Hints to Help Learn Counties of Kansas

Occasionally we stumble onto interesting pieces of information that help us learn faster and retain longer. Some of these may take imagination, but others are so obvious that we wonder why we didn't think of it sooner. Here are some that we have found.

Because many counties of Kansas are similar in shape, hints are very helpful.

Allen-32. Getting started on the blank map is important. Allen is 3 up and 2 in from the corner.

Allen-Anderson-Atchison. These counties are all in a line from south to north.

Barber/Barton. Barton county is directly north of Barber county.

Barber/B. Barber county is shaped somewhat like the lower-case leter "b."

Doniphan/Douglas. Douglas is directly south of Doniphan.

Douglas Edwards. While reciting the counties of Kansas in alphabetical order, remember that before Peter Jennings and Walter Chronkite, there was a newscaster named Douglas Edwards -- and alphabetically, Douglas county is followed by Edwards county.

Finney/F. Finney county is shaped like the upper portion of the letter "F."

Gove/Graham. Gove and Graham almost Touch.

Greeley/West. Horace Greeley popularized the phrase: "Go West Young Man." Greeley county is at the very west edge of Kansas.

Jackson/Jefferson. Alphabetically and physically, Jackson and Jefferson touch

M/9. Nine counties begin with the letter M.

N/Square. Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton form a square.

Kingman/Kiowa. Kiowa is directly west of Kingman.

Ness/Norton. Norton is directly north of Ness.

Pawnee/Phillips. Phillips is directly north of Pawnee.

Sheridan/Sherman. Sherman is directly west of Sheridan.

Smith/Stafford. Stafford is directly south of Smith.

Stanton/Stevens. Stanton and Stevens almost touch.

Chase/Chatequa. Chase and Chatequa are consecutive alphabetically -- they share a latitude line.

Ellis/Ellsworth. Ellis and Ellsworth are consecutive alphabetically -- they share a longitude line.

Reno/Republic. Reno and Republic are consecutive alphabetically -- they share a latitude line.

Polygon/P. Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt -- these four counties form a polygon.

Purple/P. Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie and Pratt are all purple in the Click and Learn drill.

S/12. Twelve counties begin with the letter S.

Two Thomas. Thomas county is two counties in and two counties down from the corner.

Trego 21. From Thomas, go 2 east and 1 down to Trego.

Stafford/S. Stafford is shaped somewhat like the bottom of the block letter S.

Edwards/E. Edwards county is shaped like the lower part of E.

Sedjwick/J. No, Sedgwick county does not have the letter J in it -- but it sounds like it should -- and Sedgwick county is shaped like the letter J.

Vermont is shaped like the letter "V".

The word BURY can be found in Europe. Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslovia are in a line.

In Africa, the country Chad is shaped like a Grad (a student at graduation with the flat 'mortar-board' hat).Thanks to Bunceton Geography Club

While reciting the counties of Kansas in alphabetical order, remember that before Peter Jennings and Walter Chronkite, there was a newscaster named Douglas Edwards -- and alphabetically, Douglas county is followed by Edwards county.

While reciting the counties of Pennsylvania, notice that there is a county shaped like a bear. Most bears live in the forest -- so remember that Forest county is the county that is shaped like a bear.

HintsKS