Elementary Lesson Plan: Teaching the United States and Their Capitals

Some of your students will find it easier to memorize the states and their capitals by singing them, where others will need to visualize them on a map of the United States, posted within the classroom. Still others will need to organize the states, alphabetizing and/or counting them, while making unique memory tags to remember them all.

Teaching National, State & Capital Songs

The article covering national and state songs "Teaching School-Age Kids U.S. & State Songs" contains links to the music, along with the words for all the state and national songs. It makes singing with your class much more enjoyable if you don't have to teach music at the same time.

I was also made aware of an older video posted in an online group entitled "A Very Cute Way to Learn the 50 State Capitals" which I had remembered seeing a long time ago. This catchy tune with capital lyrics, offers your students a song for memorizing the state capitals.

Memory Tags & Alphabetizing to Learn all 50 States

Alphabetize the 50 states and capitals with your students, either on the blackboard or by creating a large-print poster turned into a game. Time how long it takes your class to alphabetize the first time around, and then repeat, until it becomes faster, each time filling in the missing states.

A fun project to help kids learn about the states, while memorizing them, can include computer research or a library field trip, beginning with a United States puzzle. Break apart the U.S. puzzle states, assigning 2 state puzzle-pieces per student. Have them research the most prominent facts, and invent silly ways to remember the capital cities, as they reconstruct the puzzle state-by-state.

Examples could be California's gold rush turned Sacramento into pimento, or Virginia's capital is on a rich-mound (for Richmond). In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed over to Ohio, and Missouri is the show-me state, so show me a Jefferson City nickel. You get the idea, just remember silly is helpful, because your students will remember them.

Testing on the States and Their Capitals

Your children may need to see a United States map in front of them, as visual learners will not want to forget any, and may remember the states by their shape alone (names covered). Also numbering a page from 1 to 50 is a good incentive, to turn tests or assignments into no-stress, fill-in-the-blanks gaming.