The United States Mint 50 State Quarters Program launched a 10-year initiative in 1999, commemorating each of the nation's states in the order they were admitted into the Union. Approximately every 10 weeks (5 times a year) through 2008, a new limited-edition quarter that displays an individual state's design is released into general circulation. For each edition of state quarters, the U.S. Mint has developed three sets of lesson plans for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-6. This set of lesson plans deals with quarters for the states of Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, and Arkansas. Lesson plans for grades 4-6 contain the following: six lesson plans that fit into any intermediate curriculum, reproducible worksheets that coincide with each lesson, state facts, information on the new quarter designs, and a U.S. map template with state outlines. (BT)