|
The subtitle of this book, "With Clues to Remember All 50 States," says it all. This 64-page hardcover picture book teaches, through rhyme and mnemonics, the locations of all of the United States. Aimed at second through sixth graders (I think you could go as young as kindergarten), the book begins with a classroom teacher telling her students they will be memorizing all 50 states. Needless to say, the class is daunted by the thought.
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana all make up "The Little Man in the Map." They are his hat, head, shirt, pants, and boots respectively. His name, MinIow MisArkLou, doesn't really work for me. I don't find it that easy to remember or easy to say, for that matter.
The rest of the United States, according to region, is learned in relation to the little man in the map. Some of the objects "formed" by the states are more intuitive than others, but many just have a person or object squished into the state's shape and may be harder to remember. Of all the state-pictures, less than half help you remember the name of the state as well as the location.
There are some great tricks for remembering some groupings, such as the "four corner" states: UCAN for Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, reading from left to right, row by row. The four state initials above Florida spell MAGS: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
I love the way the author weaves in the names of two of the Great Lakes. I wish he would have gotten them all in there. Montanans may not appreciate that their state is depicted as a monster's spooky head.
For children who are having trouble learning their states, this may be just the key they need to get the locations and some names under their belt. It certainly makes it fun!
Product review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, February 2008
|
