While I am a unit study mom, I do not feel the need to turn every topic into an elaborate unit for my family. This year I wanted to encourage my 8 year old to work independently of me for one subject. The topic we chose? Geography of the United States. She was interested in knowing where the states were thanks to dear cousins who move often as a part of being a military family, as well having as other family members scattered across the country. We had set goals for her geography study:
- Learn where the states are on the map.
- Learn the capital of each state.
- Learn the postal abbreviation for each state.
- Read some fun stories along the way.
Knowing I wanted this to be independent, I looked for a simple, repetitive format to hold her hand. 
I discovered The Star-Spangled State Book ($18.95)from Knowledge Quest. The book itself under 100 pages. Each state has it’s own page packed with facts and stories in a matching format. The stories were fun and interesting, they would hold her attention. As a matter of fact she usually tracked me down to tell me the stories later. The Star-Spangled Workbook($29.95)was what really sold me though. It has 259 pages broken down into two semesters, 36 weeks total, and includes a reproducible CD so I can use this curriculum for each of my children in future years. Each week is laid out in a 4 day format. In Semester 1 on days 1-3 you learn about 3 states. The two sided workbook page for each day on the front is the same as the regular book in grayscale, but information is missing. The student has to remember and finish the information. Then there is a map of the US for the student to find the state and color it in.
On the back of the worksheet at the top is a simple question, “What do you remember about (insert state name)?” My daughter could write a short answer of what was the most memorable to her. This was one of her favorite parts, telling what she knew. Underneath that section are two vocabulary words to define (she learned dictionary skills!). Last is a set of 4 boxes where the student draws the state, connects 3 state outlines with their names, finds the state on a portion of map, and unscrambles words related to that state’s information. I will be honest, my daughter hated the word unscrambles, so I let her skip them.
Day 4 in each week of semester 1 is a short map quiz that has the student labeling states on a US map. Short, easy, and helpful in meeting one of our goals.
We finished semester 1 this month and decided to take the end of the book exam because we are not moving on the the second semester of the book right now. It was 5 pages covering labeling all 50 states on the map, matching capitals to states, writing postal abbreviations, and finding a mystery state that shares a border with a list of states. Makayla did great, taking a week to complete the exam. After she labeled the blank map with all 50 states I let her use it to find the mystery states, because we had not worried about learning border states in our semester 1 studies.
When we pick the Star-Spangled States Workbook back up to do semester 2 later on it will take us through fun geoquizzes flipping through the book itself to strengthen her recall of the facts as well as the stories. She will also focus on borders, learning which states border each other, increasing her map skills, and reviewing capitals and other facts.
Knowledge Quest also sells the Star-Spangled States book and workbook together at a discount, for $39.95. You can see sample pages for both the book and workbook HERE.
I am so glad I discovered The Star-Spangled States book and workbook. It has been just right to introduce Makayla to our country while encouraging her to develop her independence. I will definitely be using it with each of my younger children when they are ready.
Written by Tristan, mom to 5, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks. You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.
{Disclaimer because the FTC says I have to: I bought these books with my own money, and yes, we really used them. I am not affiliated with Knowledge Quest books in any way, though I really like many of their products. All opinions presented herein are my own.}
Very helpful review! My five year old is very interested in US Geography. What is the youngest age do you think this set would be suitable for?
It depends. Because of the writing needed for the workbook I would say at least 2nd grade (age 7), but if you simply got the Star Spangled States book without the workbook and read a page aloud to your child every few days that would work well.