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The Solar City Atlas worksheet preview

Worksheet

The Solar City Atlas

Use an atlas map from a desert city project to identify U.S. states and capitals within five regions.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toGEO.5.3

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 C3 Framework standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 15 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
Social Studies
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students identify selected U.S. states and capitals within five regions.
  • Students use a map key to match states and capitals to their regions.
  • Students explain how regional map groupings help organize location information.

How to use

Read the atlas notes together, study the regional map key, and have students explain how they used the map to support written answers.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

GEO.5.3

Identify U.S. states and their capitals within regions on a map.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

The Solar City Atlas

Use a map to identify states, capitals, and U.S. regions.

Read the atlas notes

Read about a desert city's atlas project. Then answer the questions using the map information in the passage.

A Map for the Solar City Project

Solara is a fictional desert city where clear skies help scientists study sunlight. For a school solar-city project, a student team made an atlas map of the United States. They grouped states into five broad regions so readers could find places more easily. A region is a group of places that share a location or other features; the regional groups on this classroom map are used for organization.

The map key lists three states and their capitals in each region. In the Northeast are Maine—Augusta, New York—Albany, and Pennsylvania—Harrisburg. In the Southeast are Virginia—Richmond, Georgia—Atlanta, and Florida—Tallahassee. The Midwest includes Ohio—Columbus, Illinois—Springfield, and Minnesota—Saint Paul.

The map key places Arizona—Phoenix, New Mexico—Santa Fe, and Texas—Austin in the Southwest. The West includes California—Sacramento, Oregon—Salem, and Nevada—Carson City. The key uses a dash between each state and its capital. A capital is the city where a state's government is based.

The team checked each label before printing the map. If a visitor knows a state but not its capital, the key can help. If a visitor knows a capital but not its state, the key works in the other direction. Grouping labels by region also makes it easier to compare nearby parts of the country, even though a region can contain many other states besides the ones shown on this classroom map.

1.
What is the main purpose of the regional map key?
  • A. To show which states have the hottest weather
  • B. To list every city located in the United States
  • C. To organize selected states and capitals by region
  • D. To compare the amount of sunlight in each state
2.
Match each state to its capital on the map key.
  1. New Mexico
  2. Pennsylvania
  3. Oregon
  4. Georgia
  1. A. Salem
  2. B. Atlanta
  3. C. Santa Fe
  4. D. Harrisburg
3.
Use the map key to complete the entry.
Word bank: Phoenix · Columbus · Richmond · Albany

The capital of Arizona is  .

4.
Underline the sentence that best supports the idea that the key can be used in two directions.

They grouped states into five broad regions so readers could find places more easily.The key uses a dash between each state and its capital.If a visitor knows a capital but not its state, the key works in the other direction.Grouping labels by region also makes it easier to compare nearby parts of the country.

5.
Which statement correctly compares the regions in the map key?
  • A. The Southwest and West each have three states listed.
  • B. The Northeast has more listed states than the Midwest.
  • C. The Southeast is the only region with a state capital.
  • D. The Midwest and West list the same states.

Use the regions and labels

Study the states and capitals in the passage. Sort, match, and check labels from the map key.

6.
Circle the three states that the map key places in the Southwest.

ArizonaNew MexicoTexasOhioNevada

7.
Match each region to the group of states listed for it on the map key.
  1. Northeast
  2. Southeast
  3. Midwest
  4. Southwest
  5. West
  1. A. Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
  2. B. California, Oregon, Nevada
  3. C. Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota
  4. D. Maine, New York, Pennsylvania
  5. E. Virginia, Georgia, Florida
8.
A visitor wants to find the state capital of a Southwest state. Which city should the visitor look for?
  • A. Albany
  • B. Saint Paul
  • C. Richmond
  • D. Santa Fe
9.
Read the map key and complete the sentence.
Word bank: Saint Paul · Salem · Austin · Augusta

The capital of Minnesota is  .

10.
Sort each state-capital pair by whether it is in the Northeast or the West on the map key.
New York—AlbanyCalifornia—SacramentoMaine—AugustaNevada—Carson CityPennsylvania—HarrisburgOregon—Salem
NortheastWest
11.
Which student corrected a map-label mistake accurately?
  • A. Mira: “Phoenix is the capital of New Mexico.”
  • B. Jonah: “Austin is the capital of Texas.”
  • C. Priya: “Salem is the capital of Nevada.”
  • D. Mateo: “Columbus is the capital of Illinois.”
12.
Which pair of state-capital labels belongs to the same region on the map key?
  • A. Florida—Tallahassee and Ohio—Columbus
  • B. Arizona—Phoenix and Oregon—Salem
  • C. Virginia—Richmond and Georgia—Atlanta
  • D. Maine—Augusta and Minnesota—Saint Paul
13.
Circle the two state-capital labels that are correct according to the map key.

California—SacramentoTexas—Santa FeNew York—AlbanyOhio—Springfield

Explain your map thinking

Write complete answers. Use the map key and details from the atlas notes.

14.
Choose two different regions from the map key. For each region, name one listed state and its capital. Explain how you know each pair belongs together.
15.
Explain how grouping states by region helps someone use the Solara atlas map. Use at least two specific state or capital examples from the map key.

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