The United States Mint released the Alaska quarter on August 29, 2008. Alaska is the forty-ninth state to be honored as a part of the 50 State Quarters® Program.
The design features a brown bear catching a salmon in a river. A single star stands for the North Star. The phrase "The Great Land" is a translation of the Aleutian word "Alyeska" from which the state gets its name.
Teachers, below you will find several activities and links that will bring the features of this coin and the excitement of the Arizona "State Quarter Day" into your classroom!
Alaska Quarter
Learn more about the latest quarter.
50 State Quarters Program
Find out more about this program that honors every state in America!
50 State Quarters Program Lesson Plans
The 50 State Quarters Program lesson plans are ready for you to use in your classroom! Take a look at the lessons created specifically to celebrate the Alaska quarter: Cycling in the Wilderness (K–1), It's a Bear Out There (2–3), and The Coin and the Fable (4–6)! After that, be sure to check out the rest of the state-specific plans, FREE to download in sets designed specifically for grades K and 1, 2 and 3, and 4 through 6.
Are you a secondary school teacher interested in introducing the 50 State Quarters Program into your curriculum? Well, now you can! Our 50 State Quarters Program lesson plans for grades 7 through 12 are also written by educators. To download these FREE plans, visit the 50 State Quarters Program Lesson Plans today!
State Quarter Day Classroom Activities
Here are some fun ways to infuse your curriculum with activities that celebrate the arrival of the newest quarter in circulation!
Also, take a trip to Coin Collector's Workshop! Here, you can enroll in Inspector Collector's Coin Course, or solve coin mysteries in Get a Clue About Collecting. You can even learn How To Share Your Hobby!
"Seeing the States" WebQuest
What's so great about the United States? Let your students find out for themselves as they explore the coins in the 50 State Quarters Program to complete this fun Internet research project, the "Seeing the States" WebQuest.
Connected Coins and Medals
As we look at Alask's quarter this month, i's hard to miss that big bear in the center. Le's take a closer look at this animal and at why i's such a good symbol of our 49th state. Bears and Alaska go together. After all, more than 70 percent of the bears in North America (and 98 percent of the bears in the United States) live in Alaska! Learn more about other state quarters which feature interesting animals. Can you students find any animals that are special to your state?
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2007 Idaho Quarter: The Idaho quarter features the peregrine falcon and an outline of the state as images for its design. The words "Esto Perpetua" make up the state's motto, which is Latin for "May it be Forever." The peregrine falcon is one of the fastest-flying birds in the world. It was once on the endangered species list, but because it has been protected, it can now be found throughout Idaho and most of the country. |
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2006 Nevada Quarter: Wild mustangs are the main subject of Nevada's quarter which also features the sagebrush, Nevada's state flower. Nevada is home to more than half of the nation's wild horses. The horses roam the vast deserts and many mountains of the Great Basin, an area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. |
Our Foreign Friends
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The coins produced for the 50 State Quarters Program share much in common with the European currency, the euro. With your students, visit the interactive cartoon, Coins of the World, to see how these two programs are similar (here's a hint: look at the backs of euros from different countries, and then look at their fronts). |
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Quarter Games
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Your students can test their knowledge of United States geography and the 50 State Quarters Program, all while helping Bill the Mint Buffalo earn enough money to plan a cross-country trip. |
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Here's a challenge for your students! Put all the pieces of the Alaska quarter back together—in three minutes or less! |
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Are your students budding artists? Let them try their hands at painting the Alaska quarter. A pink bear or a green salmon? Let their color imaginations run wild! |
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Here's a word search all about quarters and other coins. Can your students find all the words on each list? |
A Coinage Cartoon
Teachers' Network
Teachers, if we've piqued your interest with the activities above, please sign up for the Teachers' Network. As a member, you can receive information about all of the new educational resources that become available from the United States Mint!
