Wildlife as Symbols - State Shapes and Symbols

Introduce the activity by allowing students to investigate Ohio’s place in the United States and the world by zooming in or out at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ohio/.  Students can toggle between the Map and Satellite views to see landforms and water, as well as zoom in to see overhead or street views of their school and neighborhood.  Emphasize that the map they are viewing represents real places.
 
Students can work individually, in small groups or as a class to create an Ohio mural, as described in the GUW guide. Students can research Ohio’s symbols to identify the following state symbols:

1. amphibian
2. animal
3. bird
4. flower
5. fossil
6. frog
7. fruit
8. insect
9. native fruit
10. reptile
11. tree
12. wildflower

These symbols of Ohio can be added the mural.
 
The following books about Ohio can be used to discover the different state symbols:

• Ohio Facts and Symbols by Emily McAuliffe (Note: This book is out of print, but many school libraries carry it)
• Exploring the States: Ohio by Amy Rechner (available at Epic!)
• Little Ohio by Marcia Schonberg, the answer to riddles 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 is an Ohio symbol (available at Epic!)
• Ohio by M.J. York (available at Epic!)
• Ohio: What’s So Great About This State?, by Kate Boehm Jerome lists some of Ohio’s symbols on pages 26-27.
• INFOhio World Book Kids, Compare Places -> US States -> Ohio

 
Ohio’s Learning Standards for Social Studies list the following symbols of the United States that students should recognize: American Flag, Pledge of Allegiance, and National Anthem. Symbols of Ohio will not be assessed at this grade level.