Scouting Out the States

Reading, Writing, Social

Third Grade
Studies,

by Anna Parrish November 15, 2015

Let's scout out the states in the United States! In this jigsaw lesson, students will explore individual states,
create a state collage, and share their knowledge with other students in the class.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to research and report on a state within the United States. Students will be able to create a
state collage that represents information about the state that they researched. Students will be able to describe
characteristics of the state that they researched orally and in writing.

Materials and preparation

Large map of the United States with state

names labeled
Small sticky notes to cover the names of all
states on the state map
9" x 12" Pieces of poster board (1 per student,
1 for you)
Learn About Your State worksheet
Collage materials such as magazines, wrapping
paper, scrapbook paper, construction paper,
pipe cleaners, etc.
Scissors (1 per pair)
Glue (1 bottle per pair)
Map it Out worksheet
Name the States 1 worksheet
US State Matching Game worksheet
Cross Country Fun worksheet
Make it Short worksheet
Index cards with one state name written on
each card (optional, for state assignments)
Individual student devices (1 per student or pair
of students)
Document camera, projector, or interactive
whiteboard (optional)

Attachments

Blank US Map (PDF)

Cross Country Fun (PDF)
Exit Slip (PDF)
Learn About Your State (PDF)
Make it Short (PDF)
Map it Out (PDF)
Name the States 1 (PDF)

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

 United States of America Map (PDF)
US State Matching Game (PDF)

Introduction (10 minutes)

Display a blank map of the states and boundary lines with the state names covered by sticky notes.
Assess your students’ prior knowledge of state names by asking them to stand up when they see a state
that they know.
Ask your class to identify these states. Uncover each state name as a student calls it out.
Review the names of the remainder of the unnamed state names.
Tell the students that today they will be learning more information about the individual states.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (15 minutes)

Model the process of locating information about a state using a research search engine, such as Kids.gov,
that provides specific information about individual states. Use a projector or document camera to display
the search engine as you take your class through the steps of using the research search engine.
Display the Learn About Your State worksheet, using a document camera, projector or enlarged version of
the worksheet.
Choose a state. Use the search engine to find the answers to the Learn About Your State worksheet, and
record the information as your students watch.
Using a piece of poster board, draw an outline of the individual state, and write the name of the state on
the top.

Guided Practice (15 minutes)

Utilizing the information recorded on the Learn About Your State worksheet, invite students to brainstorm
what they could create to represent the unique characteristics of the state.
Provide collage materials to students and invite individual students to contribute various illustrations and
cut-outs to add to the large sample state.
Invite students to discuss and describe characteristics of the sample state.

Independent working time (40 minutes)

Assign each student (or pair of students) an individual state. If desired, write the individual state names
on index cards and distribute one card to each student or pair of students.
Distribute Learn About Your State worksheets and poster board to students.
Direct students to write the name of their assigned states on the top of the worksheet.
Show students where to get collage materials, and distribute scissors and glue to students.
As students are working, ask students about the information they are learning about their states.

Related books and/or media

The Kids' Book of the 50 Great States by Scholastic

Our 50 States By Lynne Cheney
The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
Scrambled States of America Talent Show by Laurie Keller
The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi
SONG: The Fifty States Song
SONG: Children’s U.S. States

Differentiation

Enrichment

Group two students together, and have them compare and contrast two separate states. Have students
complete Cross Country Fun or Make it Short.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

Support

For students who have difficulty identifying individual states, have them complete Map it Out, Name the
States 1, or the US State Matching Game worksheet.

Technology Integration

Consider having students create an electronic collage of their states.

Create a class presentation of the United States of America and have students work collaboratively,
adding one slide to the presentation to represent the state that they researched.

Assessment (5 minutes)

Have each student complete an exit slip on the state that they researched.
Ask students to explain details about their collage that represent information that they learned from the
project. For English language learners, consider asking them to give an oral response or a total physical
response, such as pointing and matching.

Review and closing (10 minutes)

Display all of the state collages on a central bulletin board.

Invite your students to take a "gallery walk" and look at the different characteristics of each individual
states.
Have your class come back together and share what they learned from their gallery walk.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

The United States of America
How well do you know the states? Fill in as many names of the states as you can think of on the map below!

W E

Copyright © 2013-2014 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 1. Color your home
state green.

2. Color your
destination red.

3. Now, color all the

states you have
visited purple.

4. How many
did you color? ___

5. Draw a line from

California to
New York.
How many states
does your line
go through? ____

6. Write the names of

the states on a
separate sheet or on
the back of this one.
How many states did
you name? ____

7. If you could travel

anywhere, what
state would you
visit? Put a star on
it!

Copyright 2009-2010 Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

Name:_____________________________
Exit Slip
State:_____________________________________
Write a paragraph about the state that you researched. Use information
that you learned from your research and included in your collage.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Name:_____________________________
Exit Slip
State:_____________________________________
Write a paragraph about the state that you researched. Use information
that you learned from your research and included in your collage.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Learn About Your State
Learn about your state by researching answers to the questions below.

1. What state do you live in? Can you locate it 7. What does your state’s flag look like? Draw
on the map below? your flag below.

STATE:
8. What is the capital city of your state?
2. What is the official bird of your state?

9. Who is the current governor of your state?

3. What is the official fish of your state?

10. How many representatives does your

4. What is the weather like in your state? Is it state have in the House of Representatives in
hot, cold, rainy, humid, or dry? Washington, D.C.?

11. When was your state accepted into the

Union?
5. What are some popular landmarks or
monuments located in your state? Which
ones have you visited? 12. What is the population of your state?

13. Are there any manufactured or agricultural

items your state is known for? List them
6. Does your state have any state parks or
below.
reserves? List the ones that are close to your
house.

Copyright © 2011-2012
2010-2011 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
 Make It Short!
Each state in the United States has its own two-letter postal
abbreviation. Use the map on this page to find the postal
abbreviation for every state.

WA
NH
MT ND ME
VT
OR MN
ID SD WI MA
NY
WY MI RI
CT
IA PA
NV NE NJ
IN OH
UT IL
CA CO WV
KS VA MD DE
MO
KY
NC
OK TN
AZ
NM AR SC

AL GA
MS
Note: AK and HI are not to scale. TX LA

FL
AK

HI

Alabama California
Alaska Colorado
Arizona Connecticut
Arkansas Delaware

PAGE 1
Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 Continue to write the postal abbreviation for every state.

Florida New Jersey

Georgia New Mexico
Hawaii New York
Idaho North Carolina
Illinois North Dakota
Indiana Ohio
Iowa Oklahoma
Kansas Oregon
Kentucky Pennsylvania
Louisiana Rhode Island
Maine South Carolina
Maryland South Dakota
Massachusetts Tennessee
Michigan Texas
Minnesota Utah
Mississippi Vermont
Missouri Virginia
Montana Washington
Nebraska West Virginia
Nevada Wisconsin
New Hampshire Wyoming

PAGE 2
Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 Make It Short!
Each state in the United States has its own two-letter postal
abbreviation. Use the map on this page to find the postal
abbreviation for every state.

WA
NH
MT ND ME
VT
OR MN
ID SD WI MA
NY
WY MI RI
CT
IA PA
NV NE NJ
IN OH
UT IL
CA CO WV
KS VA MD DE
MO
KY
NC
OK TN
AZ
NM AR SC

AL GA
MS
Note: AK and HI are not to scale. TX LA

FL
AK

HI

Alabama AL California CA
Alaska AK Colorado CO
Arizona AZ Connecticut CT
Arkansas AR Delaware DE

PAGE 1
Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 Continue to write the postal abbreviation for every state.

Florida FL New Jersey NJ

Georgia GA New Mexico NM
Hawaii HI New York NY
Idaho ID North Carolina NC
Illinois IL North Dakota ND
Indiana IN Ohio OH
Iowa IA Oklahoma OK
Kansas KS Oregon OR
Kentucky KY Pennsylvania PA
Louisiana LA Rhode Island RI
Maine ME South Carolina SC
Maryland MD South Dakota SD
Massachusetts MA Tennessee TN
Michigan MI Texas TX
Minnesota MN Utah UT
Mississippi MS Vermont VT
Missouri MO Virginia VA
Montana MT Washington WA
Nebraska NE West Virginia WV
Nevada NV Wisconsin WI
New Hampshire NH Wyoming WY

PAGE 2
Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
Reprinted with permission from The World
Almanac for Kids Puzzler Deck: Geography Find more worksheets at
and The 50 States, Ages 7-9 www.education.com/worksheets.
(Chronicle Books, 2008).
Reprinted with permission from The World
Find more worksheets at
Almanac for Kids Puzzler Deck: Geography
www.education.com/worksheets.
and The 50 States, Ages 7-9 (Chronicle Books, 2008).
 Name the States 1
The United States map is missing some of the names of its
states! Use the word bank to help you fill in the names.

Washington
New Hampshire
North Dakota Vermont

Minnesota

Idaho South Dakota Wisconsin

Massachusetts
Wyoming Michigan Rhode Island

Connecticut
Iowa Pennsylvania
Nebraska New Jersey
Nevada
Ohio Delaware
Utah
Indiana Maryland
California
Kansas Virginia
Missouri
Kentucky
North
Carolina
Tennessee
Arizona
New Mexico Arkansas

Alabama Georgia
Mississippi
Note: Alaska and Hawaii are not to scale. Texas

Florida

Alaska

Hawaii

New York Maine Montana

Oregon Louisiana West Virginia
Colorado Illinois
Oklahoma South Carolina

Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 Name the States 1
The United States map is missing some of the names of its
states! Use the word bank to help you fill in the names.

Washington
New Hampshire
Montana North Dakota Maine
Vermont

Minnesota
Oregon

Idaho South Dakota Wisconsin New Massachusetts

York
Wyoming Michigan Rhode Island

Connecticut
Iowa Pennsylvania
Nebraska New Jersey
Nevada
Ohio Delaware
Utah lllinois
Indiana Maryland
Colorado West
California
Virgina
Kansas Virginia
Missouri
Kentucky
North
Carolina
Oklahoma Tennessee
Arizona
New Mexico Arkansas South
Carolina

Alabama Georgia
Mississippi
Note: Alaska and Hawaii are not to scale. Texas

Louisana

Florida

Alaska

Hawaii

New York Maine Montana

Oregon Louisiana West Virginia
Colorado Illinois
Oklahoma South Carolina

Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 The United States of America
Washington
New Hampshire

Vermont Maine
Montana North Dakota

Minnesota
Oregon

Idaho Wisconsin
South Dakota New York
Michigan
Wyoming Massachusetts

Iowa Pennsylvania Rhode Island

Nebraska Connecticut
Nevada
Ohio
Utah Illinois Indiana New Jersey
West
California Colorado Delaware
Virginia
Virginia Maryland
Kansas Missouri
Kentucky

North Carolina
Tennessee
Arizona Oklahoma
South
New Mexico Arkansas Carolina

Georgia
Mississippi Alabama

Texas
Louisiana

Florida

Hawaii
N
Alaska

W E

Copyright © 2013-2014 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 Draw a line from the state to its name.

IDAHO

NEVADA

FLORIDA

CALIFORNIA

LOUISIANA

TENNESSEE

UTAH

TEXAS

2011-2012 by Education.com
Copyright © 2010-2011 More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
 Draw a line from the state to its name.

IDAHO

NEVADA

FLORIDA

CALIFORNIA

LOUISIANA

TENNESSEE

UTAH

TEXAS

2011-2012 by Education.com
Copyright © 2010-2011 More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets