Today's Classroom Activities :

Our 50 States - Classroom Activities

Birth order. The 50 states joined the United States at different times. The youngest state is Hawaii. It became part of our country in 1959. When did your state join the United States? If it has a new quarter, look for the date at the top.

In Fifty Nifty United States by Sandy Meagher social studies comes home with books about every state in the Union.

States Alive
Geography While studying the 50 states, check with your librarian for new books about each state, new coins and posters from the bank and stamps from the post office. Visit www.postcardsfrom.com and www.50states.com with your students for information on collecting postcards. Hang a large, mounted U.S. map and use colored push pins to record what has been collected for each state.

Use music to learn the names of the 50 states, rivers and mountains. Check with the music teacher for songs like "Fifty Nifty United States" that make it easy for students to learn and recall names and locations.

Purchase laminated placemats with a world map on one side and the U.S. map on the other, for each student. Stores like Wal-Mart sell these for less than a dollar each. Use a transition time during the day to play "Name That State!" Give directional clues such as, "Name a state west of the Mississippi, north of Kansas and south of Canada." Individual maps for reference and brief, daily practice in game form are motivating ways to boost learning for your students.