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http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSMD50StatesResearchProject48.htm

Specific State Research Project

Each student picks a US [|State] to research. Before beginning on their projects, students must acquire the address to their state's Department of Tourism and composes a business letter requesting information on their particular state. Information should come from various sources such as the internet, encyclopedias, text books, etc. Students are allowed to choose the format of their project. Examples include Posters, Reports, [|PowerPoint] Presentations, Song/Raps, etc. The goal of this assignment is for students to become familiar with and develop their understanding of the United States as a whole by studying its components.
 * Summary**

This is an interesting approach to the learning of the 50 states. The goal of the assignment is made clear, I'm just a little confused on why and how the students will compose a business letter requesting information from a state. Isn't that what the internet is for? And wouldn't requesting information from a Department of Tourism call for a lot of planning and time accounting, and stamp money? But I do like that the students have the opportunity to choose the format of their project.
 * Blaze's Response:**

I think the lesson plan itself is a good idea, however certain aspects might be too advanced for fifth graders. The part I am referring to is the sending of a letter to the state's Department of Tourism. All in all the idea is still very good but maybe for an older group of students. I like that the project gives the students the opportunity to exercise their own forms of creativity and allows for variations in each students final outcome. This makes each project unique and interesting to the other students.
 * Catherine's Response:**

As said above, I really love when students get to decide exactly what you do for their project. Creativity is never lost when this happens and students usually have a lot more fun. This might be a good idea to do in groups to promote collaborative learning skills. Groups could choose one state for every person in their group, so a group of three would choose three or more states. This way projects could be more in depth and creative.
 * Tara's Response:**