The United States
Scholastic Sucess With Maps (Grade 3) © Linda Ward Beech, Scholastic Teaching Resources
You are looking at the United States.
Find this symbol
on the map.
A border shows where places begin and
end. Borders can show the dividing lines
between states, countries, and other places.
Rivers
and lakes
can also form
borders
between
places.
C A N A D A
Olympia
PACIFIC
OCEAN
WASHINGTON
Columb
i
a R iv e
r
Helena
Salem
NORTH
DAKOTA
MONTANA
ke
Montpelier
Bismarck
St. Paul
Boise
Sn
a
WISCONSIN
SOUTH Pierre
DAKOTA
WYOMING
Riv er
Lake
Huron
Madison Lake
Michigan
NEBRASKA
sou
Denver
r
ve
Ri
ARIZONA
Salton
Sea
Santa Fe
NEW MEXICO
ka
ns
as
Riv
er
Oklahoma City
Little
Rock
Ri
o
e
ran d
G
ARCTIC
OCEAN
Gulf of
Alaska
SOUTH
CAROLINA
ALABAMA
MISSISSIPPI
GEORGIA
S
Find Alabama. What state shares
a border with it on the west?
2.
Find Colorado. What states share
a border with it on the east?
E
M AP K EY
State border
FLORIDA
Gulf of Mexico
N
Honolulu
HAWAII
W
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
WASHINGTON, D.C.
LOUISIANA
1.
20
MARYLAND
State capital
Tallahassee
Baton
Rouge
Austin
Lake
Okeechobee
E
Read the map, then answer these questions.
N
DELAWARE
National capital
Montgomery
S
W
NEW JERSEY
Dover
Columbia
Atlanta
Jackson
PACIFIC OCEAN
Bering
Sea
NORTH Raleigh
CAROLINA
TEXAS
CANADA
Juneau
RHODE ISLAND
CONNECTICUT
TENNESSEE
MEXICO
ALASKA
Harrisburg
Annapolis
Trenton
KENTUCKY
OKLAHOMA
Phoenix
MASSACHUSETTS
Providence
Hartford
WEST
OHIO VIRGINIA
Nashville
ARKANSAS
NEW Albany
Boston
YORK
Richmond
Frankfort Charleston
VIRGINIA
R
Jefferson
City
o
Ar
Columbus
Springfield
r
ive
d
ra
Col o
is
MISSOURI
Topeka
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord
PENNSYLVANIA
INDIANA
Indianapolis
pi
s ip
KANSAS
ILLINOIS
s
COLORADO
CALIFORNIA
er
v
UTAH
Des Moines
M is
Lincoln
i
ri R
NEVADA
Cheyenne
Salt Lake
City
Mis
Great
Salt Lake
Carson City
Lake
Ontario
Lake
Erie
Lansing
IOWA
Sacramento
MAINE
VERMONT
MICHIGAN
Augusta
IDAHO
OREGON
Lake
Superior
MINNESOTA
BAHAMAS
CUBA
Scholastic Sucess With Maps (Grade 3) © Linda Ward Beech, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helpful Hint
3.
What lake forms part of the
northwest border of Pennsylvania?
4.
What river forms the western
border of Tennessee?
5.
Which states are shown
in the inset maps?
6.
What is the capital of Alaska?
7.
Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean.
In which direction is it from California?
Two states do not
touch any other states.
Both of these states
are far from the rest
of the country. These
states are shown in
small boxes called
inset maps.
“Speedy Map Planner”
Imagine that you are taking
a trip from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Plan a route that passes
through the fewest number
of states possible. Can you
do it in less than eight
states? Write the states on
the chart.
1.
5.
2.
6.
3.
7.
4.
8.
N
W
21
S
E
Scholastic Sucess With Maps (Grade 3) © Linda Ward Beech, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Answers
PAGES 20–21:
1. Mississippi
2. Kansas and Nebraska
3. Lake Erie
4. Mississippi River
5. Alaska and Hawaii
6. Juneau
7. west
8. North Carolina, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Arizona, California
N
W
47
47
S
E