JOURNALING

Question Prompt:

Write out one or more of the following questions in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook or on a piece of paper to glue in your scrapbook: What do you know about the United States of America? What would you like to learn about the U.S.A?

The United States/

Independence Day

Try to find a Picture Book like these titles:

Coming to American: The Story of Immigration, by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Susannah Ryan, Scholastic Inc., 1996 - this is a beautifully illustrated book and explains immigration quite well for children, showing The United States diversity.

Johnny Appleseed, a tall tale retold and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg, Morrow Junior Books, 1988—Kellogg’s wonderful illustrations make this retelling a fun read.

Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America, by Lynne Cheney and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, lots of facts and detailed illustrations flood this book and make it a fun and interesting read.

Paul Bunyan, a tall tale retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg, Morrow Junior Books, 1984—Another Kellogg book full of his action packed illustrations, this time about the legendary American giant Paul Bunyan and his giant blue ox Babe.

Wow! America!, by Robert Neubecker, Hyperion Books for Children, 2006 - Izzy chases her little sister Joe across America and both are wowed by the amazing sites to see. I love the bright illustrations in this book.

Try to find some Non-fiction Books to learn about the United States:

Davy Crockett, by Elaine Marie Alphin, Lerner Publications Company, 2003 - Part of the History Maker Bios series (all of which would be perfect for this Theme Day exploring American's like Abraham Lincoln and Amelia Earhart).

Looking at the United States, by Kathleen Pohl, Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2009 - with bigger font but still a lot of detail this is a good review of the USA for grade schoolers.

The Making of America: The History of the United States from 1492 to the Present, by Robert D. Johnston, Ph.D., National Geographic, 2003 - a big book for kids who want to learn more.

Our 50 United States and Other U.S. Lands, by the Editors of TIME for Kids with Renee Skelton and Jaime Joyce, Collins, 2007 - a page per state with interesting facts about each one.

Seven Natural Wonders of North America, by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods, Twenty-First Century Books, 2009 - a detailed look at Dinosaur Provincial Park, PAcific Rim National Park, Redwood Forests, Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park and Paricutin Volcano perfect for older readers.

Spotlight On The United States of America, by Bobbie Kalman and Niki Walker, Crabtree Publishing Company, 2008 - a concise look at American History for young readers.

The United States of America: A State-by-State Guide, by Millie Miller and Cyndi Nelson, Scholastic Reference, 1999 - with illustrations and little facts this book covers each state.

United States the Culture, by Lynne Weiss, Crabtree Publishing company, 2013 - other books in this great series include United States the Land and United States the People with each exploring the USA in different realms.

Weird But True Facts About U.S. Presidents, by Arnold Ringstad and illustrated by Mernie Gallagher-Cole, The Child's World, 2013 - with fun illustrations and facts galor you will learn a lot about U.S. Presidents that you didn't know.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

IN WASHINGTON DC

BOOKS:

NOTE: I often do the journal prompt as a final activity for International Theme Days to see what my children have learned:

Would you like to visit the United States? Why or why not? If you traveled to the USA what would you like to visit or do? What are three interesting facts you learned about the United States of America? How many states can you name? How many states have you been to? What cities in the United States have you traveled to? Where in the U.S.A would you like to travel? What do you now know about the United States of America?

Having an International Theme Day is a great excuse to visit the library with your child!

Reading & Writing

How to encourage your child to write:

Choose the level of your child:
Toddler/Preschool – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and have your child draw a picture of the answer

Preschool/Kindergarten – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and write the answer down for him/her leaving one word for him/her to write out himself/herself with your help. You could also encourage him/her to draw a picture as well.

Early Grade School – have your child either write out the answer himself/herself (encourage phonetic spelling) without your help, or offer to help with spelling each word out loud one word at a time.

Grade School – have your child write a sentence or two on his/her own and then read over and discuss the response. (You decide whether to correct the spelling or not)

Older Child – have your child write a longer response (paragraph).

As A Challenge – instead of a question ask your older child to write a story or poem about the Unites States of America.