Teaching with Ticia: Maine and Missouri

It feels right to be discussing Maine in the fall, since I've heard they get a gorgeous fall with beautiful autumn leaves.  Down here in Texas, I've never really heard of these "fall leaves," so I'm always jealous of the shots I see other people taking.

MAINE

Sadly our library didn't have a plethora of books on Maine, it had oh........ three.  And those three weren't what you would think of, but it still gave my kids an idea of Maine.

Abbie Against the Storm- is a wonderful true story about a young girl who is left in charge while her father goes to get more supplies.  She weathers the worst storm in history, keeping her sick mother and sister alive.  I used this as an opportunity to bring in an art lesson on lines and contours.

The Sea Chest-While the last is a documented true story, this one is a compilation of several stories.  It has a wonderful story about finding a treasure chest and what was inside of it.  The book is very well written and is delightful, if you have a chance to read it, DO.  For this activity we predicted what was going to be in the chest, then wrote down what actually was in it.  Finally they wrote/drew what they would put in their treasure chest.

Wakame Gatherers- This book takes place mostly in Japan, but it's a comparison of two grandmothers, one in Japan and one in Maine.  They talk about their lives growing up, and what they did.  It also talks about sea weed that can be found off the shorelines of both places.  After reading it we talked about different uses for sea weed, and what our favorite use for sea weed was.  Overwhelming answer: ICE CREAM!

OTHER IDEAS

Blueberries for Sal- This book, and a follow on book both take place in Maine, sadly our library copies were all checked out, and my personal copy is on walk-about.  With young kids you could count blueberries or do a comparison of mother bears and human moms.  Older kids you could study bears, or cook blueberry muffins.

Lobsters-with the waters being colder, Maine is supposed to be a good spot for lobsters.  You could observe lobsters at the grocery store, check a book out on them.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- read some of his poetry

What else would you suggest for Maine?  At the time we studied it, of the 10 books on my list all but 3 were checked out or were not truly appropriate.

MISSOURI

For whatever reason Blogger does not want this picture upright, but on its side, so I apologize for that.

Again the books choices were limited for Missouri, so I had only two activities, much to my chagrin.

Tom Sawyer- Mark Twain was from Missouri, and many of his books take place there.  I found a great easy reader adaptation of Tom's adventure painting the fence.  All of the usual elements of a story were easily identifiable in this story, so we took some time to identify what the elements of the story were, characters, setting, and problem.  I liked this activity because it's easily adaptable to several ages.  Younger kids can draw the answer, while older kids have to write sentences or more details.

The Gateway Arch- One of the most outstanding features about Missouri is the Gateway Arch, it was designed to memorialize the starting of the Oregon Trail in St. Louis.  We talked about all of the different ideas people had, and what we might have created if we were in charge.  After all that talking we designed our own monument to Westward Expansion.  Apparently this group of kids was going to make a lot of statues.

OTHER IDEAS

Oregon Trail and Westward expansion- St. Louis was the starting point for many of the wagon trains heading West.  You could talk about what you would bring with you in your wagon, or what it takes to plan an expedition.

Legend of the Dogwood Tree-I saw this idea later on and saved it for possible using at Easter time as well, but the flower of Missouri s the dogwood, so it could also be used here.

Anyone live in Missouri with some great ideas?  I didn't see any great ones that popped out at me as I was planning our unit.

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