50 States Mystery Postcards

1. 50 States Mystery Postcards Name: Teacher: Date:

2. Teacher Directions • These "postcards" give little tantalizing snippets of information about each unnamed state, challenging students to use the resources listed below to correctly identify the mystery state and pinpoint its capital. These Where-am-I greetings comprise the first five of a series of the fifty states in a Web Trek for Grades5-8 (look for more entries soon!). Students should be divided into teams to complete the attached projects, which include facts books, crafts, trivia, maps, "Did You Know" cards, and travel brochures. They can begin with general information resources on all of the 50 states, or you can send them to specific state links, asking them to correctly identify theirs out of the five given. You can also print out copies of the Student Team Project worksheet to help students plan and timeline their group projects. • Put students in small groups and assign each group a specific card. • Students should design the front cover of their postcard and include the name of the state and a picture that depicts the state. Names should be signed at the bottom of the clue. When they have completed the cover they should continue with the rest of their assigned project. Hands-on projects can be scanned or photographed to add to the completed class state booklet. • Concept created by Everyday Teaching at www.everydayteaching.com/Treks/50.states.html

3. State Name

4. GREETINGS from the Hoosier State! Known as the "Crossroads of America", there are more highways intersecting in this state than any other. Cars must be important to the natives of this state, because it also has the most famous motor speedway in the country. We're heading to Spencer County, where former President Abraham Lincoln lived, and I'm hoping we'll see some of this state's famous covered bridges along the way. Did you know that there were 5 vice-presidents and one president from this state? In the northwest, there are many Mennonite and Amish communities. They grow a lot of corn in this state, and the first American goldfish farm began here in 1899. We may head north to this midwestern state's 40 miles of shoreline along Lake Michigan, or we might go to see a basketball game in the capital instead. You'd enjoy that... but where am I? And what is the capital city? I'm also giving you the task of designing a colorful map of this state, marking important regions and adding annotated comments of history and trivia.

5. State Name

6. GREETINGS from this wilderness wonderland! I'm in the largest state in the country, where there are 17 of the highest mountains in North America. Today we began a tour of the Inside Passage, starting with a visit to Totem Bight State Historical Park where you can see the largest collection of totem poles in the world. Later we went fishing for king salmon (you should see the size of the fish I caught!). Tomorrow we will head further north to the state capital, where we will go kayaking on a whale watching tour. I'm hoping to see both blue and humpbacked whales. If we have time, we may go glacier trekking, but I can't wait to head north along the Dalton Highway, where we'll cross the Yukon River (did you know there are over 3,000 rivers and 3,000,000 lakes in this state?) on a highway system that connects to the Arctic Ocean. We've been told we'll have a good chance of seeing caribou, bald eagles, and bears when we visit Denali Park. This state has over 98% of America's brown bear population, and it also is home to black bears and grizzlies. I sure wish you were here enjoying this breathtaking state with us... but where am I? And what is this state's capital? When you find out, read more about the state and make up a "Did You Know?" booklet to share with the class.

7. State Name

8. GREETINGS from this Mid-Atlantic garden state, bordered by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River. Despite its small size, this state is a major crossroads between Washington, D.C. and New York City. It was also an important region during the American Revolution, when General George Washington crossed the Delaware River and subsequently won several important victories in battles in this state. It is one of the thirteen original colonies, and we're off to see all of the historic sites, including the James Fenimore Cooper House (Fenimore Cooper was the author of "The Last of the Mohicans"), the Ulysses S. Grant House, President Grover Cleveland's birthplace, the Walt Whitman House, the Thomas A. Edison Memorial Tower, and the Steuben House. My older sister wants to visit the colleges this week too, so we're heading to Rutgers and Princeton universities. So do you know where we are? Your special project: You know how we learn about state flags, flowers, and birds? Well, you get to design a state kite - and build it! Your kite should represent many of the features you have learned about this state, i.e. it should be recognizable as being from this state and no other. Here are some kite building websites to help you with your project:http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/make.htmlhttp://www.tutorials.com/04/0479/0479.asp

9. State Name

10. GREETINGS from the state of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, the setting for the classic Christmas movie, "Holiday Inn", and the state famous for its wonderful maple syrup and delicious cheeses! It was the 14th state to join the United States, and while it is bordered by Canada in the north, Lake Champlain and New York on the western border, the Connecticut River and New Hampshire in the east, and Massachusetts to the south, it is completely landlocked. The views we saw today are amazing - it's no wonder it's called the Green Mountain State. We've entered into an ice carving competition in Stowe, but in between the Winter Carnival fun, we will plan to do a lot of skiing. The cities are more like villages and towns here; the biggest one has a population of less than 30,000 people, and the capital city is even less with a population less than 10,000. Ethan Allen lived here during the 1770's and organized the Green Mountain Boys. In more modern times, the American poet Robert Frost also here, where he helped to establish the Bread Loaf School of English in Ripton. We plan on visiting the poet's grave site in Bennington tomorrow. Wish you were here... but where am I and what is the capital city? Oh - and you should get busy on your special project for this state, which is to make a match or concentration game. You will need to use index cards, or make your own; on one card you will have a trivia or state fact question, and you will need to write the answer clearly and neatly on another card. Make up about 15 of these question and answer cards (or 30 cards altogether) for a state match-up game. Students will mix them up, turn them over, and take turns drawing two cards to see if they have correctly matched the question to the answer. When they get the right match, they keep the cards. The player with the most cards wins.

11. State Name

12. GREETINGS! I'm having a fantastic time on this bike tour in Arches National Park; you would love it! If you saw a picture of where I am right now, you would probably think it was the Grand Canyon - but it's not even in that state. Dinosaur bones are often found here, and the Anasazi and Navajo cultures lives in the southern part of this state. On Sunday morning we are going to be in the capital of this state, where we will be visiting the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, came to this state in covered wagons, seeking religious freedom. The leader of the journey was Brigham Young, who followed the former leader Joseph Smith. Young had a terrific influence in forming the character of this state, and the major university here is named after him. Also on Sunday we are going to visit Great Salt Lake, where the American artist Robert Smithson created his famous earthwork, the Spiral Jetty. Great Salt Lake has 10,000 miles of shoreline and is only 34' deep, so it's a great place to go kayaking. Wish you were here! But where am I, and what is the capital of this state? Once you find out and learn more about this state, you will have to complete the following project: Plan and design a travel brochure for this varied state. You can focus on a bicycle tour, research the Mormon migration, figure out where to go whitewater rafting, visiting the Anasazi State Park - or include all of them. You should use a three fold method for your brochure, and be sure to include some appealing photographs.