a journey through the elementary grades
We’ve made it to 5th grade!
I’m back to blogging for science and history this year, so stayed tuned!
Here’s what we’re doing as far as curriculum:
The Story of Ruby Bridges by: Robert Coles
Ruby Bridges by: Simone T. Ribke
Hurricane Watch by: Melissa Stewart
Hurricanes by: Carol Ryback
Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by: Kirby Larson
Heroes of Hurricane Katrina by: Allan Zullo
Ohio
Ohio by: M.J. York
B is for Buckeye by: Marcia Schonberg
The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery by: Judith Bloom Fradin
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania: The Keystone State by: Maria Lusted
The Liberty Bell by: Mary Firestone
The Liberty Bell by: Gail Sakurai
Can We Ring the Liberty Bell? by: Martha Rustad
The Egg Tree by: Katherine Milhous
The Real Johnny Appleseed by: Laurie Lawlor
The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed by: Margaret Hodges
Seed by Seed: The Legend of John “Appleseed” Chapman by: Esme Raji Codell
Johnny Appleseed by: James Howard Kunstler
Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale by: Steven Kellogg
Johnny Appleseed by: Christin Ditchfield
How Do Apples Grow? by: Betsy Maestro
From Blossom to Fruit by: Gail Saunders-Smith
The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail by: Karen Bush Gibson
How to Get Rich on the Oregon Trail by: Tod Olson (not everything is appropriate for 2nd grade, but we just read bits and pieces)
Westward to Home by: Patricia Hermes
The Golly Sisters Go West by: Betsy Byars
Pioneers
Wagon Wheels by: Barbara Brenner
I Have Heard of a Land by: Joyce Carol Thomas
Little House Picture Book Treasury by: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Welcome to Kirsten’s World by: Susan Sinnott
We changed things up by revolving our studies around an event rather than a U.S. state. We followed Lewis and Clark on their journey to Oregon, studying some of the states they journeyed through and some of the animals they encountered.
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President by: Shirley-Raye Redmond
From Sea to Shining Sea by: Callista Gingrich
Lewis and Clark: Opening the American West by: Ellen Rodger
Lewis and Clark Expedition by: John Perritano
Westward Expansion (pg. 7-19) by: Teresa Domnauer
Plains Indians
Indians of the Plains and Great Basin by: World Book Inc.
Sacagawea
Sacagawea and the Bravest Deed by: Stephen Krensky
Missouri
Missouri: The Show Me State by: Marcia Amidon Lusted
Gateway Arch by: Julie Murray
Steamboat School by: Deborah Hopkinson
Nebraska
Nebraska: The Cornhusker State by: Miriam Coleman
Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale by: Lisa Campbell Ernst
Elsie’s Bird by: Jane Yolen
Three Names by: Patricia McLachlan
Tulip Sees America by: Cynthia Rylant
Montana
Montana by: M.J. York
Dust Devil by: Anne Isaacs
Oregon
Oregon: The Beaver State by: Marcia Amidon Lusted
Oregon by: M.J. York
Apples to Oregon by: Deborah Hopkinson
Bison
Thunder on the Plains: The Story of the American Buffalo by: Ken Robbins
Buffalo by: Phyllis Jean Perry
American Bison: A Scary Prediction by: William Caper
They Come From the Bronx: How the Buffalo Were Saved From Extinction by: Neil Waldman
Grandfather Buffalo by: Jim Arnosky
The Buffalo Storm by: Katherine Applegate
Buffalo Music by: Tracey E. Fern
Prairie Dogs
Prairie Dog Song: The Key to Saving North America’s Grasslands by: Susan Roth
Prairie Dogs by: Amanda Markle
Corn
Corn by: Gail Gibbons
From Kernel to Corncob by: Ellen Weiss
Grizzly Bears
Lions, Tigers, and Bears (pg. 28-31) by: Ron Harchi
Eat Like a Bear by: April Pulley Sayre
Beavers
The Lifecycle of a Beaver by: Bobbie Kalman
A House in the Sky: And Other Uncommon Animal Homes by: Steve Jenkins
Hawaii: The Aloha State by: Marcia Amidon Lusted
Uniquely Hawaii by: Geok Yian Goh
National Parks of the U.S.A. by: Kate Siber
Froggy Goes to Hawaii by: Jonathan London
Grandma Calls Me Beautiful by: Barbara M. Joosse
Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku by: Ellie Crowe
Duke Kahanamoku by: Laurie Calkhoven
Inside Volcanoes by: Melissa Stewart
The Magic School Bus Presents Volcanoes and Earthquakes by: Tom Jackson
DirtMeister’s Nitty Gritty Planet Earth by: Steve Tomecek
Alaska: The Last Frontier by: Marcia Amidon Lusted
State-by-State Atlas by: Justine Ciovacco
Tlingit Indians by: Suzanne Williams
Being Caribou by: Karston Heuer (we just looked at the pictures)
Mama, Do You Love Me? by: Barbara M. Joosse
Arctic White by: Danna Smith
You’re Snug With Me by: Chitra Soundar
The Bear Report by: Thyra Heder
The Eyes of Gray Wolf by: Jonathan London
Wind-Wild Dog by: Barbara M. Joosse
Alaska’s Dog Heroes: True Stories of Remarkable Canines by: Shelley Gill
Togo by: Robert J. Blake
The True Story of Balto by: Natalie Standiford
Reading: The True Story of Balto by: Natalie Standiford (Step Into Reading: Step 3)
Spelling
Phonics
Hurricane Florence blew through our area and my older son’s school was canceled for a few days and my husband worked from home. So we didn’t get much done even though this week we studied our home state! However, at the end of the week we were able to go tour the Biltmore Estate, so I’d call this unit study a success!
Welcome to the U.S.A.: North Carolina by: Ann Heinrichs
North Carolina by: Ann Heinrichs
T is for Tar Heel by: Carol Crane
Wright Numbers by: Carol Crane
The Green Gourd: A North Carolina Folktale by: C.W. Hunter
Exploring Biltmore Estate from A to Z by: Chris Kinsley
Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile by: Gloria Houston
Halloween Scare in North Carolina by: Eric James
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by: Russell Freedman
Animated Hero Classics: The Wright Brothers DVD
We continued learning about space, space travel, and spacecraft as we moved from Florida to Alabama. I used to live in Huntsville so I know about the space center located there.
I told Levi about the rover on Mars named Curiosity. Levi already had this toy that included a “rover,” so I asked him to name it (he chose Red Rock Rover) and then sent him on a mission outside to collect samples of the planet Earth. He returned with some rocks and a twig so now we know what Earth is made of and that it can support plant life.
It just so happens that the science lab Levi attends every other week is also learning about outer space. In this week’s lab they made a nebula in a bottle which looks super cool!
Alabama by: Mari Kesselring
Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird by: Bethany Hegedus
The Moon by: Tim Furniss
Seven Wonders of the Solar System by: David A. Aguilar
Blast Off to Space Camp by: Hillary Wolfe
Spacecraft by: Jenny Fretland Vanvoorst
Compass Rose Homeschool 