United States E-mail Project  

2nd through 6th Grade Classrooms in the USA and its territories may participate 

Washington, D.C. is included in this project!

Check the state list below to see if classrooms have signed up for your state or territory.  If it is blank next to your state/territory, then no one has signed up for the  project. The number beside the state represents how many classrooms are signed up. If there is a 2, no more classrooms may sign up from that state/territory.     

Up to two classrooms may sign up from each state/territory.        

This project will begin in the fall of 2009

Project Organizer:   Mrs. Susan Biltucci, Remington Elementary School, 77 E. North St., Ilion, NY 13357   sbiltucci@ilioncsd.org  

Project Goal:   To research information as a class about your state and then share that information with project participants via e-mail.  In return, you should receive information from all of the participants.  

Note:  The project coordinator asks participants to be committed to the project once they register.  This project's success is dependent upon the commitment of the participants.

Project Guidelines:

One or two (second through sixth grade) classrooms from each state or US territory/protectorates will be included in this e-mail exchange. The task is very easy to implement and will excite your students as they receive e-mail from around the USA and our territories.   

Project requirements:

1. You and your students select one or two pictures of famous landmarks and send via e-mail to participants and include an explanation about each landmark. When you use a picture on the internet, you must make sure you give credit to the site where you found it by including the site's URL.

2. You MAY then include facts about your state, but please limit yourself to ten facts.   *Please keep facts of reasonable length and in language easy for a student to comprehend in second through sixth grade.  *The facts may be no more than 4 to 5 sentences long. **Please do not copy and paste facts from sources like online encyclopedias but put the information into your own words.

3. Time Frame: Registration ends November 1, 2009.   You will send your information via e-mail to each participant's address by March 1, 2010.   I will e-mail everyone a list of participants soon after November 1, 2009.

4. You must type USA E-mail Project in your e-mail to participants to protect everyone from viruses and other unwanted e-mail.  E-mail without this will not be opened.

5. By registering, you agree to fulfill the requirements of the project.  

To Register: Send an e-mail to Mrs. Biltucci at sbiltucci@ilioncsd.org

1. You must include your name, grade you teach, name of your school, city, state, and a working e-mail address where you would like your information sent this fall.

2. It is imperative that in your subject line of your e-mail you type USA E-mail Project or I will not open the e-mail.

3. It is the participant's responsibility to make sure the e-mail address is working/current for the project.

Great site to guide you for state facts: http://www.50states.com

Facts you may include:

1. State nickname, state motto, year your state achieved statehood, or any interesting facts related to statehood

2. Name of your state capital and any interesting information about your state government

3. Famous Americans from your state and why they are famous - What were their contributions to history?

4. Origin of your state - For example: Original English Colony, land gained after the French and Indian War, Louisiana Purchase, Oregon Territory, Spanish Colony...

5. Important historical events like wars, discoveries, etc. Please include some details.

6. Native American Groups that are an important part of your state's history and why they are important

7. Other famous landmarks and some history about them

8. Natural resources - You may also tell how some of them are used.

9. Major industries - How has the industry in your area contributed to the economics of your state? AND / OR How have the industries in your state contributed to the economics of our nation?

10.  You may include any other fact that you feel would be interesting to students.

List of states and number of participants in project:   If it is blank next to your state/territory, then no one has signed up for the  project. The number beside the state represents how many classrooms are signed up. If there is a 2, no more classrooms may sign up from that state/territory.       

ALABAMA  

ALASKA

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA  2-closed 

COLORADO 1 

CONNECTICUT 1 

DELAWARE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FLORIDA  2-closed

GEORGIA  2-closed

HAWAII

IDAHO

ILLINOIS 1

INDIANA

IOWA 1

KANSAS

KENTUCKY 1

LOUISIANA 2 - closed

MAINE

MARYLAND 1

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN   2-closed

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI  2-closed

MISSOURI  2-closed

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 

NEW JERSEY   2-closed

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK  2 - closed 

NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH DAKOTA 1

OHIO 1

OKLAHOMA 1 

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA 1

RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH CAROLINA 1

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE  2-closed

TEXAS   2-closed

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON 1

WEST VIRGINIA  2-closed

WISCONSIN 1  

WYOMING 1 

AMERICAN SAMOA  

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA

GUAM

MARSHALL ISLANDS

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

PALAU

PUERTO RICO

VIRGIN ISLANDS

Participants: If you have difficulty sending an e-mail, please try more than once to send your information. The address I send you after registration ends is the only one I have.

Ways your students can use this information:

Participants! If you have more ideas on how to tie this information in with the five themes of geography, please send them to me to be included on this webpage.  

1. Create a state report, brochure, poster, or PowerPoint presentation - Students will be reading other resources for information and improving note-taking skills. This is a great opportunity to use a graphic organizer. Student will then present the information to the class. Projects could be done individually or alone. Technology may be used to import pictures/images to enhance presentations. Along with this the teacher has the opportunity to instruct students on how to write bibliographies that include giving correct URLs when information is borrowed from the internet.

2. Create a state postcard - Use watercolor paper in the size of a postcard, sketch a landmark from that state along with including the state name, and then complete with watercolor paint or use watercolor colored pencils. These pencils a student draws with first and then lightly applies water to blend colors. On the reverse side the student writes a message to a friend sharing some state information and properly writes an address to a possible recipient. Also, the student can create a stamp reflecting a state landmark or other item of interest.

3. Create a project about a famous person from any state. Use the information received here to investigate that person's contribution to USA history in other resources and then write a one page report or create a biography cube out of paper. This cube includes the most important information about this person including contributions to US history and is then presented to the class. Students may also create a small bust of that person using air-drying clay, Model Magic sculpting medium, or papier mache. They could also dress up as this person and bring in other props.

 4. Create a discussion group where students represent their important person from #3 and have a discussion as that person about US history. The rest of the class would observe, but also have a turn as the person they researched. The teacher needs to decide the topics before students start their report so that they can research this information. Tape the presentations for students to view at a later date. Topics: What contributions I have made to US history. Are my ideas reflected today in the USA? What influence did I have on the progress made in our country?

5. Make connections between topics such as geography and economics through in-depth investigation and then compare and contrast states ( Venn diagram)

6. Learn about landmarks of the USA and integrate software titled Where in the USA is Carmen SanDiego? or other appropriate software

7. Use this project as a spring board to other projects such as class to class stories via e-mail or something like a Flat Stanley project or a class buddy project where a stuffed animal and journal are sent to partner classrooms. Official link of Flat Stanley project: http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/

8. As you receive information, use a map to enforce skills as your class proceeds through the project. Plot locations of states on a map by using a colored push pin or a state flag. Measure distance on maps between capital cities, landmarks, etc.

9. Investigate this state's history and any connection to the history of your state

10. Create your own classroom Bingo game using the state information your class received

11. Use the information as a guide to help students remember locations of states and other pertinent information along with practicing the location of states at this site http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html

12. Use the data collected and create a chart where information can be compared. As state information arrives, keep building your chart.

13. From Donna Cogan - 2005 E-mail Project Participant- "We're going to collect all the emails that we receive and create a "reference book" (with each student getting a copy) for the kids to have and to hold. Later in the year, when we do our poetry unit, the kids will use this book and other resources to write a poem about one of the fifty states. (As I have 22 kids, they'll each draw two state names out of a hat... The teachers will be writing the poem for the last state, unless one of the students wants to volunteer)." A great idea! Thanks Donna!