on an inlet to the Gulf of Mexico. Across the state in Huntsville, NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center develops space vehicles that transport astronauts into outer space. Near this futuristic space center stand historic antebellum mansions, built before the Civil War. During the Civil War, Montgomery became the first Confederate capital, where Jefferson Davis served as Confederate President. The Confederate States consisted of 11 southern states that fought against the North about slavery. Many years later, Booker T. Washington, a former slave, founded Alabama s Tuskegee Institute. Here, George Washington Carver, another former slave, developed more than 300 uses for peanuts, convincing southern farmers to grow this crop. Despite these achievements, African-Americans were still segregated in the South. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent civil-rights demonstrations. If it s peace you re looking for, Alabama s got it! Flowing rivers, waterfalls, lakes, and bayous offer the perfect getaway for sailors, kayakers, swimmers, and spelunkers (cave explorers). 6
Alabama Crossword Puzzle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ACROSS 4. The president of the Confederacy was Davis. 6. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus. 10. Alabama is sometimes known as the Heart of. 11. The States fought against the northern states during the Civil War. 13. Alabama is the birthplace of the Rights Movement. 14. The U.S.S. Alabama and the U.S.S. are in Battleship Memorial Park. 15. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Prize. 17. The boll destroyed cotton crops. 18. The Iron Furnaces are a historical landmark. 19. The capital of Alabama is. DOWN 1. NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center is in. 2. The Hall of Fame is in Birmingham. 3. The city of Mobile is on the Gulf of. 5. The statue of Vulcan on Red Mountain represents the god of. 7. The ironworks are in the city of. 8. mansions are pre-civil War. 9. George Washington Carver found 300 uses for the. 11. A spelunker explores. 12. Booker T. Washington founded Institute. 16. farming was Alabama s biggest industry. 7