Objectives
- The students will learn the definition of a state capital.
- The students will learn the symbol used to identify a state capital.
- The students will locate the capital of their state on the United States Map.
Vocabulary
state capital
Materials Needed
United States Political Map, map marker, post-it-notes that read
"_______________ is the capital city of ___________"
Lesson
Review the definition of the word state. A state is an area of land that is part of a country. Tell the students that each state has a city where the leaders who work for the government meet. This city is the state capital. Discuss important government positions, such as governor, state senator, or state representative.
Pull down the United States Political Map. Locate the map legend and circle the symbol used to identify a state capital. (The name of the city is underlined.) The example cited in the legend is Richmond, Virginia. Have a student locate Richmond, Virginia on the map. Use a post-it-note and have a student write in the blank "Richmond" is the capital city of "Virginia". Place the post-it-note near the location of Richmond, Virginia on the map.
Have a student locate your state on the United States Political Map. Let the student write the name of the capital city and the state on the post-it-note. Place the post-it-note near the location of your state capital. Emphasize the symbol used to identify state capitals on this map is the name of the city underlined. The legend is used to tell us what the symbol means.
Use the same procedure for other states. Tell the students there are 50 states and 50 state capitals.
Lesson .pdf file (Printable Lesson)