Lapbooks are a fun, hands-on way to learn, but they sound like a lot of work. This lapbook kit for older elementary students is an e-book download from Knowledge Box Central. It not only provides a solid basic education in US Government but shows you how to do it.

The content is divided into three sections: Student Assembly and Completion Instructions, Teacher's Guide, and Study Guide. The Student Instructions are written to the student in a straightforward way. All the answers are found in the Teacher's Guide. The introduction says extra activities are found here, but all I saw were three websites for further study. The Study Guide has all the information needed to teach the subject, and it can be used by the student to self-teach. It is 21 pages long, is easy to read and understand, and includes attractive graphics. At the end of the study guide, you will find a list of U.S. symbols, a glossary, and constitutional trivia.

What all is covered in this lapbook? The student will learn about basic U.S. geography, the history of the capital, the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government, how laws are made, the election of the president of the U.S., the Supreme Court, citizenship, and national versus state government.

The student constructs 28 booklets in all, including a little coloring book, a tic-tac-toe game, three dot-to-dots, and a crossword puzzle. There appears to be a small glitch in the assembly instructions: the student is told and to use three file folders for the base of the lapbook, but four folders are referred to and shown in the subsequent instructions.

United States Government Lapbook is a great method of learning some important basics that kids need to know, and it provides a fun and easy way to do so.

Product review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, August 2009