Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania.
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 Pennsylvania study that works for you and your family.
Interesting Facts About Pennsylvania:
Some facts about Pennsylvania that your students might find intriguing:
- The first daily newspaper was published in Pennsylvania in 1784.
- Hershey, PA is considered the chocolate capital of the world.
- Pittsburgh, PA produced the first commercial radio broadcast.
- Punxsutawney, PA is considered the weather capital of the world, thanks to the resident groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.
Introduction to the State of Pennsylvania:
Our family studies the 50 states in the order that they joined the union. Pennsylvania was the second! 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 Pennsylvania section of the book It Happened in America. This book includes interesting and true historical stories about each state. I highly recommend this resource as a history supplement if you go through all 50 states.
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania nature journal pages that you can use and tape into your State Notebook. You can color the illustrations and take notes about what you learned about each nature topic. Download the free printable Pennsylvania Nature Journal pages here.
Day 1 Pennsylvania Nature Journaling: State Tree - Eastern Hemlock
The state tree is the Eastern Hemlock. The hemlock tree (not to be confused with poison hemlock which was used to poison Socrates) is a conifer tree. Learn about conifers by exploring page 66 of the Usborne Living World Encyclopedia, which gives some good basic information about conifers. Read about the hemlock tree in Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (pgs. 679-680). While reading from the Handbook of Nature Study, have your student take notes in these free printable nature journal pages I created for Pennsylvania. 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 an eastern hemlock tree 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 Pennsylvania Nature Journaling: State Bird - Ruffed Grouse
Learn about Pennsylvania's state bird in DK Birds of North America (pg. 78). Next, add a little bit of humor to your birds studies with this hilarious book, United Tweets of America. You don't want to miss this book. Watch this fun bird rapping song with 50 Birds 50 States Pennsylvania video on YouTube (2:57). Lastly, try playing a game of Match a Pair of Birds. Use my free printable Pennsylvania Nature Journal pages to color the hen and take notes about what you learned. Download the free printable here.
Day 3 Pennsylvania Nature Journaling: State Flower - Mountain Laurel
The state flower of Pennsylvania is the Mountain Laurel. Learn more about the mountain laurel and the interesting way that this flower's pollen is spread in Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (pgs. 689-692). After reading about the mountain laurel, try playing a game of Pick a Flower. Finish up by either drawing a mountain laurel 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 Pennsylvania nature journal pages. Color the illustrations and take notes about what you learned. Download it for free here.
Day 4 Pennsylvania Nature Journaling: State Dog: Great Dane
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, brought great danes to America, so the great dane is the official dog breed of Pennsylvania. Watch this YouTube video to learn about great danes. After watching the video you could play Dog Bingo! Take notes of what you learned about great danes in the free PA nature journal pages I created. Download them for free here.
Day 5 Pennsylvania Nature Journaling: Groundhog
In honor of Punxsutawney Phil, you could consider spending a nature journaling day on groundhogs or woodchucks. Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (pg 229-230) gives some great information about groundhogs. Here's a video on YouTube about Groundhogs (3:44).
Copywork, Cursive, or Typing the State Preamble:
Preamble to Pennsylvania 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.
WE, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
Pennsylvania State Motto:
Virtue, Liberty, and Independence
In honor of Pennsylvania's state motto of Virtue, Liberty, and Independence, read the Aesop Fable of The Horse and the Stag. The moral of this fable is "revenge is too dearly purchased at the price of liberty".
Here are a few scriptures that teach about virtue:
- 2 Peter 1:5–8
- Philippians 4:8
- Galatians 5:22–23
- Proverbs 31:10–31 (The Virtuous Woman)
- Micah 6:8
- Romans 12:9–21
- Titus 2:6–8
- Psalm 15:1–2
- Matthew 5:1–12 (The Beatitudes)
Pennsylvania History and Biographies:
Liberty Bell:
Read The Story of the Liberty Bell for free online. You can also watch this video about the Liberty Bell by Untold History (2:16). Another option for older kids is a little bit more advanced story about the signing of the about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell here at Heritage History's website.
James Buchanan:
Read about James Buchanan, the president before the civil war began, here at Heritage History's website. The Weird But True Us Presidents is also a great resource for learning about the US presidencts (pg 61-63).
Benjamin Franklin:
Read about the life of Benjamin Franklin here at the Heritage History website. This was written in 1896. It’s a little longer than most of the short stories I include from the Heritage History website, but very much worth it! You will love this one!
You could also watch this video by History Channel's Modern Marvels (43:48) to learn about Benjamin Franklin's inventions.
-
What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin: Another great Benjamin Franklin book is What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin? It's a very well-written and illustrated biography of Ben Franklin's life and accomplishments.
William Penn:
Learn about William Penn and how Pennsylvania got its name here at the Heritage History website.
You can read more about William Penn and how he became friends with the Native Americans here at this link.
Benjamin West:
One of the most well-known American history and portrait painters is Benjamin West. His work mainly falls into Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Read about his career here.
There is a wonderful children's book about Benjamin West that you can read for free online! It's called The Boy Who Loved to Draw and you can read it for free here.
One of Benjamin West's most famous paintings is The Death of Socrates. You can view it here. Study it in detail and talk about what you like and don't like about it. Another one if his famous paintings you can study is called The Death of General Wolfe. You can view and study it here. And if you're wondering who General Wolfe was, here's a very brief biography about him. If you'd like to to see Benjamin West's self-portrait and see more of his work, you can learn more about him here.
Just in case you're interested, there's a really great book called Benjamin West and His Cat, Grimalkin. It's all about how Benjamin West, as a young Quaker boy, so badly wanted to paint that he made his own paints and used his cat's tail for brushes. It's such an endearing story that teaches persistence and the dedication to do what you love in life, despite the odds. You can read it for free online here. If you want your own physical copy of the book you can get it here.
Mary Cassatt:
Another very famous artist from Pennsylvania who worked mainly in the Impressionist style is Mary Cassatt. Read about Mary Cassatt and Impressionism for free here.
Stan and Jan Berenstain:
Learn more about the husband/wife author and illustrator team Stan and Jan Berenstain with this picture book that biographies their lives and their work. It's available to read for free here.
William H. McGuffey:
If you're familiar with the McGuffey readers, then you know the impact these books had on early American pioneer education. If you'd like to learn more about William McGuffey you can read the book William H. McGuffey: Boy Reading Genius online for free here. This is a good read. It's the story of McGuffey's life, which often portray his integrity. It's a great book for taching morals.
Milton Hershey:
Milton Hershey, the creator of the Hershey candy bar, is from Pennsylvania. His life story is fascinating. It's wonderful to read about his trials in starting his business and how he dealt with failure. When he finally did become successful, he treated his employees so wonderfully and in a way that was unheard of at this time period in history. He makes for a very inspiring story for any future business owner or entrepreneur. You can read the book Chocolate by Hershey : a story about Milton S. Hershey online for free here.
If you like the Who HQ books, another option for learning about Milton Hershey is the Who Was Milton Hershey? book available here.
Pennsylvania Literature:
There are some really fantastic read-aloud ideas for Pennsylvania. Several of these books are available to read for free online!
Thee, Hannah: The first book I would recommend is Thee, Hannah which is available for free online here. It's a fairly quick read and heavily illustrated. This book is a pre-civil war story about a quaker girl who longs for beautiful clothes like the other girls, but she comes to appreciate what she has when her family saves a runaway slave. I think this story would interest girls more than boys. It would work well as an assigned reading book for elementary and even up to the middle school girl ages. I don't think I would ask a boy to read this story, because there isn't quite enough action for most boys.
The Great Big Wagon That Rang: How the Liberty Bell Was Saved: A great picture book to read aloud for younger students is The Great Big Wagon That Rang: How the Liberty Bell was Saved. This one is not available for free online, but you can get it used at a very affordable price here.
Cooking:
Don't forget to make some recipes from Pennsylvania with the Eat Your Way Through the USA book! Each state in the book includes a complete dinner with a main dish, a side, and a dessert!
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.
