USA States

There are 50 USA states, including Alaska near the arctic and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Originally there were 13 states located on the East Coast, which were ruled by England until 1776. Today, each state establishes laws, but they are ruled by the Federal Government. Most curriculums will require students to learn how to spell each state correctly as well as know its abbreviation.

United States Worksheets

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Our elementary school introduces the fifty states in fifth grade. Each student must be able to identify the location of each state. We created the two worksheets above to offer assistance. After a child knows the location of each state, they are then expected to be able to spell each state correctly. Our fifth grade spelling program divided the 50 states into 3 sections. We created the following worksheets to help your child learn how to spell the fifty states correctly.

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USA States and Capitals

We listed the 50 USA states and capitals below as well as an abbreviation, meaning of the state name and date of entry into the union.

StateAbbrCapitalDate of EntryMeaning of State Name
AlabamaALMontgomery1819Choctaw - thicket clearers
AlaskaAKJuneau1959Inuit - great land
ArizonaAZPhoenix1912Papago - place of small spring
ArkansasARLittle Rock1836Quapaw - south wind
CaliforniaCASacramento1850Spanish - earthly paradise
ColoradoCODenver1876Spanish - red (color of the earth)
ConnecticutCTHartford1788Mohican - at the long tidal river
DelawareDEDover1787Named for Lord De La Warr, an English governor
FloridaFLTallahassee1845Spanish - feast of flowers
GeorgiaGAAtlanta1788Named for George II of England
HawaiiHIHonolulu1959Hawaiian - homeland
IdahoIDBoise1890Shoshone - light on the mountain
IllinoisILSpringfield1818Algonquin - warriors
IndianaINIndianapolis1816English - land of the Indians
IowaIADes Moines1846Dakota - the sleepy one
KansasKSTopeka1861Sioux - land of the south wind people
KentuckyKYFrankfort1792Iroquois - meadow land
LouisianaLABaton Rouge1812Named for Louis XIV of France
MaineMEAugusta1820Named after a French province
MarylandMDAnnapolis1788Named for Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I of England
MassachusettsMABoston1788Algonquin - place of the big hill
MichiganMILansing1837Chippewa - big water
MinnesotaMNSt. Paul1858Dakota Sioux - sky-colored water
MississippiMSJackson1817Chippewa - big river
MissouriMOJefferson City1821Algonquin - river of the big canoes
MontanaMTHelena1889Spanish - mountains
NebraskaNELincoln1867Omaha - river in the flatness
NevadaNVCarson City1864Spanish - snowy
New HampshireNHConcord1788Named after an English county
New JerseyNJTrenton1787Named after Isle of Jersey in England
New MexicoNMSanta Fe1912Named after Mexico (Aztec war god, Mextli)
New YorkNYAlbany1788Named for the Duke of York and Albany
North CarolinaNCRaleigh1789Named for Charles I and Charles II of England
North DakotaNDBismarck1889Sioux - friend
OhioOHColumbus1803Iroquois - fine or good river
OklahomaOKOklahoma City1907Choctaw - red people
OregonORSalem1859Spanish - land of wild sage
PennsylvaniaPAHarrisburg1787Named for William Penn and Latin woodland
Rhode IslandRIProvidence1790Dutch - red clay
South CarolinaSCColumbia1788Named for Charles I and Charles II of England
South DakotaSDPierre1889Sioux - friend
TennesseeTNNashville1796Cherokee settlement name, Tanasi
TexasTXAustin1845Spanish - allies
UtahUTSalt Lake City1896Ute - people of the mountains
VermontVTMontpelier1791French - green mountain
VirginiaVARichmond1788Named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen Of England
WashingtonWAOlympia1889Named for George Washington
West VirginiaWVCharlestown1863Resulted from Virginia's western counties refusing to seceded from US in 1863
WisconsinWIMadison1848Chippewa - grassy place
WyomingWYCheyenne1890Algonquin - place of the big flats

Source: Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary (2008)

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