Capitals and Capitols: Sing, Play, and Explore the 50 U.S. States!

"Play is one of the most important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills." ~UNICEF, 2018

Welcome, young explorers! Join me as I draw upon my political science education and early literacy training to guide you on a geographical and phonological tour of the United States of America, where I am from. In each meeting, our exciting spinner wheel will randomly select three US states; we'll practice pronouncing these complex names, then we'll zoom in on Google Earth and Maps to find their locations, capital cities, capitol buildings, and we'll play a game with their two-letter abbreviations. We'll get to know the states by their shapes, break down names into syllables, and gain vocabulary to describe different locations around the USA. 

NOTE ON CONTENT
This class is about the names, pronunciations, locations, capital cities, and two-letter abbreviations of the 50 U.S. states; we will not go into history and culture. 

SOURCES
Our source materials are Google Earth (via screen sharing) and my own handmade drawings of the states displayed on my magnet board.

SCHEDULE
Note: Class lasts 35 minutes for 4-5 learners; class will end a few minutes earlier for 1-2 learners.
> INTRO SONG
> SPIN THE WHEEL
> VISIT THE STATE
> IDENTIFY THE CAPITAL CITY
> VISIT THE CAPITOL BUILDING
> REPEAT X2
> PLAY THE STATE ABBREVIATION GAME
> EXPLORE POINTS OF INTEREST ON GOOGLE EARTH 
> GOODBYE

TOPICS BY WEEK
Session topics — the three states we visit in each meeting — are selected weekly by our exciting random spinner wheel. The spinner wheel is colorful, fun, and adds anticipation and excitement to the class; you may preview it by copying and pasting this url into your browser: https://wheelofnames.com/j8j-ztw. Because we do not know in advance which states the wheel will select in any given class, they are not listed out here by date. Instead, I provide an alphabetical list of all 50 U.S. states below. Once we visit a state, I will remove it from the wheel and add it to the list here next to the date we covered it, so that newcomers will know which states have already been done. Once we visit all the states, we'll reset the wheel and start again, so no need to wait for the first week to come around again to jump in!
 
→ Week of JUN 18: California, Delaware, Ohio
→. Week of JUN 25: Louisiana, Iowa, Virginia
→ Week of JUL 2: Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island
→ Week of JUL 9: Texas, Montana, Connecticut 
→ Week of JUL 16: Wisconsin, Colorado, Oklahoma 
→ Week of JUL 23: NO CLASS 
→ Week of JUL 30: Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico
⛱ BREAK 🍁 

❄️ WINTER SESSION BEGINS❄️
→ Week of JAN 1: State 19, State 20, State 21
→ Week of JAN 7: State 22, State 23, State 24
→ Week of JAN 14: NO CLASS - Teacher is away
→ Week of JAN 21: State 25, State 26, State 27
10. Week of JAN 28: State 28, State 29, State 30
11. Week of FEB 4: State 31, State 32, State 33
12. Week of FEB 11: State 34, State 35, State 36
13. Week of FEB 18: SECTION 8PM EST: State 37, State 38, State 39
14. Week of FEB 25: SECTION 8PM EST: State 40, State 41, State 42
15. Week of MAR 3: SECTION 8PM EST: State 43, State 44, State 45
16. Week of MAR 10: SECTION 8PM EST: State 46, State 47, State 48
17. Week of MAR 17: SECTION 8PM EST: State 49, State 50, Nation's Capital
REPEAT!

THE 50 U.S. STATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER 
(Note: This is not the order we will visit them in class.)
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming 

WHAT IF MY CHILD IS SHY OR RELUCTANT?
Listening is learning! Some of my very best learners were too shy to participate at first. It is okay for your child just to listen until they get used to the class. Keep your child in the room where they can hear my voice and give them something for their hands, like coloring or building blocks. Before long, they will likely hear something that interests them and start participating on their own.

MODEL THE BEHAVIOR YOU WANT TO SEE
One way to help your child relax is to participate alongside them, just off-camera. Let them see you following the motions, repeating the words, and having a good time.

TEACHING METHOD
You'll notice I cap all of my classes at 5 learners — this way I can see all of the learners' screens at all times and they can all see each other for maximum group engagement.

NOTE ON INCLUSION
I am an LGBTQ+ND mom and spouse and my classes are safe for all families and learners of all neuro-types. I make my classes safe for LGBTQ+ families by saying "grown-up" instead of "mom" or "dad." I also don't assume gender based on a learner's name or appearance; I use "they" until their preferred pronouns are specified. And if I ever let an assumption get the best of me, I am happy for you or your learner to correct me. I make my classes safe for neuo-divergent (ND) learners by making participation optional. Learners may participate as much or as little as they are comfortable — they will never be pressured to speak, share, or sit still. Passive listening is fully acceptable. Movement is encouraged!