Introduction for Teachers and Parents:

Welcome to TeachersFirst's unit "The 50 States." TeachersFirst created this resource in response to the many teachers who have bemoaned the lack of a single comprehensive resource on America's states that they could use with upper elementary students. This resource is available as part of both TeachersFirst.com and TeachersAndFamilies.com.

For each state, students will find:

Brief facts - including the usual "almanac" material - along with links to state home pages, kids' pages, and biographies of the state's congressional delegation (the government server for this last one can be slow at times).

A map - showing the state's location relative to its neighbors.

Narratives - Students will find brief narratives on earliest inhabitants, geography and landforms, history from the first European settlements through the Civil War, and the state's economy. These will be challenging for some 4th graders, yet they are complete enough for 6th grade and some middle school assignments.

Famous people - Learn about famous people from all walks of life who are from each state, including a few you may not know about.

Places to see - A listing of notable sights in each state. These have been selected with historical, artistic, or economic interest in mind, and there are links to each location's web site.

This resource can serve as a single source for a state history report, or it can be the basis for a broader exploration. We hope students of all interests and abilities will learn something new from these pages.

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