Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later Unit Study

This unit study includes lessons and activities based on the book Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard.

Sunday afternoons are special for Sarah and Susan because that’s when they visit Aunt Flossie — she has a memorable collection of hats, each with a special story.

from Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later at amazon.com

Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later Unit Study Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons found in this Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later unit study:

Geography: Maryland
Find Maryland on a map. How far is Maryland from your home? Discuss Maryland with your student. Maryland was the 7th state in the United States becoming a state on April 28, 1788. The capital is Annapolis and the largest city is Baltimore. It is on the east coast of the U.S. and major industries include farming (corn, soybeans, tobacco, poultry and dairy products), mining (coal), steel products, communications equipment, and fishing (crabs and oysters).

Social Studies: Memories
Aunt Flossie shares her memories with her nieces as she shares her hats. Do you have any memories (pictures, mementos, journals, etc.) that you can share with your student? You may want to arrange a visit with grandma, an aunt, or another family member in which you go to share memories of times past. I know my grandma has tons of pictures from her mom’s family as well as her dad’s. She also has old quilts to share. This would be a great experience for your student.

You can also discuss the importance of preserving memories with your student. Why do we want to have something to hand down to the next generation? This would be a good time to allow your student to start a small scrapbook. You may want to scrap one event or an entire season (or even an entire year) together. What a treasure that will be to hand down to your grandchildren someday!

Science: Crabs and Terrapins (and exoskeletons)
The story mentions crabs and terrapins (fresh water turtles) both of which have exoskeletons. Some animals have endoskeletons and some have exoskeletons (and some have neither!). To determine whether or not your student has an endoskeleton or exoskeleton, tell him to touch his backbone and ask him if it’s inside his body or if he wears it on the outside. He has an internal support system (an endoskeleton). However, crabs and turtles wear their support on the outside of their bodies, so they have exoskeletons to protect their bodies.

You can grab a copy of the entire Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later unit study in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

How to Get Started with the Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later unit study.

1. Buy a copy of the book, Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later, or grab one from your local library.
2. Print the Aunt Flossie’s Hats and Crab Cakes Later unit study.
3. Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
4. Enjoy a week of literature-based learning with your student.

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