Continents and Oceans Lesson Plan

EEDUC 5136
Integrating Social Studies into the Elementary Classroom

Lesson Plan Guide

Topic: Location of Continents and Oceans Grade Level: 2

Content Objective: History and Social Science Curriculum Framework Learning Standards
 2.1: On a map of the world, locate all of the continents: North America, South America,

Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. (G)

 2.3: Locate the oceans of the world: the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans. (G)

Objectives: Students will be able to…

 Name and locate seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America,

and South America.

 Name and locate five oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic.

 Learn appropriate vocabulary

 Develop map skills and identify a map as a picture of earth

Materials Needed:
 Two transparencies for overhead of Pangaea and one of current map of world

 Picture of class or individual picture

 Large Atlas and wall map

 Globe

 List of vocabulary words with definitions and corresponding pictures

 Geography journals

 Blank map of world worksheets

 Continent word search

 Words and music for “Continents and Oceans” song

 Story, Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton

 Bean bag

 Floor Map

 Continent and Ocean flash cards (set of 4 cards each)

Introduction:
While pointing to large illustration of Pangaea, ask students, “Who can tell me what this is a
picture of?” This question will be the activator for the beginning of our unit on the seven
continents and five oceans, while teaching to the Massachusetts History and Social Science
Curriculum Framework Learning Standards.

Major Instructional Sequence:

1.Whole class instruction - Introduce overheads of Pangaea, opening discussion of the map
200 million years ago, and closing with how the map looks today. (15 minutes)
2.Whole class instruction - Discuss why maps are flat (10 -15 minutes)
Activity 1: Understanding that maps are pictures of the Earth.
•After reviewing Pangaea on the overhead – ask if the world is flat or round?
Jean Ricker
Andy Young
Debbie Silverman
Nancy Leigh Jacobson
 Continents and Oceans Lesson Plan
EEDUC 5136
Integrating Social Studies into the Elementary Classroom

•Explain that the map is flat, but our world is not flat – just as a picture of a child is flat,
but the class is not flat. Show the picture of the class and compare.
•Explain the need for maps by trying to put a globe in a book. Ask the students what
happens when you try to fit a globe into a book (the book won't close).
•Explain that people wanted to put the globe in a book but since it wouldn't fit, they had
to cut the globe and pull it apart to make a flat map of a picture of our Earth.
3.Whole class instruction - Introduce new vocabulary words with illustrations (to help
support ELL’s) to build schema for students of continents. Have student’s copy definitions
into their Geography journal. (10 minutes)
4.Bring whole class to reading rug area and read related continent story, Maps and Globes to
continue to build schema. (10 minutes)
5.Introduce music to “Continent and Oceans” Song (tune of Love and Marriage) and learn
the words with continents and oceans to reinforce new concepts, learning visually (pointing
to the world map while singing), kinesthetically (have a couple children point to map while
class is singing) and musically. (Sing 4-5 times) (10 minutes)
6.Pair into groups of two - Hand out word search of continent and oceans names for
reinforcement of subject. (Formal assessment) (20 minutes)
7.Students will work individually and the teacher will hand out blank maps of the world to
fill and color blank continent/ocean map for reinforcement. (Formal assessment)(15 minutes)

Closure or Evaluation: (20-25 minutes)

Activity 2: The World Beanbag Game
•Ask students to join you on the floor map.
•Stand in the middle of the map in a tight group.
•Hand out Continent and Oceans flash cards.
•Explain that the class is Pangaea right now, and using the vocabulary words, have students
look at their flash cards and start plate tectonics of breaking up and starting the continental
drift by breaking up and finding their continent and ocean they have been assigned on the
map. (This can be used as an informal assessment to make sure the children can find their
place on the map.)
•Break the children into two groups and give them a new set of flash cards each, to make sure
they have a full set of continents and oceans in their groups.
•Have students come up with a plan, as a group, on how they will display their group’s cards
(spread them out on a table, each child hold one or two cards, split into oceans and
continents, alphabetical order, etc...)
•Explain that the teacher will be rolling the beanbag onto the floor map, and the first group to
hold up the correct flash card will earn a point.
•Play until the first group earns10 points.

Jean Ricker
Andy Young
Debbie Silverman
Nancy Leigh Jacobson
 Continents and Oceans Lesson Plan
EEDUC 5136
Integrating Social Studies into the Elementary Classroom

References:

Continents and Oceans worksheets and Flash cards (n.d.) Retrieved July 18, 2009 from
http://bogglesworldesl.com/continents_worksheets.htm

Knowlton, J and Barton, H (1985) Maps and Globes. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY

Pangaea (n.d.) Retrieved July 18, 2009 from

http://azgenweb.org/navajo/History/Petrified/Pangaea_continents.png

Stockard, James W. Jr. (2003) Activities for Elementary School Social Studies (2nd Edition),
Waveland Press, Inc Long Grove, IL

World Map (n.d.) Retrieved July 18, 2009 from

http://www.nationsonline.org/maps/continents_map_sm.jpg

Jean Ricker
Andy Young
Debbie Silverman
Nancy Leigh Jacobson