Where in the World? Wednesday

                                                 

---------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Where in the World? Wednesday!

Thank you for joining us again on our trip around the

United States via postcards and the Internet.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to our tour of the historic state of Massachusetts.

Here are the lovely postcards we received this week.

Thanks folks!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some facts about Massachusetts
you might find interesting:

State Capital: Boston

State Abbreviation: MA

State Nicknames: The Bay State

Origin of Name: Massachusetts was named for an Algonquian Indian word that means "a big hill place."

State Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem," or "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty."

Name for Residents: Massachusettsans or Bay Staters

State Song: All Hail to Massachusetts

Largest City: Boston

State Tree: American Elm

State Bird: Black-Capped Chickadee (HERE is a pretty coloring sheet)

State Flower: Mayflower (HERE is a coloring sheet)
State Insect: Ladybug

State Beverage: Cranberry Juice

State Dessert: Boston Cream Pie

State Muffin: corn muffin

State Cookie: Chocolate Chip Cookie

State Donut: Boston creme donut
State Bean: Navy Bean (as in Boston Baked Beans)

State Berry: Cranberry
State Sport: Basketball

State Gemstone: Rhodonite

State Building Rock: Granite

State Dance: Square dance

State Colors: blue, green, and cranberry

State Children's Book: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McClosky

State Children's Author: Dr. Seuss

State Artist: Norman Rockwell

State Poem: "Blue Hills of Massachusetts" by Katherine E. Mullen

State Horse: Morgan horse

State Cat: Tabby cat

State Game Bird: Turkey

State Reptile: Garter Snake

State Shell: New England Neptune

State Fossil: Dinosaur (theropod) tracks

State Fish: Cod

State Marine Mammal: Right Whale

Highest Point: Mt. Greylock - 3,491 feet (1,064 m) above sea level

Main Lakes and Rivers: Charles River, Connecticut River, Merrimack River, Quabbin Reservoir

Other famous geographic features: Plymouth Rock

Industries: textiles, electronics, publishing, education, tourism, fishing

State Folk Hero: Johnny Appleseed

State Heroine: Deborah Samson

Famous people from Massachusetts: Susan B. Anthony, Leonard Bernstein, Clara Barton, John Singleton Copely, Bette Davis, E.E. Cummings, Benjamin Franklin, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Samuel Morse, Edgar Allen Poe, Leonary Nimoy, Paul Revere, Dr. Seuss, Eli Whitney, James McNeill Whistler

Presidents born in Massachusetts: George Herbert Walker Bush (picture to color), John Adams (picture to color), John Quincy Adams (picture to color), John Fitzgerald Kennedy (picture to color)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Symbols of Massachusetts:

**Find more detailed information about the symbols of Massachusetts HERE .

Flag:

HERE is a printout of the flag to color from Enchanted Learning.

HERE is an interactive flag to paint online from apples4theteacher. You can also print it out to color it.

State Seal:

State Quarter:

HERE is an observation sheet about the quarter.

State Map:

HERE is a map/quiz ro print out and label from Enchanted Learning.

HERE is a simple outline map from Enchanted Learning.

HERE is an outline map from about.com with bordering states.

HERE is a Label Me! Map from Enchanted Learning.

HERE is a dot-to-dot Mystery Map of Massachusetts.

------------------------------------------------------------

Other interesting printables for Massachusetts:

• An acrostic poem sheet for Massachusetts
• Scrambled vocabulary sheet from Massachusetts.
• Simple Word Search for Massachusetts.
• Cities Word Search for Massachusetts.

**A brief history of Massachusetts can be found HERE.
**other brief history of Massachusetts from InfoPlease is HERE.
**Some FUN FACTS about Massachusetts can be found here.

----------------------------------------------------

Here are links to some virtual field trips available for fun locations in Massachusetts.

Doesn't November make you think about the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving? Visit Plymouth, MA where they think about those things all year long! This link has brief information and colorful pictures of the best-known sites around town.

 First, take a trip to Plimoth Plantation to find out about the First Thanksgiving courtesy of an excellent interactive activity. This journey back in time is a fun educational opportunity...and timely, too! It is completely guided, with plenty of colorful images and audio clips. See the reproduction of Plimoth township and meet costumed guides who will tell you about their ancestors who participated in the original celebration in 1621. This is a complete learning experience for your kids. Just turn them loose and watch them enjoy. **Don't miss this one.**


After visiting Plimoth Plantation, why don't you stop by the Pilgrim Museum to learn more about the daily lives of the settlers. There are some excellent learning activities available such as this completely guided and interactive activity about portrait painting, and this one about William Bradford. There is also tons of Pilgrim-related information on this site for you to read...everything from what utensils the settlers used to what they packed for their trip to the New World. On this next page, click on the links below the label "There is always something to do..." to learn more about whatever interests you. Discover more about Pilgrim history HERE and find out the "rest of the story" HERE (links to many source documents can be found at this link, including the Mayflower Compact, passenger lists, and the Treaty with Massasoit). For those students who really want to delve into who the Pilgrims were, try out this site for more information.

After Plymouth, step forward in time to the 1830s and visit Old Sturbridge Village. First, view this video tour of the town. Read this overview of 1790-1840 New England. Then, take an online tour HERE (this is a fairly simple "tour" using text and color photos, but if you scroll down, they often have a FAQ section that gives extensive info about the site and its activities...definitely worth checking out). Make sure you stop by the Kids Zone for some informative fun and games (be sure to try the EyeQ and Tools of the Trade activities) before you leave. Try some of these fun and (mostly) edible activies at home (from making a candle to a cake). For those interested in engineering, they have an interesting section on different forms of water power (with animations) HERE. Here is a "Life in Early America" lesson plan you might find useful for discussion this virtual field trip. Read the book Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney and use the lesson plan HERE to supplement your virtual visit. For more videos like the one above, see the complete listing HERE. Also, you can view slideshows of many activities HERE. I got some great ideas for an apple (or pear) picking implement by watching the Apple Days slideshow...and to think I was precariously climbing our trees to get the ones at the top. Silly me! Upon completion of the day's activities, print up this old-fashioned certificate of merit for your students to add to their portfolio or notebook.

Learn about the Shaker Village in Hancock, MA by reading this brief history, then continue your tour by clicking on the links to the side to see pictures and information about their lifestyle, famous furniture, and religion. See what a Day at the Museum is like HERE.



And a few final brief stops at these popular locations:

Nantucket--pictures only
Cape Cod--pictures only

Lastly, travel to Boston and take a virtual GPS tour of the city, with many historic stops along the way HERE. Tour the city's major areas and events with articles and many photos HERE.


**If you find any tours I did not locate, please let me know and I will add them...even weeks later. Thanks.


----------------------------------------------------

Thank you for joining us. I hope you will check back
next week for a fun and informative field trip
to marvelous Maryland!

Blessings,

Heather

-----------------------------------

Hop on board the Where in the World? Wednesday field trip bus by
leaving links to your geography posts below.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...