Fifty States: Alaska

Is this a Full Unit or Mini Unit? Alaska is a little bit of both! It is a Mini Unit, in that it is just four lessons, designed to be completed in one week. Our typical Mini Units are often shorter in length or in output and while they do have crossover into multiple subjects, they are more focused and intentional on the topic of the unit. They also tend to be more hands-on with less written output. In contrast, Full Units are 20 lessons long and designed to take 4–6 weeks to complete. The Student Notebooks from Early Reader and up have five pages per day and are designed to cover all your subjects other than math. Alaska falls in-between with longer lessons than a typical Mini Unit and three levels of Student Books that all contain five pages for each lesson and cover all of your subjects except math! 

What is this unit about? Join in as we continue our tour of the fifty states! Get an up-close look at places like the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Gold Dredge 8 in Fairbanks, Denali National Park, the Iditarod Headquarters, and Kenai Fjords National Park. You’ll learn about the rich history of Alaska, some iconic symbols of the state, animals and plants that make their homes in the Last Frontier, and what it’s like to live there today. Student Book activities include mapping, lesson summaries, glacier formation, winter preparations, drilling for oil, teamwork, and current events. Student packs are divided into three levels: 

• Level 1 is for Pre-Reader and Early Reader with little to no writing and more hands-on or cut and paste activities.

• Level 2 is designed for Early to Upper Elementary with a bit of writing without being too heavy.

• Level 3 is for Middle School and High School with more written responses and deeper thinking.

What should I buy? This unit comes in both print and digital formats. Simply choose the format that works for you: printed and shipped to you, or digital, where you print on your own at home! 

PRINT You will need to purchase a physical workbook for each child as well as a Teacher's Guide for yourself. The Teacher's Guides contain all the actual teaching, they are not just for answers, so they are critical to your lessons.

DIGITAL The digital family bundle comes with the Teacher's Guide and all three levels of student notebooks in digital format. They come as a digital download in PDF format for you to print at home and are licensed for individual immediate family use within your own household only. Please note that there are no refunds or exchanges allowed on digital items.

How long is it designed to last?  This unit is four lessons long, designed to be completed in one week. That being said, you're in control! Set a schedule that works best for your family and your pace will dictate how quickly you complete any given unit. 

Check out the Resources! Most of our units have a free resource page on our free app. These have video links for each lesson, a way to track what you have done, as well as suggested reading lists, PDF downloads, and more! Click on the button a little further down to see what we have for this unit and don't miss a sample lesson to see what it's like!