January 30, 2014

The PM class took a pop quiz on the Plains States and their capitals. All I did was list down the states on the board. Their job was to list down their respective capitals. They were nervous, but they passed with flying colors :) Correct spelling is highly encouraged, but doesn't count. Locating it on the map is a plus, but not necessary either. Labeling the maps is a fun way to help with visualization.

The Great Lakes

I am providing the link of a list of labeled regions in the USA. This will give you an idea of what I'm teaching in class:

http://geography.about.com/od/unitedstatesofamerica/a/Regions-Of-The-United-States.htm

At this time, we've labeled the Great Lakes Region on our maps:

Springfield, Illinois

Indianapolis, Indiana

Lansing, Michigan

St. Paul,Minnesota

Albany, New York

Columbus, Ohio

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Madison, Wisconsin

I have provided for you a map of the Great Lakes Region, all marked with red dots. Please have your child memorize them.

If you want to quiz your child yourself, you may click on the link to upload a blank map and print it out:
http://geoff.terrorware.com/files/usa_map.gif

Here is a link to a colored US map and their capitals:
http://clipartist.info/RSS/openclipart.org/2011/July/06-Wednesday/united_states_map_with_capitals_and_state_names-1979px.png
In my opinion, this one is much clearer than the ones I found online.
Please note that Washington and Oregon are obviously errors. They should have been switched, and Sacramento is spelled incorrectly. I apologize for the oversight.