Giant Map of the United States Puzzle After State Testing Activities - Free Printable

Let’s look at what the task is asking.

The worksheet shows four state outlines: Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Rhode Island (the small one in the top right). The instructions say:

> “Cut carefully on the pieces to together.”

That means you’re supposed to cut out each state shape and then fit them together like a puzzle — probably to form one big connected shape or maybe just to see how they match up.

But here’s the thing: these states don’t actually fit together geographically. They’re from different parts of the U.S.:

- Idaho is in the Northwest.
- Louisiana is in the South, near the Gulf of Mexico.
- Mississippi is next to Louisiana.
- Rhode Island is tiny and in the Northeast.

So if you try to put them together like puzzle pieces, they won’t naturally connect unless you rotate or flip them — but even then, their borders don’t match up because they’re not neighbors.

Wait — let’s think again. Maybe this isn’t about geography. Maybe it’s a trick question or a creative activity.

Looking closer: the shapes are drawn with jagged edges — especially Louisiana and Mississippi. Those two *do* share a border in real life! And if you look at the outline of Louisiana, its western edge matches part of Mississippi’s eastern edge? Actually, no — Mississippi is east of Louisiana, so their shared border would be vertical-ish.

But in the image, Louisiana is above Mississippi? No — wait, the layout is random.

Actually, let’s test something: if you take the piece for Louisiana and the piece for Mississippi, do their borders align?

In reality, Louisiana and Mississippi share a border along the Mississippi River. So if you placed them side by side correctly, they should fit.

Similarly, Idaho and... well, Idaho doesn’t touch any of the others.

Rhode Island is too small and far away.

Hmm.

Maybe the goal is just to cut them out and arrange them however you want — as an art project or to learn state shapes.

But the instruction says “to together” — which might mean “fit them together” as in assemble into one group or possibly form a single shape.

Wait — could this be a typo? Maybe it’s supposed to say “cut carefully on the lines to put the pieces together”?

Still, without more context, the most logical interpretation is:

→ Cut out each state shape.

→ Try to fit them together like puzzle pieces — even though they don’t really go together geographically.

→ Or perhaps the teacher wants students to realize that only some states border each other (like LA and MS), while others don’t.

But since there’s no actual puzzle solution shown, and no grid or guide, I think the intended answer is simply:

You cut out the four states and try to fit them together — but only Louisiana and Mississippi will partially match along their shared river border. The rest won’t connect.

However, looking back at the image — notice that the outline of Louisiana has a weird bump on the bottom, and Mississippi has a matching dent? Let me visualize...

Actually, if you rotate Mississippi 90 degrees clockwise, does it fit under Louisiana? Not really.

Alternatively — maybe the “pieces” are meant to be assembled into a larger rectangle or square? But the shapes are irregular.

Another idea: perhaps this is a misprint, and all four states were supposed to be neighboring states — like maybe it was meant to be Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida — but instead got mixed up.

Given all that, and since the user hasn’t asked for explanation or teaching, just to solve the problem…

I think the correct response is to follow the directions literally:

Cut out each state carefully along the black lines. Then try to fit them together — even if they don’t perfectly match. It’s likely a hands-on activity to explore state shapes and borders.

There’s no numerical answer or specific configuration required — it’s open-ended.

But since the system expects a “Final Answer”, and this is a cutting/puzzle task, the best final answer is:

Final Answer:
Cut out each state shape and try to fit them together like puzzle pieces. Only Louisiana and Mississippi share a real border and may partially match; the others will not connect naturally.