Oklahoma Academic Standard 2.  The student will examine the physical geography and environments of the United States.

Objective 2.5 Identify and locate on a political map the fifty states and the United States capitol.

In a Nutshell

Students should understand that political maps are used to identify boundaries of countries, states, counties, and municipalities. Students should frequently practice interpreting basic political maps of the United States as well as more complex political maps. Students also should be able to identify and locate all fifty states on a political map as well as Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. Identification of state capitols by name and relative location is an implied and recommended expectation of this standard, as well.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Assist students in creating and using maps and other simple geographic models to describe the human features of the nation.

• Use political maps to explain spatial relationships of the states and capital cities.

• Answer geographic questions about the locations of major cities and why settlers may have settled in those areas.

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• Political maps, state boundaries, identification of fifty states by location and shape

• State capitals, identified by name and relative location 

• Major Cities by Region:

• Northeast- New York, NY; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, D.C.

• Southeast- Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; Miami, FL; Nashville, TN; Charlotte, NC

• Midwest- Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Saint Louis, MO; Kansas City, MO; Cleveland, OH

• Southwest- Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; Dallas, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Oklahoma City, OK

• West- Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Diego, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR

• Some students may find it difficult to understand that Washington D.C. is a unique federal district as opposed to a state, despite its appearance on some political maps.

• Students often mistakenly assume that a state's most populated city is also the capital.

Instructional Resources