When do students learn state capitals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 6th grader whose teacher says they won't be learning state capitals until 7th grade. This seems very late - I remember learning them (in FCPS) in the 4th grade.

In addition, the 6th grade AAP classes are learning this. Why on earth aren't all the classes being taught something so basic? Once again, I guess I'll be teaching my child information at home that they should be getting at school.

Mine learned them in 4th grade, in music class.

FCPS

This is the song that they learned in 4th grade and performed at one of the concerts at my DC's FCPS.

http://www.songlyrics.com/animaniacs/wakko-s-america-lyrics/

[Anonymous]

APS, my kid definitely knew them all in second and may have learned them in first. (He's in third now.) They map work--he can fill in most countries on most continents.

[Anonymous]

My dd in FCPS learned all the states and capitals at the end of 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd in FCPS learned all the states and capitals at the end of 3rd grade.

Mine learned cursive at the end of third grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd in FCPS learned all the states and capitals at the end of 3rd grade.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

I learned them in 7th. DD learned them in 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader has a test on state abbreviations and capitals tomorrow, in fact! (Catholic school in SS)

Rote memorization. That's what they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid who just graduated from Harvard who couldn't find Poland on a map.

We are in deep trouble in this country in so many ways.

Teach geography at home, OP. Play stack the states and stack the countries on the iPad. Kids will get them quick. We bought flash cards as well. We like to play with them during dinner.

And while I was in college, I had a geography or related major roommate who had tests that included assignments like - fill in every country on this entire blank map of Africa

I'm sure Harvard kid knows something about something else.

Shit, I did this in 7th grade!! (Previous upthread poster, now even more smug.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't you know that kids don't need to know anything, anymore? It's not what they know, it's how they think.

No kidding. It's unbelievable how many things schools expect parents to teach while they work on getting kids to think. Handwriting, typing, spelling, grammar, geography, vocabulary. The list goes on and on.

Gasp! How dare they!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader has a test on state abbreviations and capitals tomorrow, in fact! (Catholic school in SS)

You're paying for this?

[Anonymous]

I learned them in 5th. We had to know them in alphabetical order and had a test every week, and spelling counted, as it always should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid who just graduated from Harvard who couldn't find Poland on a map.

We are in deep trouble in this country in so many ways.

Teach geography at home, OP. Play stack the states and stack the countries on the iPad. Kids will get them quick. We bought flash cards as well. We like to play with them during dinner.

Yes, DD and her classmates were very into Stack the States and Stack the Countries (and Presidents vs. Aliens) when they were in first grade, and the teachers picked up on their interest and incorporated more geography and history into their lessons. (Small class, private school.)

[Anonymous]

I don't think I learned them in school. I was a weird little kid, though, and had these flash cards when I was 5 or 6 with all these facts about the states and I memorized them all and made my parents quiz me.

For some reason, I always called it Tassahallee, though.

[Anonymous]

I think I learned most of them from playing "where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?"

[Anonymous]

My kids learned them in 2nd, but short segment. I don't know if they retained the knowledge. Will have to quiz them and see?