Give students an outline map of the United States that shows average annual rainfall. Ask them to use the map to find the top five most and least rainy states, which they should label, either from memory or from their books. Remind students that the area of the state is also a factor in determining how much rain falls in it during the average year. After, have students share their answers with the class.
Split students into groups of five and give each group an outline map of a continent split into five sections. Each student will cut out a section, and using a political map, fill in the outlines of his section's countries, which should also be cut out. Give students construction paper to glue each piece to, to which they will add nubs and openings so the pieces will fit together as a puzzle. Groups will need to work together to make the pieces in the different sections connect. Students should write the names of the countries on the construction paper side and assemble the whole puzzle together.
Give each student in your class an outline map of a county in your state. If your state does not have enough counties, use those in surrounding states. Give students access to online or written sources and have them locate and label the five largest towns or cities in their counties, including the county seat. They should also label important geographical features, such as rivers or rock formations. Finally, have students include two or three points of interest that a visitor to their counties would want to see if they went there.
Take your class outside and have them split into two teams. Beforehand, prepare several small outline maps of U.S. states and tape them to flying discs. Have each team send a player at a time 30 feet away from you. Throw a disc, and if a student catches it, let him guess the name of the state. If he gets it wrong, the other student can try answering. The winner gets to take the picture off the disc and hold onto it. In the classroom, have students who won maps cut them out. Show the class a larger outline map of the U.S. Students will distribute the cut-outs within their own teams, and take turns trying to place them in the right position on the map. The team with the most correctly placed states is the winner.