As a youth I actually took state history twice – Mississippi history one year and Ohio history the next. Neither was memorable. Fortunately, homeschooling allows me the flexibility to create a more exceptional experience for my children.
When it was time to cover state history in our homeschool, the Make-A-State Activity-Pak lap book was the first item I purchased. Lap books have become an integral part of our homeschool. It was only natural to include well-designed hands-on activities when studying our state’s history.
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Photo Gallery of the Make-A-State Activity-Pak
The Make-A-State Activity-Pak comes with digital files for all fifty states and Washington D.C. This versatility makes it a great resource for anyone residing in the United States. Since we live in Ohio, all photos featured here are of the Ohio state lap book.
With this digital resource, you supply the paper and cardstock to print each activity. While the instructions provide general recommendations on paper color (e.g., white, light, colored), you get to choose the colors for each project.
Occasionally, a project requires additional supplies. The Key State Facts activity uses a string to hold the keys together. The pole for the state flag is a wooden skewer. A tiny piece of Velcro keeps the State Quarter project closed when not being viewed.
Make-A-State Lap Book Activities
The Make-A-State lap book includes twenty hands-on activities. Some activities are relatively simple, and others require research and/or artistic creativity. Together, these lap book projects create a well-rounded, cohesive state study. We did supplement our state history studies with a few other books, but the lap book was definitely the most memorable component.
Easy State Lap Book Activities
The activities listed below are the easiest of the Make-A-State Activity-Pak. The numbers correspond to the actual activity number, from one to twenty.
1. Key State Facts
As its name indicates, this activity lists some of the key state facts. The fill-in-the-blank keys are printed on cardstock. I chose three different colors of cardstock to make them stand out from each other, but you could print them on any color of cardstock including white. Just hole punch them, tie them together with a string, and attach the bottom key to the lapbook with double-sided sticky tape.
2. Origin of State Name
The second activity in the state lap book resembles a name tag. It opens to reveal a hand-written explanation about how the state received its name. This activity requires only minimal writing and research in addition to cutting, pasting, and coloring.
3. State Motto
This activity is one of the simplest in the entire lap book. Although all state mottoes are included with the lap book, your student has the option to write the motto on a blank banner.
8. Regions
Another easy but still educational project is the regions coloring activity. Simply color the map so that your state stands out from the other states in your region.
14. Native Tribes
This activity encourages research into the native tribes of your state. Although your student will only list the names of the tribes on the flip-up top of the drum, this activity can serve as a diving board into further study of native tribes.
17. State Quarter
Another easy lap book activity is the explanation of the state quarter. Images of all state quarters are included in the Make-A-State Activity-Pak. Your student can do some quick research about the state quarter and write a simple explanation about its design.
18. Recipes
The last of the “easy” state lap book activities is the recipe box. The Make-A-State Activity-Pak includes one recipe for every state and a blank recipe card to add any additional state-specific recipes. If studying U.S. geography, you could use the recipes included with this activity to cook and taste your way across the United States.
Intermediate Lap Book Activities
Based on our experience with the Make-A-State Activity-Pak, I’d rank the following activities as a medium level of difficulty. These tend to involve more research, writing, and/or drawing.
4. State Symbols
The cover of the state symbols activity simply involves printing the bird/flower image for your state which is provided with the digital lap book files. Your student will color this in. The inside of the booklet has space to draw three more symbols and ruled lines for listing several state symbols.
5. State Song
For the state song activity, your student will create a booklet with the lyrics or other historical information about your state song. This booklet is then attached to a music stand for added effect.
6. State Industry / Agriculture / Climate
This activity features pop-up panels with images representing industry, agriculture, and climate. Your student has the option to color the provided images or draw them on blank frames. A small amount of research is required to write about your state’s specific industries, agriculture, and climate.
7. State Wildlife
The wildlife booklet is well-suited for students who enjoy drawing as there are several image frames for adding pictures. Ruled lines also provide space for listing additional wildlife or writing more about those in the drawings.
9. State Geography
The state geography activity can be as detailed as your student desires. As evidenced by the image below, my son chose to add minimal detail to this state map. He enjoyed having free-reign to complete this activity as he chose.
10. State Government
The state government booklet definitely requires more research than most projects in the lap book. It also requires drawing the state capitol building. Your student may choose to use the trees background as shown or draw a more appropriate background (e.g., palm trees for Hawaii). Additional pages in this booklet provide ruled lines and prompts for filling in other information specific to your state’s government.
11. State Seal & Flag
The Make-A-State Activity-Pak comes with flag images for all fifty states and Washington, D.C. Since my purchase of this Activity-Pak, at least one state has changed its flag. I’m awaiting feedback from Home School in the Woods to find out if and how this change will be reflected in the Activity-Pak. Note that important updates to other products are listed on their resources page.
Rather than drawing the state seal as suggested in the instructions, I found one online and printed it in a few different sizes to find a match for the space. I helped my son research information about the state seal and flag to fill in the prompts inside the booklet.
15. State Landmarks
The state landmarks project in the Make-A-State Activity-Pak is wonderful for students who love to express their creativity. For this project, my son and I brainstormed the chosen landmarks. We’ve actually been to several of these, and now we have ideas for others that we should visit as well.
16. Sports Teams
My son enjoyed learning about all of the professional sports teams we have in Ohio. This is mainly an artistic project but is still well-suited to those who don’t consider themselves artsy. Although the pocket that holds the cards reads professional sports teams, you could substitute college or other local teams if your state does not have professional sports.
19. State Vocabulary
With the vocabulary activity, your student can include up to twelve words and definitions that are related to your state. The Make-A-State Activity-Pak comes with a suggested list of words for each state, but you can choose to define any words you like.
Difficult State Lap Book Activities
The following three activities stand out as those that require the most research. You may need to help your student choose what to write about. Never be afraid to offer guidance to your student, but make that help age appropriate. Encourage them to do as much as they can on their own, but remember to keep this lap book fun and provide help where needed.
12. State History
The state history activity looks like a blank newspaper. It can have one or three pages. I allowed my son to choose the length, and unsurprisingly, he elected to make it one page. I used this aged paper that I had on hand from another lap book project to make the paper look old.
13. Famous People From…
This project encourages your student to learn and write about six famous people from your state. The state resource page that comes with the Make-A-State Activity-Pak includes a list of famous people to use as a starting point but is not an exhaustive list. Your student can either draw the people or find images online.
Since we own the timeline figures from Home School in the Woods, we used images from that resource for this activity and the state timeline. If you don’t already own this valuable resource, I wouldn’t purchase it just for this lap book activity as that would increase the expense of the lap book significantly.
20. State Timeline
Although researching and assembling the state timeline is a little tedious, it really shines in the finished lap book. Definitely help your student with this project as needed. Once again, we used our timeline figures from Home School in the Woods to complete this project, but the instructions for the activity are to draw the images.
Required Supplies
The Make-A-State Activity-Pak from Home School in the Woods is a digital product. Thus, you must provide all of the supplies required to put it together. I’ve created a list of general lap book supplies and preparation tips in Lap Books for Memorable Learning, but I list resources specific to this state lap book here.
Paper Products
| Lap Book Supplies | Purpose |
|---|---|
| tabbed file folder | serves as the base of the lap book |
| white card stock | activities {1*, 5*, 15*, 16*, 17} |
| colored card stock | activities {1*, 3, 5*, 15*, 16}, additional pages in the lap book |
| white paper | activities {2, 4, 5*, 6, 7*, 8*, 9, 10, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 15, 16*, 17*, 18, 20} |
| colored paper | activities {4, 5*, 6, 7*, 8*, 10*, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 17*, 19, 20} |
*Activities listed with an asterisk indicate an option between material colors (e.g., white OR colored paper).
Adhesives and Fasteners
| Lap Book Supplies | Purpose |
|---|---|
| clear packing tape | to attach the two additional pages to the lap book |
| glue sticks | to assemble several activities |
| liquid glue | to attach the flag to the skewer in activity 11 |
| permanent double-sided sticky tape | to adhere projects to the lap book and for assembling some activities; I prefer 1/2-inch width as 3/4-inch is often too wide. |
| clear tape | to adhere the key string (activity 1) and flag pole (activity 11) to the lap book |
| hook-and-loop fastener | optional for lap book cover, recommended for activity 17; These projects each need only 1/4-inch or less of the fastener. |
| stapler** | to assemble some booklets |
**The stapler cannot always reach the location on the booklet that requires stapling. The lap book instructions suggest poking holes with a needle and manually adding a staple. Instead, I gently fold the back half of the booklet under just enough for the stapler to reach the desired location without creasing the booklet permanently.
Writing Utensils
| Lap Book Supplies | Purpose |
|---|---|
| colored pencils | to add color to several lap book projects; These erasable colored pencils aren’t as vivid, but they do allow for mistakes. |
| pens or pencils | several activities; These erasable pens are a favorite of ours; just don’t laminate anything with their ink as the heat will make it disappear. |
Cutting Tools
| Lap Book Supplies | Purpose |
|---|---|
| scissors | to cut out the lap book activities and cover |
| single-hole punch | activity 1 |
Odds and Ends
| Lap Book Supplies | Purpose |
|---|---|
| one 8″ piece of thin ribbon, yard, or string | activity 1: Key State Facts |
| a wooden skewer | cut off the pointy ends so that the skewer is about 7″ long (activity 11) |
| cardboard | to add depth to activities {4 (optional), 5, 15} |
| zip-lock bag | recommended to store lap book projects until all are completed and the lap book is assembled; I use sheet protectors for this purpose by first storing the project materials for one activity and then storing the completed project. |
| color printer | Although most activity masters are black and white, a color printer is necessary for the state flag. |
Online State Resources
The Make-A-State Activity-Pak from Home School in the Woods includes a list of books and websites to aid in your state study. I’ve included two of those resources here.
- https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/states
- https://statesymbolsusa.org/states/united-states/ohio
Conclusion
I highly recommend the Make-A-State Activity-Pak. Having taken two state history classes in my youth that were quickly forgotten, I believe that this state lap book is a great addition to any state history study for elementary and middle school students.