Idaho Social Studies 5.SS.2.3

Social Studies5th GradeGeography

The Standard

Name and locate the 50 States and their Capitals, and United States Territories.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students name all 50 states, locate them on a map, and match each state to its capital. They also name and locate U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given blank maps, a student can label the states, mark their capitals, and locate U.S. territories. They can tell a state from a territory.
Common Misconceptions: Students may name New York City as New York's capital instead of Albany. They may confuse Washington, D.C., with Washington state's capital, Olympia, or call Puerto Rico a state.
How to Assess It: Hand out a blank U.S. map with Caribbean and Pacific insets. Ask students to label Oregon, Louisiana, Maine, Puerto Rico, and Guam, then add the three state capitals.

Lesson moves

Give pairs blank U.S. and world maps plus state, capital, and territory cards; have them match states to capitals and place the labels.
Show a mainland U.S. map and ask, 'Which states and territories are missing, and what other maps would help us find them?'
Play capital bingo: call a state name, and have students cover its capital on their cards; reverse the clues for round two.
Give students a flight itinerary through Albany, Honolulu, San Juan, and Guam; have them map each stop and label its state or territory.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.SS.2.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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