This is a Christian Home School Lesson Series for first graders on the 50 United States.
I typically go over two states at a time since we teach our kids multiple subjects during the day and two states at a time seems to be enough. However if one is teaching one subject at a time I think going over four states at a time would be just right.
Our series’ lesson plan will be in alphabetical order and go over four states at a time.
Are there any other interesting facts you would add for any of the states mentioned? Feel free to leave a comment!
Tools:
- Besides the lesson plan below I also use the ‘‘United States” Discovery Workbook for the 1st Grade as an activity book. Other suitable works could be substituted.
- Map/globe/atlas.
Massachusetts
Activity
Trace the state (or if you have activity book “connect the dot” for the state).
Write out the name of the state four times.
Knowing now how the state looks like and the name of the state identify where is the state on an atlas or globe.
Fun Facts (summarized: https://www.50states.com/facts/massachusetts.htm)
Massachusetts became the 6th state on February 6, 1788.
The first basketball game was played in Springfield in 1891.
Boston Common became the first public park in America in 1634.
Harvard was the first college established in North America. Harvard was founded in 1636.
Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
Religion in the State (summarize from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/massachusetts)
In 2014 58 percent (58 people out of a 100) of the people in Massachusetts say they are Christians.
Yet 67 percent (67 people out of a 100) of people in Massachusetts say they seldom or never read their religious books.
Also 54 percent (54 people out of a 100) of people in Massachusetts say the Holy Scripture is not the Word of God.
Michigan
Activity
Trace the state (or if you have activity book “connect the dot” for the state).
Write out the name of the state four times.
Knowing now how the state looks like and the name of the state identify where is the state on an atlas or globe.
Fun Facts (summarized: https://www.50states.com/facts/michigan.htm)
Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837.
Detroit in Michigan is known as the car capital of the world.
Alpena in Michigan is the home of the world’s largest cement plant.
In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states.
The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World.
Religion in the State (summarize from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/Michigan/)
In 2014 70 percent (70 people out of a 100) of the people in Michigan say they are Christians.
Yet 32 percent (32 people out of a 100) of people in Michigan say they seldom or never attend religious services.
Also 31 percent (31 people out of a 100) of people in Michigan say the Holy Scripture is not the Word of God.
Minnesota
Activity
Trace the state (or if you have activity book “connect the dot” for the state).
Write out the name of the state four times.
Knowing now how the state looks like and the name of the state identify where is the state on an atlas or globe.
Fun Facts (summarized: https://www.50states.com/facts/minnesota.htm)
Minnesota became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858.
The country largest mall is in Minnesota: Mall of America in Bloomington is the size of 78 football fields — 9.5 million square feet.
The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at the University of Minnesota.
The first Children’s department in a Library is said to be that of the Minneapolis Public Library, which separated children’s books from the rest of the collection in Dec. 1889.
Masking and Scotch tape were invented in Minnesota.
Religion in the State (summarize from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/Minnesota/)
In 2014 74 percent (74 people out of a 100) of the people in Minnesota say they are Christians.
Yet only 46 percent (46 people out of a 100) of people in Minnesota say religion is very important to them.
Also 29 percent (29 people out of a 100) of people say they seldom or never read attend religious services.
Mississippi
Activity
Trace the state (or if you have activity book “connect the dot” for the state).
Write out the name of the state four times.
Knowing now how the state looks like and the name of the state identify where is the state on an atlas or globe.
Fun Facts (summarized: https://www.50states.com/facts/mississippi.htm)
Mississippi became the 20th state on December 10, 1817.
Mississippi suffered the largest percentage of people who died in the Civil War of any Confederate State. 78,000 Mississippians entered the Confederate military. By the end of the war 59,000 were either dead or wounded.
The largest Bible-binding plant in the nation is Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood.
The world’s largest cactus plantation is in Edwards.
Mississippi was the first state in the nation to have a planned system of junior colleges
Religion in the State (summarize from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/Mississippi)
In 2014 83 percent (83 people out of a 100) of the people in Mississippi say they are Christians.
A majority of these people that claim to be Christians are evangelical: 41 percent (41 people out of a 100) of people in Mississippi.
The majority of Mississippi, 49 percent (49 people out of a 100) of people say they attend religious services at least once a week.
Spiritual Discussion:
Reminder that just because someone claims to be a Christian does not mean they are a Christian.
Go over Gospel and salvation with child/children.
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Thanks, Jim, for another interesting look at some of the states. One of my biggest takeaways so far in this series is the large percentages of people who claim to be “Christian” yet don’t attend church or read the Bible (not that those two things make anyone a Christian but living branches bear fruit). I would like to learn more about how Massachusetts and the other New England states became so secularized. Of course those states started out with a strong connection to Puritanism. Why did people in that area drift so far away from the faith? I know “higher” textual criticism spread through the seminaries of the Northeast beginning in the mid-19th-century. I wonder if the theocratic “fundamentalism” of the Puritans also fostered a negative backlash to evangelical Christianity?
I wonder too; I think whenever the church depends upon the government it never is a good thing as the government’s goal is different than that of a biblical church. Government by nature is the use of force or threat of use of force with the letter of the law; the government typically want “peace” and I imagine the tolerance of false teacher is greater than that of a free independent church. So when Unitarians and Universalists start being installed in pastorate and seminaries it is job security for these heretics versus at independent model churches where the congregation isn’t forced or coerced to accept heresies. I haven’t studied enough with the details of New England but I believe we see that in other European Protestant states as well. Let me know what you think
Yup, I agree with your good comments. When I read that book about the burning of the convent in Boston in the 1830s, I was surprised to learn Unitarianism/Universalism had already made inroads.
Finely…Mississippi. I’ll get some facts together that might be of interest.
Thanks for more interesting details about the states, Jim! I hadn’t realized how much Mississippi had lost during the civil war. I knew it took a long time for our state to rebuild afterwards.
Can’t imagine living through the time of the Civil War; tragic on both sides. Did Sherman marched through South Carolina as well? Even if he didn’t I imagine it was still a tough ordeal
That he did. After Atlanta, he made his march to the sea. He spared Savannah, but when he went through SC, he burned Columbia (some say in retaliation for being the first state to secede from the union.)
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I love using these, the dad has a good teaching plan and kids must have been a good sport,xx