This 3-page 4th grade worksheet pairs 20 states with their capitals. Page 1 has Set A and Set B, ten states each, with a lettered list of ten capitals beside each set. Page 2 notes that a capital is not always the biggest city and asks for five states where that is true. Page 3 is the key, and it lists the largest city of each accepted state for the teacher.
“Match each of 20 states to its capital city.”
Set A and Set B each have ten states and ten lettered capitals.
“Tell a state capital from the state's largest city.”
Page 2 asks for five states whose capital is not the largest city.
Ten states from Texas to Arizona, including California, New York, Florida and Ohio. Students write the letter of the matching capital next to each state.
Ten more, from Colorado to North Carolina, with capitals such as Lansing, Salem, Carson City and Baton Rouge. The letters A to J start again in this set.
A note explains that the capital is where the state government meets. Students look back at page 1 and write five states whose capital is not the largest city.
The letter answers for all 20 pairs, then 14 accepted states for the open question, each with its largest city, such as Illinois (Chicago) and Washington (Seattle). Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts and Tennessee are marked as not accepted.
One set at a time
Give Set A as a warm-up on one day and Set B on another. Ten pairs is a fair load, and the second set shows who has been practicing.
Springfield
Several states have a city called Springfield. Ask students why Illinois is the right match here, and have them check the other nine states in Set A for the same kind of clue.
Before page 2
Ask for one state where students already know the biggest city. Texas and Houston or Washington and Seattle usually come up first, and everyone then has a starting point.
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