YouTube hosts a number of awesome videos that can help you learn the US states. They’re created by innovative educators who know how to make geography entertaining, and they are all available for you to view online!
Let's take a look at a few of the most popular YouTube videos that cover the 50 US states.
First up is Tour the States, an entertaining music video that begins with a remarkable demonstration of free-hand map drawing. You can watch as a whiteboard wizard creates the entire US map with a marker.
The whole thing is set to a cool, hip hop groove, and as the artist fleshes out the states one by one, the song lyrics identify every state and its capital. This video has over 30,251,205 views, but there are probably more than a couple repeat views, just because of the song—it’s that good!
Another great video that covers all 50 states involves the beloved cartoon character Wakko, of Animaniacs fame. You may not be old enough to remember the show, but that won't stop you from enjoying Wakko's 50 State Capitols.
The jaunty song lists every state and its capital, and there are even subtitles, so you can recognize the place names. This video is super popular, with over 12 million views and counting!
The next video has only been available for a short time, but it already has almost 203,000 views. The 50 States and Capitals Song features animated states with happy faces, all serenading you as a 50-state choir. Each state gets a solo in this fun geographical roll call, so it's a great way to lock in the names of all the states and their capital cities.
Our last example, another song, is great if the state names and their locations are your primary focus. Its goal is to help you quickly memorize the 50 states.
What's different about this song is that it goes through the states in a sequential order, starting in the northwestern state of Washington and heading due south, then repeating the process in north-to-south bands, all the way across the country. This learning aid, which has 1,748,813 views, may not be quite as fun as the others, but it's efficient, running down all 50 states in just 1 minute and 12 seconds!
Do you prefer mnemonics to learn, instead of music?
In this YouTube video, Ms. Alexander provides mnemonics and tips to remember the 50 states.
If you want to memorize the 50 US states, there are many ways to go about it—mnemonic devices, flash cards, staring at map for a couple hours. Make it fun with one of these YouTube videos instead!