1
States
by Joy A. Miller
LEARN THE
AND
Postal Abbreviations
http://vejs.com
Learn the States and Postal Abbreviations
Copyright © 2009
Published by Joy A. Miller
http://vejs.com
All rights reserved. No part of the ebook or any portion thereof may be reproduced,
transmitted, or redistributed by any means or in any form, including transparencies.
4
Table of Contents
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How To Use This Book & Lesson Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
LESSON 1: United States Map A [for study] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
LESSON 1: Postal Abbreviation Study Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
LESSON 1: Postal Abbreviation Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
LESSON 2: Flashcards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-20
LESSON 3: Postal Abbreviation Identication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
LESSON 4: United States Map B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
LESSON 4: State Identication Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
LESSON 4: State Identication Worksheet [answer key] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
LESSON 5: State Identication and Postal Abbreviations Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
LESSON 5: State Identication and Postal Abbreviations Worksheet [answer key]. . . . . . . 26
LESSON 6: United States Map C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
LESSON 6: United States Map C [answer key] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5
About the Author :: Joy A. Miller
Joy is a stay-at-home, work-from-home, homeschooling
mom. She lives in North Texas with her husband and
three children.
You can read more from Joy on her personal blog,
Fivejs.com, where she writes about homeschooling,
her family, and the general craziness of her life. Joy is also
the owner of Five J’s Design, a graphic and web
design business.
6
The maps, ashcards, and worksheets in this book are generally self-explana-
tory, so please feel free to use them in any order that you see t. However, if
you prefer a more detailed plan, see the lessons below.
If your child already knows the names and locations of the states, you may
want to begin at Part II: Learning the Postal Abbreviations.
1. On cardstock, print out (and cut out) the ashcards from pages 11–20. The
names of the states will be printed on one side and the abbreviations on the
other side. Print out Maps A and B from pages 8 and 22.
2. Choose 3 to 5 ashcards to learn rst. These cards make up your drill deck.
3. Looking at the state name side of the ashcard and using Map A, have your
student nd where each state is located on the map. Do this with all the drill
deck cards.
4. Using Map B, show your student the state name on one of the ashcards in
the drill deck and have them locate the state on the map by pointing at the
state or calling out the number.
5. After going through the drill deck a few times, select 3 to 5 new ashcards
and have your student nd each state on Map A as in step 3. Then add those
cards to the drill deck and repeat step 4.
6. Repeat step 5 until the drill deck gets to 10 to 15 cards. Then you can begin
removing cards from the drill deck by setting aside those cards that your
student knows exceptionally well.
7. Choose 3 to 5 new ashcards to learn and repeat the process, but try to
keep the drill deck to 15 cards or less. You may want to occasionally add back
in the ashcards that were set aside for extra reinforcement.
8. Keep adding new cards to the drill deck, setting aside those cards which are
learned well, until all the states are learned.
How To Use This Book
PART 1—
Learning the States
7
Introduction to Postal Abbreviations [p. 8–10]
1. Discuss what postal abbreviations are and where they are used in everyday
life, such as in the following places:
✔on envelopes for mailing letters
✔as part of an address when lling out forms
✔in news headlines
✔on news crawls on television
✔in airport terminals on arrival/departure displays
2. Study pages 8 and 9. Discuss the four ways postal abbreviations are formed:
✔First letter of each word (For example: NH for New Hampshire)
✔First two letters of the word (For example: OR for Oregon)
✔First and last letters of the word (For example: ME for Maine)
✔First letter and any other letter (For example: AK for Alaska)
3. Complete the worksheet from page 10.
Postal Abbreviation Flashcards [p. 11-20]
1. On cardstock, print out (and cut out) the ashcards from pages 11–20. The
names of the states will be printed on one side and the abbreviations on the
other side.
2. To practice with the ashcards, select 3 to 5 cards at a time and drill with
those. When a card is learned well, set that card aside and add a new card to
your hand. Try not to have more than 10 to 15 unlearned cards in your hand
at once.
Identifying a State from Its Abbreviation [p. 21]
Complete the worksheet from page 21.
Identifying States from a Blank Map [p. 22-24]
Using the map from page 22, complete the worksheet from page 23. The answers
are given on page 24.
Identifying States and Abbreviations [p. 22, 25-26]
Using the map from page 22, complete the worksheet on page 25. The answers
are given on page 26.
Writing Abbreviations on a Blank Map [p. 27-28]
Complete the map worksheet on page 27. The answers are given on page 28.
LESSON 2
LESSON 3
LESSON 4
LESSON 5
LESSON 6
PART 2 —
Learning the Postal Abbreviations
LESSON 1
8
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
United States of America
MAP A
8
IA
9
A L A L A B A M A
A R A R K A N S A S
C A C A L I F O R N I A
C O C O L O R A D O
D E D E L AWA R E
F L F L O R I DA
I D I DA H O
I L I L L I N O I S
I N I N D I A N A
M A M A S S AC H U S E T T S
M I M I C H I G A N
N E N E B R A S K A
O H O H I O
O K O K L A H O M A
O R O R E G O N
U T U TA H
WA WA S H I N G TO N
W I W I S C O N S I N
W Y W YO M I N G
First Two Letters First and Last Letters
First Letter Plus Another
A K A L A S K A
A Z A R I Z O N A
M N M I N N E S OTA
M S M I S S I S S I P P I
M O M I S S O U R I
M T M O N TA N A
N V N E VA DA
T N T E N N E S S E E
T X T E X A S
C T C O N N E C T I C U T
G A G E O R G I A
H I H AWA I I
I A I O WA
K S K A N S A S
K Y K E N T U C K Y
L A L O U I S I A N A
M E M A I N E
M D M A RY L A N D
PA P E N N S Y LVA N I A
V T V E R M O N T
VA V I R G I N I A
N H N E W H A M P S H I R E
N J N E W J E R S E Y
N M N E W M E X I C O
N Y N E W YO R K
N C N O RT H C A RO L I N A
N D N O RT H DA KOTA
R I R H O D E I S L A N D
S C S O U T H C A RO L I N A
S D S O U T H DA KOTA
W V W E S T V I R G I N I A
First Letter of Each Word
United States of America
Postal Abbreviation Study Sheet
EASY HARDER
HARDEST
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
10
Noticethemajorityofthestatesformtheirabbreviationfromeither1)therstletterofeachword,
2)theirrsttwoletters,or3)theirrstandlastletter.
DIRECTIONS:
1.Circlethelettersinthestatenamethatmakeupeachpostalabbreviationasintheexamplebelow:
A L A l a b a m a
2.Drawarectanglearoundtheninestatesthatdonotformtheirabbreviationsusinganyofthethree
methodsmentionedabove.
A L A l a b a m a
A K A l a s k a
A Z A r i z o n a
A R A r k a n s a s
C A C a l i f o r n i a
C O C o l o r a d o
C T C o n n e c t i c u t
D E D e l aw a r e
F L F l o r i d a
G A G e o r g i a
H I H aw a i i
I D I d a h o
I L I l l i n o i s
I N I n d i a n a
I A I o w a
K S K a n s a s
K Y Ke n t u c k y
L A L o u i s i a n a
M E M a i n e
M D M a r y l a n d
M A M a s s a c h u s e t t s
M I M i c h i g a n
M N M i n n e s o t a
M S M i s s i s s i p p i
M O M i s s o u r i
M T M o n t a n a
N E N e b r a s k a
N V N e v a d a
N H N e w H a m p s h i r e
N J N e w J e r s e y
N M N e w M e x i c o
N Y N e w Yo r k
N C N o r t h C a r o l i n a
N D N o r t h D a k o t a
O H O h i o
O K O k l a h o m a
O R O r e g o n
PA P e n n s y l v a n i a
R I R h o d e I s l a n d
S C S o u t h C a r o l i n a
S D S o u t h D a k o t a
T N Te n n e s s e e
T X Te x a s
U T U t a h
V T Ve r m o n t
VA V i r g i n i a
WA Wa s h i n g t o n
W V We s t V i r g i n i a
W I W i s c o n s i n
W Y W y o m i n g
United States of America
Postal Abbreviation Practice
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
CO
CT
DE
FL
GA
AL
AK
AZ
AR
CA
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
KS
KY
LA
ME
MD
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
MA
MI
MN
MS
MO
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
NM
NY
NC
ND
OH
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
VA
WA
WV
WI
WY
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
21
ND _______________________
AR _______________________
SC _______________________
LA _______________________
MT _______________________
NC _______________________
SD _______________________
VA _______________________
WY _______________________
MO _______________________
OK _______________________
VT _______________________
AL _______________________
IN _______________________
MI _______________________
NY _______________________
RI _______________________
CO _______________________
IL _______________________
ME _______________________
MN _______________________
NE _______________________
OH _______________________
UT _______________________
WA _______________________
AK _______________________
KS _______________________
MD _______________________
NM _______________________
CT _______________________
KY _______________________
NV _______________________
AZ _______________________
MA _______________________
NH _______________________
PA _______________________
TX _______________________
DE _______________________
IA _______________________
MS _______________________
NJ _______________________
CA _______________________
GA _______________________
TN _______________________
WV _______________________
FL _______________________
OR _______________________
WI _______________________
ID _______________________
HI _______________________
United States of America
Postal Abbreviation Identification
DIRECTIONS:Writethenameofeachstatenexttoitspostalabbreviation.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
WORD BANK
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
22
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
United States of America
MAP B
22
23
1 _______________________
2 _______________________
3 _______________________
4 _______________________
5 _______________________
6 _______________________
7 _______________________
8 _______________________
9 _______________________
10 _______________________
11 _______________________
12 _______________________
13 _______________________
14 _______________________
15 _______________________
16 _______________________
17 _______________________
18 _______________________
19 _______________________
20 _______________________
21 _______________________
22 _______________________
23 _______________________
24 _______________________
25 _______________________
26 _______________________
27 _______________________
28 _______________________
29 _______________________
30 _______________________
31 _______________________
32 _______________________
33 _______________________
34 _______________________
35 _______________________
36 _______________________
37 _______________________
38 _______________________
39 _______________________
40 _______________________
41 _______________________
42 _______________________
43 _______________________
44 _______________________
45 _______________________
46 _______________________
47 _______________________
48 _______________________
49 _______________________
50 _______________________
United States of America
State Identification (UsewithMAP B)
DIRECTIONS:Writethenameofthestatenexttothenumberthatidentiesitonthemap.
Arkansas
North Dakota
South Carolina
Louisiana
Montana
North Carolina
South Dakota
Virginia
Wyoming
Missouri
Oklahoma
Vermont
Alabama
Indiana
Michigan
New York
Rhode Island
Colorado
Illinois
Maine
Minnesota
Nebraska
Ohio
Utah
Washington
Alaska
Kansas
Maryland
New Mexico
Connecticut
Kentucky
Nevada
Arizona
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Texas
Delaware
Iowa
Mississippi
New Jersey
California
Georgia
Tennessee
West Virginia
Florida
Oregon
Wisconsin
Idaho
Hawaii
WORD BANK
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
24
United States of America
State Identification (ANSWERKEY)
1 Washington
2 Oregon
3 California
4 Nevada
5 Idaho
6 Montana
7 Wyoming
8 Utah
9 Arizona
10 New Mexico
11 Colorado
12 North Dakota
13 South Dakota
14 Nebraska
15 Kansas
16 Oklahoma
17 Texas
18 Minnesota
19 Iowa
20 Missouri
21 Arkansas
22 Louisiana
23 Wisconsin
24 Illinois
25 Mississippi
26 Michigan
27 Indiana
28 Ohio
29 Kentucky
30 Tennessee
31 Alabama
32 Maine
33 Vermont
34 New Hampshire
35 Massachusetts
36 Rhode Island
37 Connecticut
38 New York
39 Pennsylvania
40 West Virginia
41 Virginia
42 North Carolina
43 New Jersey
44 Delaware
45 Maryland
46 South Carolina
47 Georgia
48 Florida
49 Alaska
50 Hawaii
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
25
United States of America
State Identification and Postal Abbreviations (UsewithMAP B)
__ __ Alabama ...................#____
__ __ Alaska ......................#____
__ __ Arizona ....................#____
__ __ Arkansas ..................#____
__ __ California .................#____
__ __ Colorado ................#____
__ __ Connecticut ............#____
__ __ Delaware .................#____
__ __ Florida ......................#____
__ __ Georgia.....................#____
__ __ Hawaii ......................#____
__ __ Idaho ........................#____
__ __ Illinois .......................#____
__ __ Indiana .....................#____
__ __ Iowa .........................#____
__ __ Kansas ......................#____
__ __ Kentucky .................#____
__ __ Louisiana .................#____
__ __ Maine .......................#____
__ __ Maryland .................#____
__ __ Massachusetts ........#____
__ __ Michigan ..................#____
__ __ Minnesota ...............#____
__ __ Mississippi ...............#____
__ __ Missouri ...................#____
POSTAL
ABBREVIATION
NUMBER ON
MAP
__ __ Montana ..................#____
__ __ Nebraska .................#____
__ __ Nevada ....................#____
__ __ New Hampshire ....#____
__ __ New Jersey ............ #____
__ __ New Mexico ...........#____
__ __ New York ................#____
__ __ North Carolina ......#____
__ __ North Dakota ........#____
__ __ Ohio .........................#____
__ __ Oklahoma ...............#____
__ __ Oregon ....................#____
__ __ Pennsylvania ...........#____
__ __ Rhode Island ...........#____
__ __ South Carolina...... #____
__ __ South Dakota .........#____
__ __ Tennessee ...............#____
__ __ Texas ........................#____
__ __ Utah .........................#____
__ __ Vermont ..................#____
__ __ Virginia .....................#____
__ __ Washington ............#____
__ __ West Virginia ..........#____
__ __ Wisconsin ...............#____
__ __ Wyoming .................#____
POSTAL
ABBREVIATION
NUMBER ON
MAP
DIRECTIONS:Writethepostalabbreviationforeachstate,then
writethenumberfromthemapwhichidentieseachstate.
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
26
AL Alabama ........................ #31
AK Alaska ........................... #49
AZ Arizona ........................... #9
AR Arkansas ....................... #21
CA
California ........................ #3
CO Colorado ..................... #11
CT Connecticut ................. #37
DE Delaware ...................... #44
FL Florida ........................... #48
GA Georgia.......................... #47
HI Hawaii ........................... #50
ID Idaho ............................... #5
IL Illinois ............................ #24
IN Indiana .......................... #27
IA Iowa .............................. #19
KS Kansas ........................... #15
KY Kentucky ...................... #29
LA Louisiana ...................... #22
ME Maine ............................ #32
MD Maryland ...................... #45
MA Massachusetts ............. #35
MI Michigan ....................... #26
MN Minnesota .................... #18
MS Mississippi .................... #25
MO Missouri ........................ #20
MT Montana ......................... #6
NE Nebraska ...................... #14
NV Nevada ........................... #4
NH New Hampshire ......... #34
NJ New Jersey .................. #43
NM New Mexico ................ #10
NY New York ..................... #38
NC North Carolina ........... #42
ND North Dakota ............. #12
OH Ohio .............................. #28
OK Oklahoma .................... #16
OR Oregon ........................... #2
PA
Pennsylvania ................ #39
RI Rhode Island ................ #36
SC South Carolina ............ #46
SD South Dakota .............. #13
TN Tennessee .................... #30
TX Texas ............................. #17
UT Utah ................................ #8
VT Vermont ....................... #33
VA
Virginia .......................... #41
WA
Washington ................... #1
WV West Virginia ............... #40
WI Wisconsin .................... #23
WY Wyoming ........................ #7
POSTAL
ABBREVIATION
NUMBER ON
MAP
POSTAL
ABBREVIATION
NUMBER ON
MAP
United States of America
State Identification and Postal Abbreviations (ANSWERKEY)
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
United States of America
MAP C
DIRECTIONS:Fill in the correct postal abbreviation for
each state. Make sure you use capital letters.
27
28
© 2009 Joy A. Miller, http://vejs.com. All Rights Reserved
United States of America
ANSWER KEY to MAP C
28
29
Seterra: Free Geography Software
http://www.wartoft.nu/software/seterra/
A free, downloadable geography program for PC. Learn
about countries, capitals, ags and cities in Africa, Europe,
South America, North America, Asia and Australia, using
outline map exercises.
Additional Resources
Interactive Postal Abbreviations Quiz
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_map_abbrev_NL_10s10_500.html
A free, downloadable geography program for PC. Learn about countries, capitals, ags and
cities in Africa, Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Australia, using outline
map exercises.
History of State Postal Abbreviations
http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_htm/StateAbbreviations.htm
Learn from the United States Postal Service how state postal abbreviations came into com-
mon use. (The link for the article is toward the bottom of the page.)
How the U.S. Postal Service Works
http://people.howstuffworks.com/usps.htm
In-depth article from HowStuffWorks.com about how our postal system works, from the
Pony Express to modern mail delivery and more.