Ohio: The Buckeye State is a new and exciting textbook by the authors of the best-selling Ohio: Its Land and Its People.

Like Ohio: Its Land and Its People, this book uses a hands-on approach by guiding students through a series of carefully-constructed activities that are closely aligned to the new fourth-grade social studies standards. Not only will your students have fun doing the activities in this book, they will also be preparing for Ohio's future fifth-grade statewide social studies assessment.

HERE IS A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THIS NEW INTERACTIVE TEXTBOOK:

Introductory Unit:Students learn techniques for remembering information.

Geography Unit:Students learn how to make maps, use an atlas, identify the characteristics of Ohio's principal geographic regions, and research information about cities in Ohio.

History Unit:Student edit an article about Ohio's five Historic Indians, compare and contrast the lifestyles of Ohio's Historic Indians, and practice their listening and reading skills with passages about Ohio's history. They are also given opportunities to visit a museum, to construct a model fort, design a bicentennial historical marker, search the Internet for information, and to create timelines of events from their own lifetimes as well as from Ohio's past.

People in Society Unit:Students learn to make generalizations about the diverse cultural groups who have settled in Ohio, research famous Ohioans in order to nominate someone for an imaginary Ohio Hall of Fame, and hold a multicultural fair highlighting new immigrant groups to Ohio.

Economics Unit:Students study basic economic concepts by thinking about how they would spend money they receive as a gift; they think about starting their own business, consider the resources they would need, and see if they can make a profit. Students also learn about Ohio's resources, design an advertising campaign to promote Ohio's economy, and make an inventory of products in their home to learn about the effects of international trade.

Government Unit:Students make rules for their own classroom, survey adult volunteers about state government, and hold a poster contest to show how citizens participate in a democracy.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Unit:Students delve into what makes a good citizen, compare Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. to determine the characteristics of good leaders, and follow a standards-based problem-solving approach to deal with the dilemma of pollution. Students also learn the technique required of them to write a short report on an important national issue.

WHY THIS BOOK WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS!

Educational research consistently demonstrates that students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process - solving problems, processing information, and applying what they learn.

You need a dynamic approach to take your students beyond mere passive reading and to make learning fun for the student. Ohio, The Buckeye State provides you with hands-on activities that engage your students and make them the center of learning.

If these innovative activities sound like fun and excitement in the classroom, just watch the excitement mount as your fourth-grade students use this book!

If students master the lessons in Ohio, The Buckeye State, they will have gone a long way toward successfully fulfilling the mandates of the Grade 4 Ohio Social Studies curriculum. Innovative and fresh approaches abound. The inclusion of skills is exceptional!

Russ F. Maruna,
Supervisor of Academic Services, Educ. Service Center, Lorain County

SOME OF THE IMPORTANT FEATURES FOUND IN THIS UNIQUE BOOK

• Each activity begins with a student-friendly description of the appropriate Ohio standard explored in that activity.
• Each activity places the student at the center of classroom learning. For example, Which Ohio City Will You Promote? or How Would You Reduce Pollution in Your Community?
• Each activity is perfectly aligned to Ohio's new standards-based curriculum.
• Provides the ideal preparation for students taking next year's fifth-grade Ohio Assessment Test.
• Woven throughout the text are all the social studies skills required by the new standards-based curriculum.
• A complete Teacher's Guide explains in detail each feature of the book and how to best approach each activity.