I received this email and am going to share the free unit study in it. You can subscribe to the various free newsletters here.

Unit Safari Yahoo Group

Timeline

• Donna Young’s Site suggests making a Timeline Notebook! http://history.donnayoung.org/timeline-cw.htm
• The forms and suggestion page will also be helpful! http://history.donnayoung.org/timeline.htm
• Online Time Line Creator
  http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/timeline
• Dear America Interactive Timeline http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/buffer/timeline.htm
• This tool starts at the year 1000 and goes to the current day. http://www.ourtimelines.com/create_tl_2c.html
• Hyper History Timeline
  http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
• Early American History Timeline Activity
  http://home.att.net/~teaching/socst/history.pdf

Bible

• Psalm 24:1-2
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2
• Matthew 28:19
• You can look these Scriptures up in several versions at www.bible.com.
• All Scriptures should be copied in your own hand; then add your comments to them. Divide the number of Scriptures by the number of days you plan to cover this material. Don’t forget to include these sheets in your portfolio.
• Presidential Prayer Team for Kids—US History from a Biblical perspective

Vocabulary

• Interactive American History vocabulary
• Copy each word and its definition onto a sheet of paper for your portfolio.
• Make flashcards to use with vocabulary words. Print the wordlist on the front; then have the kids HAND-write the definition in their own words on the back. It helps them to remember the definitions better. www.senteacher.org/wk/quickcards.php
• Downloadable software to look up words: www.wordweb.info/free
• Online Dictionary: www.dictionary.reference.com

Book Resources

• List of books related to states
  • Geography ... USA by Jerry Aten, a Frank Schaffer Publication
  • Great States! by Cindy Barden, Teaching and Learning Company
  • From Sea to Shining Sea books for each state
  • Alaska by Joyce Johnston, Lerner Publications Company, 1994
  • Northern Lights by D.M. Souza, Carolrhoda Books, 1994
  • This Place Is Cold by Vicki Cobb, Walker and Company, 1989
  • Grizzlies by Lynn M. Stone, Carolrhoda Books, 1993
  • Yo, Sacramento! and All Those Other State Capitals You Don’t Know About by Will Cleveland and Mark Alvarez
  • Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
  • Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg, Scholastic
  • The OZ Series (all of them) by L. Frank Baum, available at http://www.audiobooksforfree.com
  • Which Way USA, a monthly magazine

Liz and Karen May have many inexpensive workbooks that could work with this unit. It’s worth taking a look. They offer four FREE books just for the asking. www.hometown.aol.com/wlelzbth/littleschoolhouseindex.html

Poetry, Music, and Audio Files

• American History related songs
• Songs in American History
• Lessons and Archives of Poetry www.poetryteachers.com
• Make your own Audio books! www.audacity.sourceforge.net is a nice WAV recorder and www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm converts WAV to MP3 for smaller, more shareable files.
• Poetry Worksheet Template
• Create an Onomatopoeia Poem about the topic
• School House Rock America Songs www.schoolhouserock.tv/America.html
• The old KiddieRecords – lots of American stories to download for FREE www.kiddierecords.com
• States and Capitals Rap by Rock ‘n Learn

Video and Software Resources

• FREE Educational Videos. This site changes regularly, and you will need to be a support group leader or classroom teacher to get the videos. If your support group doesn’t have the video already, order it as the technology coordinator for your group. If you’re not in a group, form your own! www.vpw.com
• The Great American State Quiz video by Venture Productions: Have fun while learning about America while viewing some of the country’s most spectacular sights and test your knowledge.
• USA Explorer by DK Interactive Learning: You’re needed to deliver an important secret package. You will track down clues from coast to coast to solve the mystery. Along the way, learn about each state, get historical facts, make maps, and predict the weather.
• United States Geography Tutor 1.0
• Nearly all units can be supported with “shipping only” software, CDs, and DVDs from the following companies. www.planetcdrom.com, FreeCDSoftware, www.planetdvdnow.com, www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm

Games

• Donna Young’s Instructions for making your own GeoSafari cards www.donnayoung.org/geo/geocards.htm
• Google Group that discusses GeoSafari Learning Games
• Play a version of “Simon Says” to reinforce state locations. Say, “Uncle Sam says, ‘Brandon, go to Iowa.’” The student then points on his map to the location of Iowa.
• Have a spelling bee using state names and capitals.
• Play Where in the USA? based on the Carmen Sandiego series.
• Make Cards:
• Timeline events to their date Matching card
• True or false cards
• ANY worksheet is easily converted to a card.
• Maps of States and Regions www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/usa.html
• Important event and Figures, Cloze cards for each state.
• Match state to symbol, bird, governor, flag, or any other important item.
  • Board Games:
• Ideas for making your own board games
• Make your own file folder games. Here are some sample file folder game boards.
• Scroll down on this page for printable game parts for games to create with this unit! www.momsview.com/freeprintablegames.html
• Learning Card Games:

1.  50 States Bingo Games – Level 1, Level 2, Level 3
2.  States and Capitals Memory Game
3.  Make States and Capital Flash cards
4.  Make Uno cards for the states

• All the States are one color
• Capitals are another color
• Governors are another color
• Map with state information is your fourth color
• Each state needs to have its name in all four pieces so they can be used. Include the normal number of Skip, Reverse, Draw Two cards, and so on.
  • Online or Downloadable Games:
    • State & Capitals Matching Game
    • Lots of US Geography Games
    • Lots of American History Games
    • Map Identifying Games
    • GeoNet game by Houghton Mifflin about US
    • The Oregon Trail adventure Free Download
    • American Adventure Free Download
    • C.Y.P.H.E.R. Operation US Presidents Free Download
    • Pilgrim Quest
    • Time Riders in American History
    • Carmen Sandiego Games – Here and here!

www.historyimages.com                                            
Clip Art
Use clip art in your portfolios or for notebooking/lapbooking.

• Free American photos and clip art
• www.ace-clipart.com
• www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/july4/clip.html
• www.christianet.com/freeclipart/patriotic.htm
• familyinternet.about.com/library/wall/blpatriotclip.htm
• Pat’s Web Graphics
• Patriotic Images
• Fourth of July Graphics
• Windy’s Patriotic Backgrounds
• Fourth of July Clip Art
• www.historyimages.com/
• History Clip Art: United States

Worksheets, Activities, and Complete Units

• Subscribe to Dover to get new lessons every week!
• Maps of the US states, either for coloring or labeling
• U.S. Printables and other learning pages www.enchantedlearning.com/school/USA/
• 50 States Theme Unit—Free printables, some require membership fee.
• Lots of Links to American history stuff online www.canteach.ca/links/linkusa.html
• Maps, worksheets and more! www.50states.com/
• Site lists capital, bird, flower, admittance to the union for each state www.abcteach.com/States/StateTOC.htm
• Individual state unit studies
• Mini unit on each state
• Lots of worksheets www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/soc_studies/states/
• Fast Facts www.kidskonnect.com/States/StatesHome.html
• American History Study Guides www.sparknotes.com/history/
• Our USA Thematic Unit
• States and Regions Thematic Unit
• Collection of Lesson Plans
• US Outline Maps
• Lesson Plan Search on LessonPlanet.com
• American Experience films and websites
• Worksheet creation tools:
  

1.	This program makes nice reports and handwriting worksheets for the unit www.startwrite.com
2.	This company gives away two free software worksheet factories, one for basic math and one word search utility, that will make wonderful complements to this unit when you include the clip art listed in the clip art section. www.schoolhousetech.com
3.	This site will turn any text into a worksheet. Use it with the Wikipedia text or texts from Project Gutenberg. Open up a Microsoft Word “New” document, open the template and add-ins for teacher’s pet, and add one paragraph at a time. Click the appropriate tab for the type of question you want. You can also use it to make multiple-choice vocabulary sheets. www.teachers-pet.org
4.	This site has several online worksheet makers and a ton of rubric makers. Rubrics work great with Homeschool Tracker because they give you total points and you count up exactly how many points your child gets.
5.	Online Crossword Puzzle Maker to use with your Vocabulary words or locations or even dated from the timeline. www.happychild.org.uk/wks/english/ssm/crosswords01.htm

Recipes

• All the states are represented here! www.virtualcities.com/ons/0rec/governor.htm
• Pioneer and Indian Recipes
• Make state-shaped cookies and put an M&M candy or something of the sort where the capital would be.

Field Trips and Web Quests

• Go camping! It’s fun even if you go in your own backyard!
• Visit your state capital
• US Regions
• US Symbols
• USA Wildlife
• Basic USA Thinkquest
• US Government
• The Fifty Nifty States
• Famous American Landforms
• Geography and State Facts
• Teacher Resources for studying the 50 states
• Free travel brochures just for the asking
• Historical Tour of the White House
• Virtual Tour of Historic Philadelphia

www.historyimages.com

Art and Craft Ideas

• Sample Coloring Pages from Dover Publications
• USA Coloring Pages
• Flags Coloring Book
• Color the States from Crayola
• Government Coloring Pages from Crayola
• Landmarks Coloring Pages from Crayola
• Leaders Coloring Pages from Crayola
• State Flags Printables and Quiz Printouts
• Wild West Themed Coloring Pages
• First Nations/Native American Themed Coloring Pages
• Lots of American themed paper models
• American Girls Paper Dolls
• Animals of North America Dioramas
• Dear America Arts and Crafts
• Dear America Paper Dolls
• Make a salt dough map of your state. You will need 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, 3 teaspoons powdered alum, water, food coloring or tempera paint, sturdy cardboard, and toothpicks. Mix flour, salt, and alum together. Add water to mixture to form a consistency like clay. On cardboard, have students draw an outline of a state map. Spread the salt dough mixture on the outline map. Use extra dough to form mountains. Use toothpicks to label and identify major regions or sites. Allow to dry before painting. A pizza box makes a perfect container for a map. Some shops will donate these to you.
• Create a family tree.

Information and General Web Resources
Includes geographical information as well as events and people you should discuss while studying regions of the US. One idea would be to have the student browse the website for 10-20 minutes and then write a paragraph about it.

• Text for use in all your projects www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America
• American Adventure Home www.theamericanadventure.com
• American History in a Nutshell www.countrystudies.us/united-states/
• Time Magazine articles about America
• State Birds
• America’s Story from America’s Library
• Postcard Tour Through America
• State Flags
• State Songs
• 50 State Quarters Tour
• Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions www.roadsideamerica.com/
• State Profiles www.aol1.infoplease.com/states.html
• Quick Facts From US Census Bureau www.quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html
• Maps of the US www.let.rug.nl/usa/GEO/maps.htm
• Color Landforms Maps of the US www.fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/
• Guide to State Highpoints www.americasroof.com/usa.shtml
• Links to every state government’s website www.enr.state.nc.us/files/states.htm
• State Precipitation Chart Data www.wrcc.dri.edu/precip.html
• Topography Map www.esdim.noaa.gov/story/ngdc_state.html
• Most Recent Reliable Data www.census.gov/
• Presidents of the US www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents

Evaluation Ideas

• Create your own tests: www.vokabel.com/creteste.html and www.easytestmaker.com
• US History End-of-Course Test and Answer Key for Test
• US History Quizzes and Trivia
• Assemble a three-ring binder and include:
  • A copy of this unit
  • Course Description (high school students)
  • Write a summary about books read for the unit
  • Your lapbook created for the unit (K-8 Students)
  • Any worksheets or activity books created with Teachers Pet or the SchoolhouseTech Software
  • Your journal and its contents.
  • Your log of activities from Homeschool Tracker—It’s Free!
  • Your Timeline
  • For More Ideas www.scrapbookingtolearn.com

... Kris ...