Dusty Sourdough + Alaska Unit Study

One of our sons is obsessed with moving to Alaska someday...he'd like to be a bush pilot.  We haven't had the opportunity to visit this beautiful state yet, but that doesn't mean we can't read, watch, and study it!  We're having even more fun planning an adventurous graduation trip for the future!

Alaska became the 49th state in January 1959.  It is the largest state, but you can really get a feel for its magnitude when you see it compared to the rest of the union (see right).  Over 65% of the land is government-run.  One interesting fact - Alaska claims the furthermost north, west, and east (it crosses the dateline) state in the US!

Nicknamed 'The Last Frontier,' Alaska gets its name from the Aleut word 'Aleyska,' meaning 'great land.'  Its motto is 'North to the Future.'  Juneau, the state capital, is located in the southeastern region of the station, and is one of the most populated cities at only 32,061 (2019).

In 1867, 'Seward's Folly' was purchased for the small sum of 7.2 million dollars from Russia.  That equates to roughly two cents per acre!  In the late 1890s, the Klondike Gold Rush began with the discovery of gold, but this wasn't the only treasure to be found on the land.  Nearly 80% of Alaska's revenue comes from oil.  In the 1970s, the Alaska Pipeline was constructed, creating many jobs and the ability to carry more than two million barrels of oil per day!

Dusty Sourdough, the author of our unit study novels, is an Alaskan character actor who travels the country sharing stories of the state's frontier days...

These are our spine reads.  There are four books in the Dusty Sourdough series, and we know you'll want to read them all!

• A Gift for Dusty
• Trail to Wrangell
• Gold
• Adventure Fire

Access the complete unit in the American History Novel Studies Bundle!

Includes sixteen unit studies covering American History. Each unit addresses a new topic, spanning the Revolutionary War to Vietnam.  Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.
• Some units also have cooking projects.

These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together. Our family has used unit studies as curriculum for many years, and we hope that your family will enjoy these, too!

Product sample:  Paper Son & Angel Island Immigration  & Within These Lines & Japanese Internment

Includes:

• Casualties of War & Vietnam War
• No Promises in the Wind & the Great Depression
• Out of the Dust & the Dust Bowl
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham & Civil Rights
• Dusty Sourdough & Alaska
• The King of Mulberry Street & Ellis Island Immigration
• Paper Son & Angel Island Immigration
• The Red Menace & McCarthyism
• Johnny Tremain & Faces of the American Revolution
• Sounder & Sharecropping
• World War II Code Talkers
• Flashback Four: Hamilton-Burr Duel
• Within These Lines & Japanese Internment Camps
• Flashback Four: Titanic Mission
• Flashback Four: Lincoln Project
• The Diviners / The Great Gatsby & Roaring Twenties