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Your primary school students may know that many potatoes are grown and come from the state of Idaho, but what else do they know about this particular state? Many of today's American students only know a few things about their own home states and not much else about the other 49 in the Union. This is unfortunate, since these students will undoubtedly become citizens who need to be well-informed. At any rate, many primary school teachers feel as though they have the responsibility and the opportunity to teach their students about the United States, though one state at a time.

However, teaching about states can be boring if you do so lecture-style. Sometimes, it can be better to passively teach. That is, instead of actively giving your students the information, you are allowing them to search for the knowledge on their own. The bulletin board is a great tool for doing just this. Although it is stationary and there is very little space (compared to the "space" that you can fill with oral words), you can still make great use of a bulletin board if you choose to do the following:

1. Divide the bulletin board into as few sections as possible, but preferably more than two. Having three to four sections seems to be the norm, and some of these sections will undoubtedly be titled "history," "fun facts," "interesting sights," and "pictures." These are sections that speak about the state in a way that is concise yet informative.

2. Idaho has its own unique history. Idaho covers some of the land on which Lewis and Clark journeyed with their guide Sacagawea. These are important facts and they provide a connection to Idaho's unique, state history to the overall history of the United States. For example, why did Sacagawea lead this expedition? In order to make your bulletin board as informative and as accurate as possible, you will need to include a detailed history of the state. Using bulleted, short sentences and paragraphs will help you do so.

3. In addition, adding pictures can attract your students' interest. Undoubtedly, pictures can contain 1,000 words, and they can mean much more to a young child's eyes than words can. So, if you want to make your bulletin board as fascinating and as captivating as possible, adding pictures is a must.

If you need more resources in order to find more information, whether it is about Idaho's history, fun facts about the state, or more images, you can visit the following:

Legends of America

The History Channel

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