Great State Plates!

by Jennifer Jordan

We have entered our 4th week of distance learning. We’ve adjusted our classroom routine to a home routine, and 5th grade is managing their workload. As difficult as it is not to teach these sweet children face-to-face, visiting with our students in Zoom meetings helps all of us connect a bit.

Fifth grade began its state unit after spring break, seamlessly transitioning into individual state research to create a “great state plate.” At first, I wondered how this mini-project would fare being completed outside our classroom, but each student stepped up to the challenge! I used a random state selector to email two choices of states to each student. Students researched their state, listing state facts on a simple graphic organizer, and then selected facts to showcase on a paper “state plate”. These plates are akin to the ceramic state plates that used to be sold at gas stations. Here are our 12 masterpieces, placed as geographically correct as possible in our photo grid.