50 States and Where to Find Them
My primary intention behind writing 50 States and Where to Find Them was to teach my children all the states and capitals. This is accomplished by tackling the United States region by region. Children fill out a map of the region as they learn about each state. State lessons include historical information about the state and coloring pages of the state flower, state bird, and state flag. Each region wraps up with a crossword puzzle, a word search, and a bonus lesson pertaining to the region. Bonus lessons include topics such as heraldry, the Erie Canal, and the Underground Railroad.
Because I believe that literature makes all subjects better, reading suggestions are also included. Four of Holling C. Holling’s classic books travel each region with us, deepening our studies. F. N. Monjo’s The Drinking Gourd describes traveling cross country by watching the stars, and also provides an important lesson on civil disobedience.
This program is best for 3rd through 6th grades as children at these ages are both able to do the mapping exercises and often still enjoy coloring. However, younger children will enjoy the coloring pages, and older children can use the mapping exercises to learn the states and capitals.
The PDF workbook is only available through Lulu.com. The main book is available both as a PDF through Lulu.com and as a print version through Amazon.com.
American Literature: Essays, Short Stories, and Poetry
This anthology of American Literature includes all of the essays, short stories, and poetry suggested for grades six and seven in Andrew Campbell’s The Latin-Centered Curriculum, plus a few of my own personal favorite American short stories.
This would be an excellent addition to any study of American literature and history.
Table of Contents
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Hiawatha’s Childhood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Children’s Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Scarlet Stockings by Louisa May Alcott
The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether by Edgar Allan Poe
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain
The Private History of a Campaign that Failed by Mark Twain
O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
The Gift of the Magi by O Henry
The Ransom of Red Chief by O Henry
The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway
To Build a Fire by Jack London
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor