Printable Scholar
Washington State Report Kit
Everything a student needs to research and write a report on Washington: the reading, the maps and the pages to fill in. Nothing else to look up.
- 3 reading pages: Washington fun facts, History, and Land and Work
- 5 maps: landmarks, cities, county, outline, and rivers and lakes
- An 8-page My State Report booklet, from fast facts to a trip plan and a license plate to design
- A pennant to cut out and hang, two map skills sheets and a 10-question reading quiz
- Answer keys for the quiz, the fast facts and the map sheets
- One print-ready PDF, 23 pages, black and white, US Letter
Teaching all 50 states? Get every kit for $39.
Look inside
Read it, map it, write it.
The reading pages and maps hold every answer the booklet asks for. About one third of the booklet is looking things up. The rest asks students to choose, plan and explain.
What is in the Washington kit
To read and study
- Washington fun facts: six short true stories, By the Numbers and Did You Know
- History: the state’s story in order, with a timeline, people to know and words to know
- Land and Work: the land and climate, what the state grows, makes and mines, and how one leads to the other
- Five maps, including a rivers, lakes and neighbors map with a letter key
To fill in and make
- My State Report booklet: cover, Fast Facts, My Map, State Symbols, My Trip, Think Like a Geographer, Design a License Plate and Dig Deeper
- A pennant with the state’s name and outline, to color, cut out and hang
- Name the Cities and Name the Rivers and Lakes sheets, each with a word bank
- A 10-question reading quiz, with answer keys for everything that has one right answer
Free: the Washington History reading page
One page on the history of Washington for grades 3 to 5, free to print in color or black and white. It is the second reading page in the kit.
The First Peoples
People have lived in Washington for more than 10,000 years. Coast Salish nations, such as the Duwamish, Nisqually and Puyallup, lived around Puget Sound. They built cedar plank houses and canoes. East of the mountains, the Yakama, Spokane and Palouse peoples fished for salmon and dug roots. Many nations gathered at the falls on the Spokane River to fish and trade.
Ships and Fur Traders
In 1792, the British captain George Vancouver mapped Puget Sound. That same year, the American Robert Gray sailed into the Columbia River. In 1805, Lewis and Clark came down the Columbia to the Pacific. In 1825, a British company built Fort Vancouver on the Columbia. Native hunters traded beaver furs there for cloth, tools and guns.
Missions and Wagons
In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman built a mission near Walla Walla. They came to teach the Cayuse their religion. Wagon families on the Oregon Trail stopped there for food and rest. Many Cayuse died of measles that newcomers brought. In 1847, Cayuse men attacked the mission and killed the Whitmans and 11 others. Oregon volunteers then fought the Cayuse for several years.
A New Territory
In 1846, a treaty with Britain set the border with Canada. In 1851, the Denny family and other settlers landed at Alki Point. They started the town that became Seattle. They named it for Chief Seattle, a Duwamish and Suquamish leader. Congress made Washington a territory in 1853.
Wars and Treaties
Governor Isaac Stevens signed treaties with many tribes in 1854 and 1855. The tribes gave up most of their land. They kept reservations and the right to fish. In 1856, warriors attacked Seattle, and a Navy ship fired on them. East of the mountains, the Army fought the Yakama and their allies. In 1858, the Army defeated the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Palouse near Spokane. The tribes were moved to reservations. Today, 29 tribes in Washington have their own governments.
Railroads, Planes and a Fair
In 1883, the Northern Pacific Railroad linked Washington to the East. Washington became the 42nd state in 1889. That year, a fire burned downtown Seattle, and people rebuilt it in brick. Washington women won the vote in 1910. In 1916, William Boeing started an airplane company in Seattle. In 1962, Seattle held a world’s fair and built the Space Needle. In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.
Washington through time
- 1792 Vancouver maps the Sound
- 1836 The Whitmans build a mission
- 1851 Settlers land at Alki Point
- 1853 Territory is created
- 1883 Railroad links to the East
- 1889 Becomes the 42nd state
- 1916 Boeing starts a company
- 1962 Seattle World’s Fair
- 1980 Mount St. Helens erupts
People to know
- Chief Seattle: Duwamish and Suquamish leader.
- Mother Joseph: Nun who built schools and hospitals.
- William Boeing: Started an airplane company in Seattle.
- Bertha Knight Landes: Seattle’s first woman mayor, 1926.
- Bing Crosby: Singer and actor. Grew up in Spokane.
Free Washington maps
Each of these maps is free to print on its own page. The kit puts them in one file with the reading pages and the booklet.