Lesson 1.3: Social Studies Connection

Spanish State Names

The table below names three of our country's states. The English names for these states come from Spanish words. Read the table to find out how each state got its name.

Table showing how states got their names. Row 1: Montana, Spanish Meaning: mountain, How Montana Got Its Name: Many mountains are located in the state. Row 2: Florida, Spanish Meaning: flowery, How Florida Got Its Name: Many flowers are found in Florida. Row 3: Colorado, Spanish Meaning: the color red, How Colorado Got Its Name: Clay in the Colorado River is Red.

state:: A geographical part of a country, like the United States: We live in the state of California.
mountain:: A very high area of land: It took a long time to climb the mountain.
clay:: A firm kind of earth made up of very small bits: It is hard to dig up the clay.

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Activity

Read the Spanish words for the numbers 1 to 20.

1 - uno
2 - dos
3 - tres
4 - quatro
5 - cinco
6 - séis
7 - siete
8 - ocho
9 - nueve
10 - diez

11 - once
12 - doce
13 - trece
14 - catorce
15 - quince
16 - diez y séis
17 - diez y siete
18 - diez y ocho
19 - diez y nueve
20 - veinte

The Spanish words for some numbers are made up of the word for ten and another number word put together.

You know that 10 + 6 = 16.
The Spanish word for 16 means "10 and 6."
Write this as "diez y séis." The word diez means ten. The word y means and. The word séis means six.

The Spanish words for 21 to 29 follow the same pattern. The word for 21 is veinte y uno. Write the numbers 21 to 29 on a piece of paper. Beside each number, write the Spanish word for that number.

State Name Quiz
Use the information in a chart to answer questions about state names.