Delaware Unit Study Books and Resources
The most fun part about doing unit studies in homeschool is incorporating unique books and engaging resources to enhance the learning experience. Below is a collection of resources and ideas to supplement your studies of Delaware.
A LOT of books, games, and resources are included in this post, so please don't feel like my intention is for ALL of these resources to be used. Pick and choose what you like best to build your own Delaware study that works for you and your family.
Interesting Facts About Delaware:
Some facts about Delaware that your students might find intriguing:
- As one of the original 13 colonies, Delaware was the first state to be admitted to the union on December 7, 1787.
- Delaware is known as the "Chemical Capital of the World", mainly because DuPont company is headquartered in Delaware.
- Delaware is the only state in the union that allows the state constitution to be amended by the legislature without voters' approval.
- Pea Patch Island was formed by real peas when a ship carrying peas became stuck on a sandbar and spilled peas into the river. The following spring, the peas sprouted, grew, and formed an island! There's a children's book about this island. You can purchase it here.
- Thomas Jefferson named Delaware "The Diamond State" because he thought of it as a jewel among states.
Introduction to the State of Delaware:
Our family studies the 50 states in the order that they joined the union. Delaware was the first! Below is how I like to introduce the state history and geography and other facts over the course of 5 days:
DAY 1 INTRO TO STATE: To get started learning about the state, I first like to focus on its geography using a student atlas like this National Geographic Atlas. We will discuss the facts included in this student atlas and also discuss the geography. Afterward, we would use the Geography From A to Z book to discuss what capes and bays are. After this, we would complete this States Info page that I created. You can download it for free here. We usually print it, fill in the notes, and then glue it in our State Notebook. Lastly for day one, we would read the Delaware section of the book It Happened in America. This book includes interesting and true historical stories about each state. I highly recommend this resource.
Delaware Nature Study Ideas:
In addition to the "Intro to the State" items listed above, on each of those days (Day 1-5) we would notebook nature journal topics about the state. We would include this information in our State Notebook as well, so that everything is kept all in one place. This is a great opportunity to dive deeper with nature field guides to learn more about the trees, birds, flowers, and rocks or minerals that represent each state. You'll end up getting so much extra science snuck in when studying each state's bird, tree, flower, etc.
I have created free Delaware nature journal pages that you can use and glue into your State Notebook. You can color the illustrations and take notes about what you learned about each nature topic. Download the free printable Delaware Nature Journal pages here.
Day 1 Delaware Nature Journaling: State Tree - American Holly
The state tree is the American Holly. Read about Holly in The Tree Book and then you could use these free printable nature journal pages I created for Delaware. The illustrations in the free pages are intended to be colored and space is included to take notes about what was learned. If your kids like to draw they could try to sketch a holly branch and berries in their student notebook. Another option is to use these stickers from this product at Rainbow Resource to add to your State Notebook. Journal some notes about what you learned about the holly tree.
Day 2 Delaware Nature Journaling: State Bird - Blue Hen Chicken
Learn about Delaware's State bird with this hilarious book, United Tweets of America. You don't want to miss this book. Your kids will absolutely love it. Use my free printable Delaware Nature Journal pages to color the hen and take notes about what you learned. Download the free printable here.
Because Delaware's state bird is the Blue Hen Chicken, learn about hens and chickens in Julia Rothman's Farm Anatomy pages 108-115. Try and draw a chicken in your State Notebook or use the stickers from this product, and then journal about what you learned.
Day 3 Delaware Nature Journaling: State Flower - Peach Blossom
The state flower of Delaware is the Peach Blossom. Read From Flower to Fruit by Richard and Kathleen Konicek-Moran (for free online) to learn how flowers turn into fruit. After reading the book, either try to draw a peach blossom in your State Notebook or use the stickers from this product and add them to your State Notebook and then journal about what you learned. You can also download my free Delaware nature journal pages. Color the illustrations and take notes about what you learned. Download it for free here.
Day 4 Delaware Nature Journaling: State Rock/Mineral - Stillimanite
Learn a little bit about sillimanite, the state mineral of Delaware in the DK Pocket Genius Rocks and Minerals book. I created a free downloadable and printable worksheet about sillimanite. You can download it for free here.
Day 5 Delaware Nature Journaling: State Insect - Ladybugs
The ladybug is Delaware’s state insect. Watch The Grouchy Ladybug Read Aloud on YouTube. Use my free Delaware nature journal pages to color the ladybug and take notes about what you learned. Download it here.
Watch Are You a Ladybug Read Aloud on YouTube.
Watch It’s A Good Thing There Are Ladybugs Read Aloud on YouTube.
Read more about insects in Usborne's 100 Things to Know About Science book page 96.
Copywork, Cursive, or Typing the State Preamble:
Preamble to Delaware State Constitution for Copywork or Typing Practice:
I created a free download to practice the Preamble in cursive. Students just beginning in cursive can trace it. Students more experienced in cursive can copy it in their Student Notebook. You can download the free cursive preamble here.
Through Divine goodness, all men have by nature the rights of worshiping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences, of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting reputation and property, and in general of obtaining objects suitable to their condition, without injury by one to another; and as these rights are essential to their welfare, for due exercise thereof, power is inherent in them; and therefore all just authority in the institutions of political society is derived from the people, and established with their consent, to advance their happiness; and they may for this end, as circumstances require, from time to time, alter their Constitution of government.
Delaware State Motto:
Liberty and Independence
In honor of Delaware's state motto of Liberty and Independence, read the Aesop Fable of the Wolf and the Dog for free here. The moral of this fable is that "there is nothing worth so much as liberty".
Here are a few scriptures about liberty that you could dive into together:
- Galatians 5:1
- Galatians 5:13
- 1 Peter 2:16
- Romans 8:2
- Galatians 2:4
- 2 Corinthians 3:17
- John 8:36
Delaware History and Biographies:
Howard Pyle:
The great American author and illustrator, Howard Pyle, is from Delaware. Learn more about him by watching this short YouTube video and then study some of his art. Since he is a great American author, my suggested read aloud while studying Delaware is The Merry Adventures of Robinhood by Howard Pyle. Add a section in your State Notebook about famous people from the state and include Howard Pyle in the list. He was a celebrity during his time.
Henry Heimlich:
Henry Heimlich, the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver was born in Delaware. Watch this interview with him on Larry King. (1:22) Include Henry Heimlich in your State Notebook list of famous people.
Learn how to do the Heimlich Maneuver here
Annie Jump Cannon:
Delaware native, Annie Jump Cannon, developed a system for classifying the stars. She still today holds the record for identifying the most stars. Read about her with this beautiful picture book. Annie Jump Cannon was deaf, so you could extend your learning by learning to sign Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in ASL with this YouTube video. She also suffered from Scarlett fever. You could do a little online research to learn about scarlett fever. You could also read pages 6-11 of What Makes You Ill (free online) if you'd like to explore how we get sick. You could do some constellation artwork. Simply get some black construction paper and use white crayon to place the stars with dots and connect them with straight lines to learn a few constellations. Add Annie Jump Cannon to your State Notebook list of people.
Caesar Rodney:
Caesar Rodney rode 80 miles throughout the night of July 1, 1776 in order to cast his crucial vote for Independence from Great Britain. Watch this Liberty Kids video to hear the story. Add Caesar Rodney to your State Notebook list of people.
Thomas Garrett:
Learn about Thomas Garrett, a stationmaster for the Underground Railroad in this video (2:24). Add Thomas Garrett to your State Notebook list of famous people.
Lenni Lenape:
High schoolers can read about the history Lenni Lenape and Delaware Indians in this free online book. It is a fascinating history and this is not your whitewashed modern day history textbook either. It was written by a man who lived the Native Americans and knew them well. He heard their history firsthand from them. This book would be for high school level, or maybe upper middle school for advanced students:
For all ages:
Listen to this Lenape Folklore on YouTube(2:36)
Delaware Read Aloud Ideas:
Howard Pyle, the author of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, is from Delaware. It's the perfect time to do a Howard Pyle read-aloud while you study Delaware. This edition of Howard Pyle's Robin Hood is stunningly gorgeous. It is a hardback that will look gorgeous on the bookshelf, the illustrations inside are the originals drawn by the author, and the text spacing is easy to read. The vocabulary in the story is enough to stretch your children, but not too difficult to make it hard to read.
Delaware Science Topics:
Henry Heimlich: Henry Heimlich, the man who developed the Heimlich maneuver, is from Delaware. Learn about who Henry Heimlich was here and then watch this video to learn how to do the Heimlich maneuver.
Astronomy: Thanks to Annie Jump Cannon's work (mentioned above in the biography section), you could incorporate a short astronomy unit study. A really beautiful book for this would be the What We See in the Stars book.
Chemical Capital of the World: Because Delaware is known as "The Chemical Capital of the World", this would be a wonderful time to do a mini unit on chemistry. Here are some resources for a quick into to chemistry study:
This Usborne Lift the Flap Periodic table book is perfect for elementary and middle schoolers to dip their toes into learning about what exactly the periodic table is all about.
- Read about DuPont here and then watch this video about one of DuPont’s inventions: Teflon (used in non-stick pans). (4:44).
- Learn about another one of DuPont’s inventions in this video: Kevlar and bulletproof vests (5:16).
- Find out more about Kevlar and smartphones here (5:50).
- DuPont company also invented Nylon (used in clothes, backpacks, and parachutes). Learn about nylon and other synthetic fibers in this video. (3:16). Then learn about the frenquency of natural and synthetic fibers here.
- Watch this about the dangers of DuPont products. (24:15). This video could be controversial, so you may want to pre-watch it before presenting it to your kids. If it's not for you, just skip it. It would be a great opportunity to share thoughts on the topic or even a debate if there's a disagreement about whether DuPont products are dangerous or if there is nothing to worry about.
State Games:
We really love playing games in our homeschool. Below are some geography games to practice state geography, learning the state flags, and memorizing capitals and other state facts.
