Things You'll Need:
- A United States Map
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Step 1
When my son was 11 years old, he informed me that he was going to be getting a memorization test at school. He had to be able to write the names of the 50 states on a blank map of the U.S. so he needed to know the names and locations! Not hard you might say. It would just take some studying. The only problem was he told me about the first period test at 7:00 AM on the morning of the test, and he was leaving for school at 7:45 AM. He gave me the simple map with the state names on it in place, so I took about 5 minutes and came up with the following memorization.
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Step 2
WOC(walk) in the Nevada dessert, U CAN TOK(TALK).
LOUISE kicked MA, AM I Mad.
Why I'll Mich(mess) you up.
WIMN(women) are So Nice!
The MAINE thing is that Vermont maple syrup is not NEW to the Masses.
5 sets of twins and 3 sets of triplets. -
Step 3
Now to decrypt the craziness! I started on the west coast all the way in the upper left corner and worked my way logically through the first 11 states.
W(ashington)O(regon)C(alifornia) in the Nevada dessert.
U(tah)C(olorado)A(rizona)N(ew Mexico)
T(exas)O(klahoma)K(ansas) -
Step 4
Next, I headed across some of the lower states and then up the middle.
Since Louisiana looked sort of like a boot on the map I had, I started there.
Louise kicked M(Mississippi)A(labama)
A(rkansas)M(issouri) - I(owa) - Mad(the M represents Minnesota)
Why-W(isconsin) - I'll-I(llinois) - Mess you up or Mich you up(Michigan) -
Step 5
Look left at the remaining states you haven't done yet.
WIMN-(women) are So Nice!
W(yoming)I(daho)M(ontana)N(orth Dakota)
are So-S(outh Dakota) Nice-N(ebraska) -
Step 6
Now go to the right upper corner. The Maine thing is that Vermont maple syrup is not New-N(ew Hampshire) to the Masses-M(assechusettes).
You have almost covered them all hang in there!
Now, as you look around to see what states are left, you'll find our 5 pairs of twins.
Florida is under Georgia, so since they're geographically related, I made them the first set of twins!(eat a peach on the beach)
Right above them is our second pair, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Now look at Kentucky and Tennessee with a common border, which makes them pair number three.
Look which two states are right next to each other in Long Island Sound.
Connecticut and Rhode Island are couple number four.
Since Alaska and Hawaii are the only two states not part of the lower forty-eight and they both joined the United States one right after the other, they get to be couple five. -
Step 7
Three sets of triplets?
Yes, the first set can be considered New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the tri-state region.
The second set already has a peninsula named after them, the Delmarva peninsula, consisting of Del(aware) Mar(yland) and Va. is the abbreviation for Virginia.
The third and final set of triplets are the only three states that are left,
W(est Virginia), O(hio) and I(ndianna) - or WOI! -
Step 8
That's all of them . Now all you have to do is study them until they become second nature to you.
Congratulations!
P.S.- My son got a hundred on his fill-in the map test!
