Fifty States: Arizona – Gather 'Round Homeschool USA
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Arizona

Arizona

Join us as we travel through Arizona along historic Route 66! Explore breathtaking landmarks like the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and Petrified Forest while learning about the state’s history, Indigenous heritage, and unique plants and animals. Discover Arizona’s 5 C’s, its people, culture, and government, plus fun detours featuring Navajo Code Talkers, Hopi pottery, and the petrification process.

Release Date: August 19, 2025

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Resources

Find our Arizona resources on the app.

Scope and Sequence

Check out the scope and sequence for this unit.

  • Learn about different types of landforms in Arizona: plateau, canyon, and desert
  • Geography of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Grand Canyon
  • Meteor Crater National Park
  • Petrified Forest
  • Saguaro National Park
  • Colorado River
  • The Great Barrier Reef, near Queensland, Australia
  • Mount Everest, on the border between China (Tibet) and Nepal
  • Vocabulary: rim and vista
  • Write a letter from the perspective of a construction worker on the Hoover Dam
  • Start working on unit project banner, including a flag, facts, and favorite place
  • History of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Herbert Hoover
  • The sights to see and activities to do when visiting the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, and Mount Everest
  • Color the flag of Arizona
  • State flower: white blossom of the saguaro
  • Saguaro cactus
  • State bird: cactus wren
  • State reptile: Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake
  • State tree: palo verde
  • Century plant
  • Petrified wood
  • Temperatures in Arizona
  • How wood becomes petrified
  • Science experiment demonstrating petrification
  • Sonoran Desert
  • California
  • Mexico
  • Vocabulary: quirky and raspy
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's symbols with information from the lesson
  • Add Arizona's state symbols to unit project banner
  • The Hohokam people and the irrigation canals they made
  • State symbols
  • Draw an outline of Arizona and decorate it with state symbols
  • Sketch what the Hohokam irrigation canals might have looked like
  • Design state symbol for Arizona
  • Psalm 139: 13–14
  • Your identity is found in being a child of God
  • 1 John 3:1a
  • Copper changes color when exposed to oxygen in the air in a process called oxidation
  • Try a science experiment to show how to remove the effects of oxidation on a penny
  • Route 66
  • Illinois
  • California
  • Vocabulary: venture and conductor
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's industries with information from the lesson
  • Cut out a pocket to glue on unit project as well as fact cards about industries in Arizona to place inside
  • The history of Route 66
  • 5 C's of the economy
  • Steps food goes through to get from farm to table
  • Vocabulary: rooted and complex
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's people from the lesson
  • Use a picture code key to decode a secret message
  • Add a spotlight on the Navajo Code Talkers to the unit project
  • Come up with a news report for something currently happening in Arizona (fact or fiction)
  • Color a Navajo rug, using a picture for ideas
  • Learn about Hopi pottery and sketch out an idea for a pot
  • Learn about different types of landforms in Arizona: plateau, canyon, desert, mountain, valley, and basin
  • Geography of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Grand Canyon
  • Meteor Crater National Park
  • Petrified Forest
  • Saguaro National Park
  • Colorado River
  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • Sonoran Desert
  • The Great Barrier Reef, near Queensland, Australia
  • Mount Everest, on the border between China (Tibet) and Nepal
  • Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Africa
  • Parícutin Volcano in Michoacán, Mexico
  • Vocabulary: asset and irrigate
  • Write a letter from the perspective of a construction worker on the Hoover Dam
  • Start working on unit project banner, including a flag, facts, and favorite place
  • History of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Herbert Hoover
  • The sights to see and activities to do when visiting the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Everest, Victoria Falls, Parícutin Volcano, Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, northern lights in Canada, US state of Alaska, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, or Greenland
  • Sketch and color the flag of Arizona
  • State flower: white blossom of the saguaro
  • Saguaro cactus
  • State bird: cactus wren
  • State reptile: Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake
  • State tree: palo verde
  • Century plant
  • Petrified wood
  • Precipitation amounts in Arizona
  • Arid and semi-arid climate
  • Summer monsoons
  • Dust storms
  • Temperatures in Arizona
  • How wood becomes petrified
  • Science experiment demonstrating petrification
  • California
  • Mexico
  • Pacific
  • Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)
  • Yuma, AZ
  • Flagstaff, AZ
  • Vocabulary: niche and arid
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's symbols with information from the lesson
  • Add Arizona's state symbols to unit project banner
  • The Hohokam people and the irrigation canals they made
  • Draw an outline of Arizona and decorate it with state symbols
  • Sketch what the Hohokam irrigation canals might have looked like
  • Design state symbol for Arizona
  • Psalm 139: 13–15
  • Your identity is found in being a child of God
  • 1 John 3:1
  • Copper changes color when exposed to oxygen in the air in a process called oxidation
  • Try a science experiment to show how to remove the effects of oxidation on a penny
  • Route 66
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Vocabulary: enticing and sector
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's industries with information from the lesson
  • Cut out a pocket to glue on unit project as well as fact cards about industries in Arizona to write information on and place inside
  • The history of Route 66
  • 5 C's of the economy
  • Technology, aerospace, and service industries
  • Life in Arizona
  • Steps food goes through to get from farm to table
  • Vocabulary: reservation and fluent
  • Answer comprehension questions about Arizona's people and governance from the lesson
  • Use a number code key to decode a secret message
  • Write a paragraph about a current news story in Arizona
  • Add a spotlight on the Navajo Code Talkers to the unit project
  • Come up with a news report for something currently happening in Arizona
  • Design a Navajo rug, using a picture for inspiration
  • Learn about Hopi pottery, sketch out an idea for a pot, and create the pot you designed out of clay
  • Learn about different types of landforms in Arizona: plateau, canyon, desert, mountain, valley, and basin
  • Geography of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Grand Canyon
  • Meteor Crater National Park
  • Petrified Forest
  • Saguaro National Park
  • Colorado River
  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • Sonoran Desert
  • Gila River
  • Mexico
  • Utah
  • Nevada
  • Colorado
  • New Mexico
  • California
  • The Great Barrier Reef, near Queensland, Australia
  • Mount Everest, on the border between China (Tibet) and Nepal
  • Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Africa
  • Parícutin Volcano in Michoacán, Mexico
  • Northern lights in Canada, US state of Alaska, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, or Greenland
  • Harbor of Rio de Janeiro (or Guanabara Bay) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Vocabulary: internment and contiguous
  • Write a letter from the perspective of a construction worker on the Hoover Dam
  • Start planning unit project presentation
  • History of Arizona
  • Hoover Dam
  • Herbert Hoover
  • Sketch and color the flag and state seal of Arizona
  • Create landforms out of clay or salt dough
  • State flower: white blossom of the saguaro
  • Saguaro cactus
  • State bird: cactus wren
  • State reptile: Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake
  • State tree: palo verde
  • Century plant
  • Petrified wood
  • Precipitation amounts in Arizona
  • Arid and semi-arid climate
  • Summer monsoons
  • Dust storms
  • Temperatures in Arizona
  • How wood becomes petrified
  • Science experiment demonstrating petrification
  • Pacific
  • Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)
  • Yuma, AZ
  • Flagstaff, AZ
  • Vocabulary: petrified and resilience
  • Use guided notes to create a summary paragraph about Arizona's nature and weather
  • Do research on the Hohokam people and the irrigation canals they made
  • Practice complicated terms from the lesson by copying them and using them in a sentence
  • Write a poem using complicated terms and add it to the unit project
  • The Hohokam people and the irrigation canals they made
  • Draw an outline of Arizona and decorate it with state symbols
  • Design state symbol for Arizona
  • Psalm 139: 13–16
  • Your identity is found in being a child of God
  • 1 John 3:1
  • John 1:12
  • The chemistry of oxidation and the cleaning reaction
  • Try a science experiment to show how to remove the effects of oxidation on a penny, including hypothesis, observation, and conclusion
  • Route 66
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Vocabulary: mitigate and plethora
  • Use guided notes to create a summary paragraph about Arizona's industries and economy
  • Create a visual component telling about the history and importance of one or more of Arizona's five C's to add to your unit project presentation
  • The history of Route 66
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  • The migration of people on Route 66 during the Great Depression
  • 5 C's of the economy
  • Technology, aerospace, and service industries
  • Life in Arizona
  • Steps food goes through to get from farm to table
  • Talk about the benefits of locally sourced food, and then plan a meal that utilizes local ingredients
  • Vocabulary: outreach and framework
  • Use guided notes to create a summary paragraph about Arizona's people and governance
  • Try solving a number lock code and Caesar cipher
  • Create a code of your own
  • Research a current news story and write a breaking news report for something currently happening in Arizona
  • Complete last section of unit project and present it to your family or class
  • Grade your unit project using rubric provided
  • Julius Caesar
  • Come up with breaking news report for something currently happening in Arizona
  • Learn about Hopi pottery, sketch out an idea for a pot, and create the pot you designed out of clay