SOCIAL STUDIES - REGIONS

We are learning about the REGIONS of the United States.  The Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast, and Southwest regions all have amazing and interesting things to learn about.  We recently used four words from the Northeast region for our first Making Connections (Mayflower Compact, Region, peak, and immigrant) and have delved into the Southeast in the past week.  The regions of the United States have a LOT to offer.  What’s YOUR favorite region?  Why? 

The SOUTHEAST consists of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida.  To learn about each region, we will read from our book (Social Studies Alive! Regions of our Country), from a variety of booklets and packets I have collected over the years, as well as other books and the many resources the internet has to offer.  Kids will read about Everglades National Park, John F. Kennedy Space Center, Jamestown, Virginia, the coal mines in Appalachia, the music of Memphis, the French Quarter in New Orleans, life on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, a cotton plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, and the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, Alabama.

Gee's Bend

In this unit, we will also do a short study on The Quilters of Gee’s Bend.  Gee’s Bend is a small, out-of-the-way town in Alabama.  For many years, the women of Gee’s Bend have made quilts that are gorgeous and have been featured in books and have even been featured on postage stamps! 

To learn more about Gee’s Bend, visit:  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1094

To see a catalog of the quilts, visit:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/