End or Beginning of the Year Social Studies Activity: Designing a New State

I created a version for younger students (grades 1-3), but it can be used for any grade level. You can find that resource here.

The version on this page is more suitable for students in grades 3 and up.

This idea came to me after my students finished their end-of-year testing. Since all of our social studies standards were taught before the test, I needed something for my students to do after the test.

In "Designing a New State", students get to create a brand new state for the United States.

Page 1- Each student will create a state name and nickname, a state design, state symbols, a state flag, and a state motto.

Page 2- Each student will name 3 land/water features and natural resources found in his or her state. Each student will draw an outline of his or her state and use symbols to show where these features and resources are located.

Page 3- Each student will create a state government by naming the capital and drawing its location, naming a governor and government jobs, and creating a sales tax rate.

Page 4- Each student will create "fast facts" about his or her state, such as the area of his or her state, population, number of counties, etc.

Page 5- Each student will list 3 tourist attractions his or her state offers. Each student will create a poster to persuade tourists to visit his or her state.

Page 6- Each student will "take photographs" (aka draw pictures), to show what his or her state looks like from a tourist's or resident's POV.

My students love doing this activity! I hope your students will too!

The Handout Factory!

An additional activity to go along with this resource would be A Land Region Post Card Activity for Any State!