Start in the Northeast, the corner of the country where the first English colonies grew. It has small states packed close together, so take them slowly.
Key idea
The Northeast has nine states: the six New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) and the three Middle Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
Why it works
Why are these states so small? They began as colonies whose borders were drawn in the 1600s and 1700s, when people traveled on foot, by horse or by boat. A state you could cross in a day or two made sense then. Western states were drawn much later, with long straight lines over huge, open land.
- Maine is the big state in the far northeast corner.
- Vermont and New Hampshire are a pair of thin states: Vermont is wider at the top, New Hampshire wider at the bottom.
- Massachusetts runs across the middle, with Cape Cod curling out like an arm.
- Rhode Island (the smallest state) and Connecticut sit below Massachusetts.
- New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania form the Middle Atlantic, west and south of New England.
Worked example: Find Connecticut
Which state is directly south of Massachusetts and west of Rhode Island?
- South of Massachusetts are two small states: Connecticut and Rhode Island.
- Rhode Island is the eastern one, the smallest state.
- So the western one, next to New York, is Connecticut.
Answer: Connecticut.
Common mistake
Vermont and New Hampshire look like the same shape flipped. Here is the check: New Hampshire touches the ocean (a short coast) and borders Maine. Vermont touches New York and has no ocean coast. Say it as "Vermont is next to New York; New Hampshire is next to Maine."