Where Do They Play? Using NFL Teams to Learn Absolute and Relative Location

“Where Do They Play?”

Using NFL Teams to Learn Fundamental Geography Skills: Absolute and Relative Location
NAME ______DATE ______

“Where Do They Play?” Using NFL Teams to Learn Absolute and Relative Location

Directions: Use the maps in your classroom atlas, atlases from the library, Internet databases, or Google Earth to determine the location of each NFL team’s home city. Write your answers on the chart.

Vocabulary Words:

Absolute location is “the exact position of a location on the Earth.” We use latitude and longitude coordinates to show where places are located. For instance, the city of Atlanta is located at 33°N, 84°W.

Relative location is “the location of a place as described by places near it.” We use cardinal directions (North, South, East, West) and intermediate directions (Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast) to describe where places are located. For instance, Arizona is located west of the Mississippi River and southeast of Oregon.

Team Name / Their Home State
(or District) / This City’s
Absolute Location / This City’s
Relative Location
Arizona Cardinals / Can you name the city where they play instead?
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens / 39°N, 76°W
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers / Can you name the city AND state where they play?
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Team Name / Their Home State
(or District) / This City’s
Absolute Location / This City’s
Relative Location
Dallas Cowboys / Texas / 32°N, 96°W
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts / Indiana
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings / Can you name the city where they play instead?
Minneapolis, MN
New England Patriots / Can you name the city AND state where they play?
New Orleans Saints / North and East of lower Mississippi River
New York Giants
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders

NAME ______DATE ______

“Where Do They Play?” Using NFL Teams to Learn Absolute and Relative Location

Vocabulary Words:

Team Name / Their Home State
(or District) / This City’s
Absolute Location / This City’s
Relative Location
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans / Can you name the city where they play instead? / 36°N, 86°W
Washington Redskins

Answer Key:

Team Name / Their Home State
(or District) / This City’s
Absolute Location / This City’s
Relative Location
Arizona Cardinals / Can you name the city where they play instead?
Phoenix (or Glendale), AZ / 33°N, 112°W
(Results may vary. It depends on what tools you have at your disposal. You may allow students some leeway with these answers.) / Answers will vary. My advice is to use a classroom map and ask students to describe the city’s relative location. Allow the students to determine if the relative location is correct.
Atlanta Falcons / Georgia / 33°N, 84°W
Baltimore Ravens / Maryland / 39°N, 76°W
Buffalo Bills / New York / 42°N, 78°W
Carolina Panthers / Can you name the city and the state where they play?
Charlotte, North Carolina / 35°N, 80°W
Chicago Bears / Illinois / 41°N, 87°W
Cincinnati Bengals / Ohio / 39°N, 84°W
Cleveland Browns / Ohio / 41°N, 81°W
Dallas Cowboys / Texas / 32°N, 96°W
Denver Broncos / Colorado / 39°N, 104°W
Detroit Lions / Michigan / 42°N, 83°W
Green Bay Packers / Wisconsin / 44°N, 88°W
Houston Texans / Texas / 29°N, 95°W
Indianapolis Colts / Indiana / 39°N, 86°W
Jacksonville Jaguars / Florida / 30°N, 81°W
Team Name / Their Home State / This City’s
Absolute Location / This City’s
Relative Location
Kansas City Chiefs / Missouri / 39°N, 94°W
Miami Dolphins / Florida / 25°N, 80°W
Minnesota Vikings / Can you name the city where they play instead?
Minneapolis, MN / 44°N, 93°W
New England Patriots / Can you name the city AND state where they play?
Foxboro (or Boston) , Massachusetts / 42°N, 71°W
New Orleans Saints / Louisiana / 29°N, 90°W
New York Giants / New York (or New Jersey)
They actually play in neighboring East Rutherford, NJ. / 40°N, 74°W
New York Jets / New York (or New Jersey)
The Jets and Giants share a football stadium. / 40°N, 74°W
Oakland Raiders / California / 37°N, 122°W
Philadelphia Eagles / Pennsylvania / 39°N, 75°W
Pittsburgh Steelers / Pennsylvania / 40°N, 80°W
San Diego Chargers / California / 32°N, 117°W
San Francisco 49ers / California / 37°N, 122°W
Seattle Seahawks / Washington / 47°N, 122°W
St. Louis Rams / Missouri / 47°N, 92°W
Tampa Bay Buccaneers / Florida / 27°N, 82°W
Tennessee Titans / Can you name the city where they play instead?
Nashville / 36°N, 86°W
Washington Redskins / District of Columbia / 38°N, 77°W

An Idea for an Extension Assignment:

In previous years, I have extended this assignment by asking students to label these cities onto a blank map of the USA.

Doing so gives them an opportunity to see where professional football teams are located within geographic regions of the United States. It also gives them a perspective of how large these cities are and how closely some of them are located to one another.

You might do this as an enrichment assignment, or you might consider pulling down a wall map or opening a file on your SMART Board and turning it into a full-class activity.

There are MANY possibilities for extending this assignment. I’d love to hear about how you use it.