When I was in grade school back in the dark ages, we learned this song to learn the states. I still use the middle part of the song to help me remember all 50 states (and in alphabetic order no less). Now thanks to youtube, you can even learn them by where they are since this video highlights each state on the US map as it calls them out.



For me, after I knew all the states, it was much easier for me to learn the capitals.

And an unimportant anecdote to add. We have a group of friends that go to a nearby restaurant/bar and play trivia on Wednesday nights. Last year, they actually qualified for the state finals somewhere out on the Eastern shore and came in something like 4th. Anyway, a few months ago, we decided to go out and join in since we hadn't seen these friends too much and one of the questions was the capital of South Dakota. I was able to provide that and we got 10 points for the answer. Since the team only won the night by 2 points, I was pretty proud of my contributions (I actually got 3 out of 20 questions that no one else knew).

OP, how old are your kids? Can you teach them the 50 Nifty United States song? It helped me learn my states in ES.

This YouTube video highlights the states as they're sung in alphabetical order. Start at :47.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWGc6AZQlAE

The beginning of the song is a mini history lesson so not relevant if you're only trying to teach the state names.

I don't recall if it was covered in ES for my DS (he's now in 6th) but he knows most of the capitals anyway because he loves the game, Scrambled States of America: http://www.amazon.com/Scrambled-States-America-Game-Card/dp/B0000663RL

Thanks everyone. I found flashcards at Lakeshore that look like the one PP recommended. Those and the great website another PP mentioned should do the trick. We are in MD but not Mont County.

These are the ones I used (a PP here).

http://www.amazon.com/States-Capitals-Flash-Kids-Cards/dp/1411434854/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410980186&sr=8-2&keywords=state+flash+cards

Anonymous wrote:I think this is getting more common. I'm a parent of MCPS 3rd grader and teachers were very clear at Back To School night that the kids needed to memorize times tables to 10x10 but that this was the responsibility of the parents and would not be taught in school.

That's interesting -- I'm also a parent of an MCPS third-grader, as well as of a former MCPS third-grader. For my former third-grader, the school made it clear that it was the responsibility of the parents to teach math facts. For my current (Curriculum 2.0) third-grader at the same school, they work on math facts in class.

How about an old fashioned puzzle? That's the way I learned.

I think this is getting more common. I'm a parent of MCPS 3rd grader and teachers were very clear at Back To School night that the kids needed to memorize times tables to 10x10 but that this was the responsibility of the parents and would not be taught in school.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We did have Stack the States on my phone but I'm not sure it's enough to memorize them. I'll check out some flashcards. I reread the sheet they sent home and only the names of the states will be required on the test. The capitals will be extra credit. They also didn't really teach students the multiplication facts at school. They clearly said at BTS Night that the facts would have to be reviewed at home. That's fine since we did that the past 2 summers.

What school is this? My DC learned multiplication facts at school in 3rd grade - we're in MoCo. DC did review them at home using flashcards that the teacher sent home (they were just printed on regular paper and cut out), but they also reviewed it at school and played math fact games in class, too.

We used this

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm

We have placemats that have the states and capitals. My kids love talking about the different states. Maybe we should start identifying capitals as well. I think I saw some state info flash cards in the Target dollar section

It is a puzzle.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am actually a teacher myself but I teach pre-k. I memorized the same thing in school but I am
sure there are more interesting ways to go about this now. I have to stop by Lakeshore today anyway so I'll see if they have flash cards. I did find a cute You Tube video also. I'll search the App Store too.

Costco has a magnetic map right now on states and capitals.

OP here. I am actually a teacher myself but I teach pre-k. I memorized the same thing in school but I am
sure there are more interesting ways to go about this now. I have to stop by Lakeshore today anyway so I'll see if they have flash cards. I did find a cute You Tube video also. I'll search the App Store too.

I could understand drilling these at home. But, doing nothing at school? Wow.