Virginia SOL VS.1.a

Social Studies4th GradePhysical Geography

The Standard

locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States and North America

Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students find Virginia on both a North America map and a United States map. They identify Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina as its state neighbors.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can point to Virginia quickly on maps with different scales. They can label all five neighboring states and describe each location using north, south, east, or west.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat West Virginia as part of Virginia or include Washington, D.C., as a neighboring state. They may also confuse the Atlantic coast with a state border or lose Virginia when the map scale changes.
How to Assess It: Give students blank maps of North America and the United States. Ask them to mark Virginia, then label its five neighboring states on the United States map.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a blank United States map and state cards, then have them place Virginia and arrange its five neighboring states around it.
Ask, "How would you describe Virginia's location to someone without a map?" Require North America, coast, and two neighboring states.
Play Map Relay: teams draw a state card, point to it on a wall map, and explain its location relative to Virginia.
Plan a road trip from Richmond to Louisville, tracing Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky on a highway map.

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