US States Wheel: Pick a Random State

In the classroom

A states wheel turns a list into a game students want to play:

• State reports and projects. Hide each state as it’s drawn so no two students research the same one. Put the wheel on the projector in full screen and let each student press Space for their own spin.
• Capitals and facts quiz. Spin, then the class names the capital, the region or a neighbouring state. Keep a tally from the Results tab, which lists every state drawn, newest first.
• Groups. The Teams tab deals the 50 states into random sets, for example five groups of ten for a map-colouring race.

The 50 states by region

The Census Bureau groups the states into four regions: 9 in the Northeast, 12 in the Midwest, 16 in the South and 13 in the West. To practise one region, delete the other lines; a reload brings back all fifty.

Some facts to check answers against: Alaska is the largest state by area and Rhode Island the smallest; California has the most people and Wyoming the fewest; and the two newest states, Alaska and Hawaii, both joined the Union in 1959.

Road trips and travel goals

Spin for the next state to visit, or for a state you have to learn one thing about this week. Set When a winner is picked to Remove and each state you draw drops off the list, so the wheel only offers places you haven’t been. This page doesn’t save changes, so use Share result to keep a link to your shortened list and open it next time.

The 50 entries on this wheel

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois
14. Indiana
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming

Edits you make on this page aren’t saved, so it always opens with the full list. For a list of your own that the browser remembers, use the wheel spinner.