Biggest and Best Flag

Literature Annotation

• Grade: 4 

• Economic Concepts: Goods & Services, Specialization, and Interdependence 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Literature Annotation: This book, beautifully illustrated with photographs of the oil paintings of Dan Andreasen, is an account of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. It describes Francis Scott Key’s actions behind enemy lines during the bombardment of Fort McHenry and how his experiences led to the writing of America’s national anthem. 

• Grade: 4 

• Economic Concepts: Goods & Services, independence 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 5 

• Economic Concepts: Goods and services, consumption, opportunity cost

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 4 or 5

• Economic Concept: opportunity cost, decision making, goods & services 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 5 

• Economic Concepts: Goods and services, decision making 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and currant status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 4 or 5 

• Economic Concepts: Opportunity Cost, Tax 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and currant status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 4 

• Economic Concepts: independence, consumers, development 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 5 

• Economic Concepts: Scarcity and Decision-making, Opportunity Cost, Taxes and the Role of Government, Command Economy and Market Economy 

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: Great Aunt Liza sends a birthday present in a wooden box from her home in Maryland to her niece in Illinois. Hog Music is the story of the trip that the box takes along the National Road and the misadventures that occur along the way.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: Goods and services, economic decision making

• Grade: 5 

• Economic Concepts: independence, command and market economy

• Maryland State Economic Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Life in Colonial Boston

• Grade: 5 

• Economic Concepts: Production and Specialized work, Scarcity and Decision-making, Government and Economic Systems 

• Maryland State Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

• Grade: 4

• Economic Concepts: opportunity cost, economic decisions, production, consumption 

• Maryland State Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This book paints a picture of Maryland’s history, people, economy, resources and government. It explains Maryland’s role on the world stage in the past as well as today.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: Goods and services, economic decision making
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: Although this book is a fictional account of Harriet Tubman’s childhood, the basic facts are true. She was a slave on the Brodas plantation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the 1820s and was considered a “problem” slave by her master. Her dream of freedom was the only thing that made life bearable for her.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: opportunity code, economic decision making.
• Maryland Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world

Literature Annotation: This book re-tells the story of Benjamin Banneker’s grandmother. It begins with her servitude in England and the “crime” that sent her to America. In this large picture book, Alice McGill presents the beginnings of the Banneker family in the Maryland colony.

• Grade: 4-5
• Economic Concepts: Production of Goods and Services; Specialization; Interdependence
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This is an interview with George Ambrose Chisley, an oysterman in Southern Maryland. The photos shows pictures of oysters, how they are harvested, and the boat and tools that are used.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: Economic Resources, Production, Specialized Work
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

The Gristmill

Literature Annotation: Pioneers would travel many miles to visit the gristmill for the essential service of having their wheat or corn stone-ground. As a result, communities in colonial America developed and prospered. In this story students will examine gristmill construction, the process for grinding grain into flour, the resources needed, and the importance of the gristmill to the community.

• Grade: 4-5
• Economic Concepts: Production, Goods and Services, Resources
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Gristmill Pictures

Literature Annotation: This beautifully illustrated book traces the history and purpose of the legendary trade route between China and Byzantium during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906)

• Grade: 4-5
• Economic Concepts: interdependence, trade, scarcity, economic wants
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This book contains the journal entries of an orphan boy, indentured by an unscrupulous uncle, that are used to re-create the daily life of the Pilgrims a few years after their difficult beginnings in Plimoth. Christopher Sears and passengers are stranded in November when the ship, Sparrowhawk, crashes in a New England fog on its way to Jamestown, Virginia. He writes in his journal about various family and community events that he experiences while living for nine months in the home of Elder Brewster. Christopher has artistic leanings, and Mistress Brewster encourages his talent for wood engraving.

• Grade: 5
• Economic Concepts: Scarcity, Consumption, Opportunity Cost
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This series of books, written to meet four different readability levels, explains how the desire for four different types of goods –silk, spices, salt, and fur – led to the development of various trade routes around the world.

• Grade: 4-5
• Economic Concepts: Goods, trade
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This book begins with Benjamin Banneker’s childhood and relates the story of his life. It includes information on his years as a farmer in Maryland and how he made his first clock. His interest in astronomy led to his becoming a surveyor with the Ellicott brothers who built a mill on the Patapsco River and to his job as a surveyor for the city of Washington, DC.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: Opportunity Cost, Production, Interdependence
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Literature Annotation: This story of a family who lived in Annapolis during the American Revolution shows the tumultuous times that turned their world upside down. From the burning of the ship Peggy Stewart during the Annapolis "tea party" to the war's end, the five Sands children and their parents were a part of events that created a new nation.

• Grade: 4
• Economic Concepts: Goods and services
• Maryland State Curriculum Economics Standard: Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.