The Best Maryland Study: Fun Facts, Activities, and Printables

/ Homeschool / By / / Exploring the Great United States, Homeschool, Maryland

Inside: Maryland Unit Study activity ideas, recipes and worksheets to help kids learn about the State of Maryland.

This week we had so much fun learning about the state of Maryland we did our worksheets, watched some videos, made a cake and tried Old Bay seasoning to name a few things.

When you hear the state of Maryland what is the first thing you think of? Can you locate the state on a map? Do you know any fun facts about Maryland?

50 States Unit Studies

As part of our homeschool, we are learning about the 50 states, and it has been so much fun. There are so many fun things to learn about each state and to be honest it makes me want to visit each one.

As we learn about the states, we have done a simple unit study complete with videos, worksheets, books, activities and food.

Today I’m sharing our Maryland Study and all the fun things we did as we learned about this state.

As you put together your lesson plan for the State of Maryland, I hope you find these ideas helpful and use as many of them as you can.

In this post, I share all about our Idaho Unit Study all the printable worksheets we used can be found in my shop!

Maryland Unit Study

We did our Maryland unit study in about 2-3 hours spread over a couple of days. You can decide if you want to keep the unit simple and do it in a day or you could easily spread it over a week.

We started learning about Maryland by watching a Maryland homeschool pop YouTube video that shares basic Maryland Facts for Kids.

I love this channel’s videos about the states because it shows not only the shape of the state, but where it is located on a map of the USA. It also talks about basic facts like the flag, nickname, bird, flower, and more.

While the kids watched this video they cut out, colored and glued together their Maryland worksheet.

After watching the video, we talk more about Maryland’s basic facts along with some fun facts.

The kids continue to finish the worksheet and little book from Exploring the Great United Sates as we continue talking about the state.

And of course, we included some fun activities, crafts, and yummy food (our favorite!) to finish off our study of the State of Maryland.

Maryland Facts for Kids

For each of the 50 states, we learn about the basic facts including the name and where it came from, the capital, the location of the state, and more. Below are Maryland’s basic facts.

  • Nickname: The Old Line State – Some say the name was given by George Washington – referring to the Maryland Line, troops that served in many Revolutionary War Battles.
  • Statehood: 7th state – Maryland became a state in 1788 and has 23 counties.
  • Capital: Annapolis
  • Abbreviation: MD
  • State bird: Baltimore Oriole
  • State flower: Black-eyed Susan

Maryland Fact Teller

We made these fun Maryland Fact Tellers that included 8 facts about Maryland for the kids to share and practice so they could remember.

Other facts we talked about include:

  • Where did the name Maryland come from?
  • Where is Maryland located?

Interesting and Fun Facts About Maryland

  • Maryland was one of the original 13 Colonies.
  • Maryland is named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria (the wife of King Charles I).
  • Maryland has 1 National Monument – Fort McHenry National Monument.
  • Fort McHenry is the birthplace of the National Anthem we know today. Francis Scott Key (born in Frederick, MD) was inspired by the defense of the fort during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 and wrote the words we now sing.
  • Annapolis was the temporary Capital of the United States when the Continental Congress met from Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784. The Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War was ratified by Congress in Annapolis on January 14, 1784.
  • State Cat: Calico Cat
  • State Dog: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
  • State Exercise: Walking
  • State Crustacean: Blue Crab
  • State Dessert: Smith Island Cake
  • Smith Island Cake has nine delicious layers of yellow cake and chocolate icing.
  • Maryland style-chicken is fried chicken topped with white gravy.
  • Assateague Island off the coast of the state is home to a herd of wild ponies. Some say that the ponies arrived on the island in the 1600’s on a sinking ship.
  • The Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, MD was the bloodiest single day battle in US military history with over 22,000 estimated casualties. In December each year there is a Memorial Illumination where volunteers light 23,110 candles to honor the Americans who fought in this battle.
  • Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and conductor on the underground railroad after escaping slavery. She was born in Maryland in 1822.
  • The Black & Decker was started in Baltimore in 1910 and the company is still based in Maryland. The worlds first cordless drill was introduced in 1961 by Black & Decker.
  • The famous baseball player Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore, MD.
  • The United States Naval Academy is located in Maryland.
  • The Bay Bridge (William Preston Lane Jr Memorial Bridge is 4 miles long connecting Maryland’s Eastern Shore to Baltimore, Annapolis and DC. It’s among the longest and most scenic over water structures in the world.
  • In 1774 the first post office in the United States was created in Baltimore.
  • At Calvert Cliff State Park you can find shark teeth on the beach.
  • Pre-Civil War the Mason- Dixon Line (the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania) was considered the line between the slave states and the free north. Today the line is still sometimes used when talking about the divide between the Northern and Southern States.
  • Mr. J.T. Thrasher introduced Thrasher’s French Fries in Ocean City in 1929. You can still get a bucket of fries if you visit the boardwalk today.
  • Malt vinegar or bay seasoning are popular toppings for fries in Maryland.

Videos about Maryland

There are a lot of great videos you can use to learn about the state of Maryland.

A few vides we used include:

Books About Maryland

There are a lot of great books about Maryland both picture books and chapter books.

I found a lot of great options at my library which is a great option if you don’t want to purchase them all.

The 50 States by Gabrielle Balkan

The book I’m using for all the U.S. states and recommend you add to your library is The 50 States by Gabrielle Balkan. This book has a large map of each state and is filled with fun facts and information about each state.  

The kids love looking at this book and pointing to their favorite pictures and then reading the facts about those things.

Picture Books About Maryland

Here are some book ideas to read as you learn about Maryland:

Chapter books About Maryland

Here are a few chapter books about Maryland perfect for older kids or as a read aloud.

Maryland Crafts for Kids (and other activities)

Arts, crafts and activities (along with the recipes and food!) are our favorite parts of studying each state.

There are a lot of fun activities you can do as you learn about Maryland, we decided to do the state exercise as our activity and go for a walk.

Walking

We decided to go for a walk as the activity for our Maryland unit study. We all enjoyed getting outside and doing the Maryland state exercise.

Other activity ideas:

  • Sing the National Anthem – The National Anthem was written in Maryland. Listen to it or spend some time learning more about it!
  • Mail Something – write a letter and mail it. (or mail something else)
  • Play Baseball – Play a game of baseball with some friends or have fun hitting a ball or playing catch.
  • Use a Cordless Drill – Fix something, build something or simply use a cordless drill to drill in a few screws to some scrap wood.

Maryland Foods for Kids

For Maryland, there are a couple of fun food options included in the unit study ideas.

Smith Island Cake

We decided to make the Maryland State Dessert for our food, and it ended up being the main activity as well. It took several hours to make this cake together, and it was delicious. We used this recipe.

Old Bay Seasoning

We also decided to try some fries with Old Bay Seasoning which all the kids loved!

Printable Maryland Unit Study (Lesson Plan, Worksheet, and Mini Book of Fun Facts)

The Maryland printable unit study includes the cut-and-paste Maryland worksheet, a foldable mini book with facts about Maryland, and a 2-page lesson plan with the basic facts, fun facts, book list, activity ideas, and recipes.

Get the Unit Study

Traveling in Maryland with Kids

Exploring Maryland is a great way to learn even more about the state.

Here are just a few ideas of places to vist in Maryland:

  • Fort McHenry
  • Annapolis
  • Thrashers Fries
  • C&O Canal Towpath
  • Assateague National Seashore
  • Calvert Cliffs State Park

There are so many things you can do in Maryland checkout this post with 50 fun places to visit in Maryland.