Race to the Capital Geography Game
Play this game with your class, another class, or your whole grade! Race to match states, provinces, or countries to their capitals.
1. Which U.S. state’s capital is Pierre? What is the capital of Quebec? Tashkent is the capital of what country? Learning capitals of states, provinces, and countries can be a challenge. Invent games like this one to make memorizing fun!
2. After everyone’s had a chance to learn the information, gather a large group of students together (at least 20, but not more than 100) to make and play this matching game. Adapt these ideas depending on how many capitals you’re learning. These directions are designed for the 50 U.S. capitals.
3. Use Crayola Markers to write the name of a capital city or a state on cards (you need 100 cards). If you have 100 people playing, place all of the state and capital cards in two recycled boxes. Label the boxes "states" or "capitals." If you have fewer than 100 players, choose exactly the number of cards you need so there is one card for each student and every state has a matching capital in the game.
4. Divide players into two equal teams. Each player uses a Crayola Dry-Erase Marker and an individual dry-erase board. One team chooses state cards to write on their dry-erase boards. The other team writes capitals. When the leader signals "go," work together to match up the state and capital partners, looking from board to board to find matches.
5. When you think all matches are made, line up in a large circle to evaluate whether the group has correctly identified all states and capitals. Signal when you think you’ve done it correctly by sitting down on the floor all at once.
Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project. Observe children closely and intervene as necessary to prevent potential safety problems and ensure appropriate use of arts and crafts materials. Some craft items, particularly beads and buttons, are potential choking hazards for young children. Avoid use of such small parts with children younger than 3 years. Craft items such as scissors, push pins and chenille sticks may have sharp points or edges. Avoid use of materials with sharp points by children younger than 4 years. Read all manufacturers' safety warnings before using arts and craft supplies.
- Choose one student at each round to be the evaluator. Set a time limit for the rest of the students to match up. The evaluator assesses whether the teams have matched correctly and makes changes where needed.
- Smaller teams can match states and capitals from regions, continents, or founding dates. Larger teams might play on the playground or in a gymnasium. Challenge students to race the clock, trying to get faster and faster at matching states and capitals each time they try.
- Play other versions of the same game. Match countries to their continents, major world cities to their countries, or languages to the countries where they are spoken.
- Assessment: Observe students as they work together to identify matches. Who stands out as having a good command of the information? Note who may need extra practice and who takes leadership roles.
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