Pennsylvania

 Pennsylvania had so much to learn about from American history, to a huge variety of people who changed history. We also really enjoyed learning about Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

Books:

• They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell

• A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution by Betsy Maestro 

• Leaders Like Us: Bayard Rustin by J.P. Miller

• Beautiful Shades of Brown: The Art of Laura Wheeler Waring by Nancy Churnin

• Dropping In On Philadelphia

• Gettysburg National Military Park (Rookie National Parks) by Moira Rose Donohue

• Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan

• K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet by Kristen Kane

• Pennsylvania (A True Book: My United States) by Karen Kellaher

• Saving the Liberty Bell by Megan McDonald

• The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

• Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta

• The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies

• Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor

• Betsy Ross and the American Flag by Kay Melchisedech Olson

• Raising Yoder’s Barn by Jane Yolen

• Fallingwater by Marc Harshman

• The Leather Apron Club by Jane Yolen

• The Mutter Museum by Anna Dhody

• Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Dunbar

• William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania by Steven Kroll

• Taylor Swift: Pop Star by Katie Lajiness

• The Daring Nellie Bly: America's Star Reporter by Bonnie Christensen

• A Race Around the World: The True Story of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland by Caroline Starr Rose

• Andy Warhol (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

• Uncle Andy's: A Faabbbulous Visit with Andy Warhol by James Warhola

• Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio

• Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford

• Chocolate by Hershey : a story about Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford

• Who Was Milton Hershey? by James Buckley

• The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall (Salk was from NY, but we missed him then, and he did his research in PA)

• Quakers and Anti-Slavery Movement: https://web.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/speccoll/quakersandslavery/

Art Project:

Liberty Bell

For PA, the kids decided to depict the iconic Liberty Bell. Materials include: colored sharpie, oil pastel, and water color.

Oregon

For Oregon the kids especially enjoyed learning about the fabulous Beverly Cleary, and playing the old-school Oregon Trail computer game. 

Books:

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

• B is for Beaver: An Oregon Alphabet by Roland Smith & Marie Smith

• Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad

• A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir by Beverly Cleary

• Beavers by Gail Gibbons

• Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains by Deborah Hopkinson’

• Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen

• If You Were a Kid on the Oregon Trail by Josh Gregory

• Coyote in Love: The Story of Crater Lake by Mindy Dwyer

• They Call Me River by Maciek Albrecht

• Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers

• Thunder rolling down the mountain : The Story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce by Zimmerman, Rusty

• https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-white-history-racist-foundations-black-exclusion-laws/ 

• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/

• The Oregon Trail by Mel Friedman

• The Oregon Trail by Laura Murray

• Minnow and Rose: An Oregon Trail Story by Judy Young

Art Project:

Crater Lake

For our art project the kids chose to depict Crater Lake. Materials used: colored sharpie, oil pastel, water color. 

Oklahoma

We really enjoyed learning about Cherokee and other Native American cultures in Oklahoma, as well as a variety of famous Oklahomans. The kids also enjoyed a science lesson about the makings of the Dust Bowl.

Books:

• The First Strawberries By Joseph Bruchac 

• Wilma's Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller (A Big Words Book) by Doreen Rappaport 

• Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Smith

• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell 

• We Are Still Here by Traci Sorell

• Fry Bread: A Native American Family by Kevin Noble Maillard 

• Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell

• Unspeakable : the Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford

• Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief

• A Primary Source History of the Dust Bowl by Rebecca Langston-George

• S is for Sooner: An Oklahoma Alphabet by Devin Scillian

• Oklahoma (A True Book: My United States) by Tamra B. Orr

• Tornadoes by Seymour Simon

• Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl by Albert Marrin

• Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley

• Blue Willow by Doris Gates

• The Buffalo Soldier by Sherry Garland

• Will Rogers: An American Legend by Francis Anthony Keating

• I Have Heard of a Land by Joyce Carol Thomas

• Leah’s Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich

• Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac

• Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot to Fly Across the United States by Louisa Jaggar

• Woodie Guthrie: Poet of the People by Bonnie Christensen

• Elizabeth Warren: Nevertheless, She Persisted by Susan Wood

• Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma Sit-ins

Art Project:

Tornado on the prairie

For Oklahoma the kids chose to depict a tornado over the prairie. We had a lot of fun with this project which was completed using oil pastels on watercolor paper.

Ohio

We really enjoyed learning about so many interesting Ohioans who changed history. There were too many to choose a favorite, so check out the book list for ideas!

Books:

• Ohio (My True United States) by Marty Gitlin

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Joanne Mattern 

• Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington

• The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game by Nancy Churnin

• Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott by Joyce Scott, Brie Spangler, illus. by Melissa Sweet

• Saving Fiona by Thane Maynard

• Watercress by Andrea Wang

• Lebron James by Dan Osier

• B is for Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet by Marcia Schonberg

• Lentil by Robert McCloskey

• Fly High, John Glenn: The Story of an American Hero by Kathleen Krull

• One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong by Don Brown

• One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh 

• The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan by Joan DiCicco

• Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

• (Wright Brothers - but we just read about them for NC)

• The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton

• Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales and True Tales By Virginia Hamilton

• Who Was Coretta Scott King? By Gail Herman (She was from Alabama, but we didn’t read about her at the time, and she went to college at Antioch)

• Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles by Michelle Meadows

• Article: Cleveland: The True Birthplace of Superman

• Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey

• Gloria's Voice: The Story of Gloria Steinem by Aura Lewis

Art Project:

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

For their Ohio art project, the kids depicted Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was completed using sharpie, oil pastel, and watercolor. 

North Dakota

 For North Dakota we especially enjoyed learning about Native stories and traditions from the area. On another front, the book Dinomummy, about a remarkable dinosaur discovery in the area, was also very fun and informative! We also highly recommend this article about the calculation of the geographical center of North America which lies somewhere in North Dakota.

Books:

• North Dakota (A True Book: My United States) by Ann O. Squire

• P is for Peace Garden: A North Dakota Alphabet by Roxane B. Salonen

• Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S. D. Nelson

• The Star People: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson

• The Range Eternal by Louise Erdrich

• Josie Dances by Denise Lajimodiere

• Bad River Boys by Virigina Driving Hawk Sneve

• River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz

• Dinomummy - The Life, Death and Discovery of Dakota, A Dinosaur From Hell Creek by Dr Phillip Lars Manning 

• Fly Away by Patricia MacLachlan

• King of the Mound: My Summer with Satchel Paige by Wes Tooke

• The Great Race of Birds and Animals by Paul Goble

• The Standing Rock Sioux Challenge and the Dakota Access Pipeline by Clara MacClarald

Art Project:

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

For North Dakota, the kids chose to depict a scene at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, with bison roaming the landscape. Colored sharpies were used for the outlines, with oil pastels for the bison and landscape, and watercolors for the water and sky.

North Carolina

For North Carolina we appreciated learning about native history in the area, and more recent civil rights history. The kids enjoyed reading some Carl Sandberg poetry, and connecting more to complex moments in NC history through historical novels (Soft Rain, and Stella by Starlight). 

Books:

• North Carolina (A True Book: My United States) by Ann O. Squire

• T is for TarHeel: A North Carolina Alphabet by Carol Crane

• Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell

• Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan and Roslyn M. Jordan

• Dream Big: Michael Jordan and the Pursuit of Excellence by Deloris Jordan

• To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers by Wendie C. Old

• Who Were the Wright Brothers? By James Buckley Jr.

• Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney

• Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford

• The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin

• An Island Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island by Virginia Wright-Frierson

• Roanoke: The Lost Colony--An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen

• Carl Sandburg: Poetry for Young People

• Carl Sandburg : adventures of a poet by Penelope Niven

• Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd

• The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears by Susan E. Hamen (Epic)

• Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen

• Article about Myrtle Driver Johnson: https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/25547-cherokee-from-the-heart-beloved-woman-reflects-on-a-wandering-life-rooted-in-cherokee-language 

• Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper

• Ernestine’s Milky Way by Kerry Madden

• My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey (Except we read this in NY)

• Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton

Art Project:

The Wright Brothers Flight at Kitty Hawk, NC

Although the Wright Brothers were from Ohio, they tested their planes in North Carolina, and it is there that they first succeeded at flight! The kids wanted to depict this for their art project using sharpie and oil pastel, with water color for the sky.

New York

New York took us a bit longer than usual, because we had an extra long reading list, but we really enjoyed reading about so many interesting people and about the creation of a number of NY landmarks from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty to the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Books:

• New York (A True Book: My United States) by Cody Crane

• E is for Empire: A New York State Alphabet by Ann E. Burg

• Dropping In On New York City

• The Big Rock by Bruce Hiscock

• The Big Tree by Bruce Hiscock

• Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret by Jess Keating

• Lizzie Demands A Seat! Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights By Beth Anderson

• She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm by Katheryn Russell-Brown

• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel

• Patricia’s vision: The Doctor Who Saved Sight by Michelle Lord

• Look Up With Me: Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Life Among the Stars by Jennifer Berne

• Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty by Linda Glaser

• A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park by Ashley Benham Yazdani

• How Emily Saved the Bridge by Frieda Wishinsky

• Benny Goodman & Teddy Wilson: Taking the Stage as the First Black-and-White Jazz Band in History By: Lesa Cline-Ransome

• Who Is Sonia Sotomayor? By Megan Stine

• Molly, by golly! : the legend of Molly Williams, America's first female firefighter by Dianne Ochiltree 

• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

• Jacob Riis’s Camera by Alexis O’Neill

• The Empire State Building by Lisa Bullard

• The Erie Canal by Lisa Bullard

• Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers by Karen B. Winnick

• Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson

• The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Betsy Maestro

• Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers

• You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman

• The Erie Canal by Peter Spier

• The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde H. Swift

• Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet

• The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

• Areli is a Dreamer by Areli Morales

• The Cot in the Living Room by Hilda Burgos

• Goodbye Havana! Hola New York! By Edie Colon

• The Hindenburg Disaster by Peter Benoit

• Flat Stanley: Lost in New York by Kate Egan

• Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar (maybe for me to read…)

• The New York Mets by Mark Stewart :)

• Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh

• This Very Tree by Sean Rubin

• Tigers and Tea with Toppy by Barbara Kerley (because Eva like tigers)

• Under New York by Linda High

• Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg

• Jake Makes a World by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

• My Hands Sing the Blues by Jeanne Harvey

• Harlem Renaissance Party by Faith Ringgold

• Rebecca American Girl books

• Samantha American Girl books

• All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Art Project:

Statue of Liberty and NY Skyline

For New York the kids wanted to depict the Statue of Liberty. The buildings and statue are colored sharpie, with oil pastel for the color on the pedestal and for the waves, and watercolors for water and sky.