States and Capitals

I try to make my students learn the states and capitals every year. The standards say they are supposed to know major cities, landforms, regions and capitals in the United States.

The problems is, I don't want to spend so much class time teaching/studying it. I prefer it to be an activity that the students complete in their extra time. So I am creating some Social Studies Centers this year that can focus on learning and practicing the states and capitals.

Rumor has it, that we are going to have mini Ipads actually set up on our campus this year. They were delivered to our campus around spring break, but we never go to use them. I am going on the assumption that I will have access to them and want to create lots of centers to go with them.

I created one that uses QR codes. Each page starts out by looking like this:

Then I will cut the paper in half- right through the QR code. Then the students have to match the capital with the correct state. To check their answer, they only need to scan their QR code. If it is correct, text will pop up that says "Austin Texas." If they are wrong, nothing will happen. A great way for them to practice on their own and get instant feedback of their work.

What I hope to do is print on colored paper and laminate them. I am hoping that after I laminate them that the QR code will still be able to line up. I'll let you know how it goes.

You can find this States and Capitals QR code activity in my TpT store. Just click on the picture!

I have already introduced the students to Quizlet. You can just search for almost anything and get virtual index cards. I have found states and capitals, multiplication facts, science vocabulary words, and I even used it to study for the GRE. You can also create an account and make your own set of cards.


My favorite part is the game at the bottom of the index card called "Scatter." We play that on the smartboard sometimes. The students have to match the two pairs together. Anything that is competition, they love. Even if they are competing with their own time.