If you’ve never read Albert and would like a preview of the book, this is one read-aloud version from YouTube.

As the Class is Arriving:

Encourage the students to complete the copywork on their desks. Those who are more proficient can trace and copy. Beginners, just trace. Usually, I give the class about 5 minutes (during which we play the quiet game) and just see how much they can get done. This is also a great time to prep any last-minutes notes and review your plans for the class.

Review:

No need to do a big review today, but a few questions will help refresh memories and get the class talking, as you review concepts:

• Take a moment to review both the Northeast region and the rest of the United States. If you feel you have time, allow a few to try their hand at naming the Northeast States, then go through them together as a class.
• No further need to review

Review the Homework:

Tell the class to take out their binders and homework.

If you’re following along with the Learning the USA through Literature – the 3rd year co-op curriculum, last week’s homework emphasized creating a topic sentence. With this week’s assignment, the class should have added several sentences to support their topic sentence. Older ones should have found a source to support their idea and included it in the homework.

Go around the room, having each student share their topic sentence, then, after a pause, their supporting sentences.

• Did they have trouble finding a source?
• Does the class feel they supported their topic sentence well?
• Offer encouragement as each one shares.

Then, go around the room again to let anyone who has memorize either the portion of the Declaration of Independence or Proverbs 11:14, both in last week’s copywork.

Introduce and Read the Story

Tell the class we’re going to start a new book today. It takes place in the Northeast – but the book doesn’t tell us where. Encourage the class to use the context clues within the story to see if they can figure out where the story takes place. Remind the class that this is called the “setting”

As you read, pause after a few pages to see if the class was able find any clues:

• Maple trees
• Cardinals
• Apartments
• Cool weather
• Street Vendors
• Loud noise
• High-rise buildings

Maple trees, cool weather, and cardinals point to the Northeast; Apartments, Street Vendors, and noise all point to a city. High-rise buildings, especially with a mixed residential/commercial area would seem to point to NYC, instead of a city like Boston. 

Be sure to point out that this book is fiction, and remind the class what that means.

After you finish the story, have the class cut out the ALBERT book, and place it on NY, on the large map at the end of the journal. (If you don’t have the map or the handout with all the storybooks listen, you can find them in the first set of papers handed out at the beginning of the year.

If you’d like, take a moment to discuss Albert.

• What type of personality did he have? (timid, scared, picky)
• Why didn’t he want to go outside? (scary noises, afraid of things not being perfect, etc)
• What helped him finally be brave enough to go outside?  (realized it’s not all scary, realized sometimes bad things resolve themselves, etc)

Review the Homework

In our class, the first day of Spring is the week this assignment is due.

Remind the class that Albert also takes place in the Spring. How can we tell? (Birds, cool weather, buds on the trees, etc)

For this coming week they have two assignments, both listed in the Albert Add-in Pages 1st Class:

1. Signs of Spring Oral Presentation / Show and Tell
   • This is mainly to help those who don’t share well have an opportunity for a small public speaking opportunity. Ask each student to collect a meaningful object that is a “sign of spring” for them. If they find a nest or something that needs to stay where it is, they can take a picture and bring it in. They should be prepared to share what it is and what it means to them.
2. Comic Strip or Postcard

Remind the class before Albert was brave enough to go outside, he stayed inside and did what? Read comics and wrote postcards he never sent. For today’s homework, we will do both.

1. Tell the class to choose ONE, or both if they would like a bonus. (Or older kids could do both, youngers just one)
2. Remind the class (as explained on the page) that a POSTCARD is an informal greeting. Often sent by travelers to show a picture of where they traveled. Not as formal as a letter. A few sentences. “Hi friend”. Fun tone, nothing personal, as everyone can see what you sent.
3. Comic Strips tell a story, but remind them like extra boxes and large !!! or pictures that go beyond the normal squares add expression. Only things said are written in bubbles. Things thought go inside clouds.

That’s it! if you have time, review the states.

Class 2

Things I Need:

• The Albert Book
• Map of the USA, especially showing the Northeast States
• Learning the USA through Lit Journal – Albert Add-In Pages 2nd Class
• Scissors, Gluesticks, Pencils

Before the class: set out the new journal pages and Albert copywork page on their desk as you are setting up the class. Have your class helper(s) help the kids punch their new journal pages and add them to their binders.

Homework:

• Memorize Deuteronomy 31:6
• Complete “Are you like Albert?” writing paragraph
• Complete States / Capital Review Worksheet
• Review all states. Stack the States and US Map Quiz both have a great app. You can access a bunch of States and Capitals songs on the home page for this curriculum

As the Class is Arriving:

Encourage the students to complete the copywork on their desks. Those who are more proficient can trace and copy. Beginners, just trace. Usually, I give the class about 5 minutes (during which we play the quiet game) and just see how much they can get done. This is also a great time to prep any last-minutes notes and review your plans for the class.

Review:

• Take a moment to review ALL the states, region by region. If the kids have the states pretty solidly, you can try introducing the capitals. If you have time, you may want to share one of the songs from this page with the class.
• Who remembers the story we read last week? (Use some or all of these questions to get the class talking and remembering before you segue into the discussion for today’s class)
  • Where did we think the story took place?
  • Why did we think it took place there?
  • What do we call the “place” that a story happens?
  • Who can tell me who the main character was?
  • And what was he like (timid, fearful, afraid to try new things, go new places)
  • What things was he afraid of (scary sounds, arguments, sirens)

Class Discussion and Copywork Bible Verse Review

To continue the discussion from above, it may be helpful to reread the first three or four pages of the book. Within those pages, there is discussion about the different things that he is afraid of. Part of the problem is that he never stays outside long enough to see some of those problems resolve (though at the end of the book, he sees many of these problems resolve on their own. He didn’t see this before. If you feel the class comprehends this, this is a good theme to draw out.

Further Discussion Questions could include:

• Was Albert’s fear reasonable?
• Was it as bad as it seemed?
• What actually helped Abert to overcome his fear? (he was forced to stay outside and see what was actually happening instead of giving in to his imagination/pessimism of worst-case-scenario.
• What things are we afraid of?
• Have you been afraid of something? Are you still afraid? What has helped you overcome that fear?
• Are our fears rational?
• What is something that wasn’t mentioned in the book that we can do when we’re afraid?

Review the copywork:

Ask one of the students to read the verse out loud.

• What does this verse mean to us?
• Does anyone know what this verse is referring to? (God was asking the Israelites to go into an unknown land where there were giants) 
• Were there real things to be afraid of? (Yes – sometimes there are real things that are scary that we must face, we can’t stay hidden in our homes forever)
• What is God’s promise to his children? (I will be with you). 

Point to make: Sometimes fears are irrational or imagined. (for older students, or for a Bible class, you could bring in the concept of “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” mentioned in 2 Cor 10.) At the end of the book, Albert discovered that some of his fears were based on things that weren’t really there. Other fears are real. But in these situations, God promises: we are not alone, and he will go with us to meet and overcome these things we are afraid of.

Review last week’s Homework & Mini Spring Show and Tell:

Go around the room, letting each student share their postcard or comic strip idea with the class. Don’t forget to praise and encourage each student after the share, and pause along the way to point out things done right, as a teaching moment for the other students.

Oral Presentations:

For their spring sharing / show and tell – ask each student to go to the front of the class. If you are short on time, or have a large class, you may want to split into two groups for this part.

Remind (or ask) the class that when they share in front of an audience, what do they need to do?

• Speak out, try to project your voice
• Don’t cover your mouth with papers (we need to see your face)
• Be excited about what you share. Try to convey that excitement as you share.
• Try to stand still, and not wiggle or cross your legs or walk back and forth etc.

One by one, have each come up and talk about something the represents “Spring” that they found.

Hopefully, this should be an unintimidating way to introduce the class to public speaking and give shyer students a push to speak out and share.

Glue In / Add States and Books

By now, you should have added the Northeast states into the Binder, and glued in your three books from this region (Snowflake Bentley, The Hatmaker’s Sign, and Albert). If you have not, make sure they are all glued in, as this is the last week on this region. Next week starts the Southeast.

Introduce Next Week’s Homework

Earlier we discussed fear. Tell them for this week they are going to think back to their own fears.

• Write one paragraph of 3-5 sentences, explaining something they are/were afraid of and how they handled/handle it.
  • Is there anything they used to be afraid of, but are not anymore? How did they overcome their fear?
  • Is there anything they are still afraid of? What do they do when they’re afraid?
• Complete the state / capital review sheet.
• Memorize ALL States that we have done so far, bonus if you know capitals for next week
• Memorize Deuteronomy 31:6 and be ready to share for the class
• Begin thinking over the books we have done this year. Which one was your favorite? Look through your journal if you need to remember. We will begin discussing our final project connected to this next week. 

That’s it!

If you have extra time, play one of your state review games