Explore Continents and Oceans in Your Classroom
This topic is SO much fun! Trust me, once you start exploring continents and oceans with your students, you won't want to stop. This social studies topic opens up the world, literally, to your students. We're moving beyond the themes of self and community they covered in depth in kindergarten and begin to learn more about what's out there!
We spend a lot of time on this in my room and I actually have a go-to, all-in-one unit on Continents and Oceans. This unit includes vocabulary cards, booklets, worksheets, a craft, a lapbook, and more! If you want a done-for-you resource to cover this topic in-depth, be sure to check out this post, 5 Fun and Engaging Ways to Teach Continents and Oceans to learn more about it.
When using this unit, I also tend to supplement with some other activities to help make this topic even more fun. This allows us to take a deeper dive into the topic and learn in new ways. Here are 7 of my favorite free activities for teaching continents and oceans!
1. Watch Educational Videos
Have you checked out all of the amazing free resources on YouTube? It's pretty incredible for classroom teachers! There are great options out there for just about any topic you can think of. When first getting started teaching continents and oceans, I like to use an educational video or two to help introduce this topic to my class.
This video is awesome and provides some quick facts on this topic. Students will learn a few key vocabulary words, the names of each continent and ocean, and some interesting facts about each one. This one is also interesting because it provides a lot of real-life footage of the continents and oceans. I have found this helps students remember key facts about each one.
Try playing a video like one of these before diving into your studies. It will lay the foundation for learning all about this topic!
2. Read Continents and Oceans Picture Books
Another fun way to introduce oceans and continents in your classroom is with books. Picture books are always my go-to when we start a new unit or dive into a new topic. I love reading them aloud and then making them available for students to flip through independently later.
This book, The Seven Continents, by Wil Mara is written in an emergent reader format and filled with tons of real photos that students will love. Inside, they'll get an introduction to the continents as well as some interesting information about landmarks, population, climate, and vegetation that grows on each one.
Next up, is the Big Picture Atlas by Emily Bone, which will snag your students' attention as you explore oceans, continents, and cultural facts. The illustrations in this book are incredible and sure to delight your students as you begin to introduce this topic. Try reading a page or two aloud and then letting kids take a turn looking closely at the pictures. This is one of those books that has a lot to see on each page!
Meet the Oceans by Caryl Hart is another fun book to use in your lessons. Students will take an underwater adventure in a submarine to learn about each of the oceans. This book is filled with colorful illustrations and fun rhyming patterns that students will love. Give this one a try as you introduce oceans in your room.
3. Make Salt Dough Mini-Globes
This next idea is a real classroom favorite. Consider making up a batch of salt dough, or using modeling clay to have your students create their own 3D globe art project. You'll want to project a picture of a map up on a wall or whiteboard. You can also use printable maps that students can use at their desks for this as an example. In my Continents and Oceans unit, you'll find one without country names which is perfect for this activity.
Challenge your students to use the dough or play to create their own map of the world on a paper plate. You can do this all together by working your way through each one, or have students do this all on their own. Allow the creations to dry overnight and then paint them in the morning. As a final step, you could even print out tiny labels for each one and have students glue them to the correct location. This interactive activity will be such a hit in your classroom!
4. Do Research Projects
Another fun way to dive a little deeper into this topic is to research! You can set this up many ways, but I think it's fun to do a mini-research session for each of the continents and/or oceans of the world. You can do this as a class or in small groups. Whatever you choose, your students will love diving a little deeper into the continents and oceans.
You could spend some time reading books about that continent, watching videos, and then discussing what you've learned. Follow up these activities by making posters and writing about the research to help the information stick. Your students will love writing about and drawing pictures of what they have learned.
5. Learn a Song to Remember What You've Learned
I don't know about your kids, but mine absolutely love to sing and dance. Whenever we're learning a new topic, I try to incorporate music whenever I can to help them learn and remember what we're focusing on. Give this adorable song a try to help your students learn the names of each continent as well as fun facts about them. It's super catchy and a great way to start your day as you dive into reviewing and learning more on this topic.
Looking for a song to help students identify the five oceans? This one is just what you need! It's easy to sing along to and will help students remember the oceans in order from largest to smallest.
6. Learn About Salt Water
Oceans are pretty fascinating! When we get started learning about continents and oceans, I like to spend a little extra time learning about oceans and saltwater in particular. We do a sink or float experiment to demonstrate the density of salt water.
Grab 2 tall, clear glass vases, some salt, and a couple of eggs. Fill each vase with water and add salt to one. Ask students what they think will happen when an egg is dropped into each one. Then, try it! Students will be amazed to see that the one in the salt water floats!
Afterward, you can talk to your students about the buoyancy of salt water and how it's much easier to swim in the ocean than a lake for this reason. You can dive as deep as you want in this conversation and even test out the "sink or float experiment" with other items too! This is a fun one!
7. Use an "I Spy" Game to Review
If you're looking for an engaging way to review continents and oceans in your room, try playing a game of I Spy. You'll want a globe or map of the world, preferably with only the continents and oceans visible. I avoid using maps that show individual countries in different colors as this can get really confusing.
Begin playing by saying "I Spy...." and name one of the continents or oceans. The first student who raises their hand gets to come up to the board or globe and point to the continent or ocean you mentioned. If they are correct, they get to pick the next one to "spy".
In my favorite unit for teaching this topic, there are a few labeling worksheets that would work very well as a follow-up to this activity.
More Activities for Teaching Continents and Oceans
I hope you have fun with these ideas for teaching continents and oceans in your room. If you need some more ways to cover this topic, don't forget that you can find some fun resources in my Continents and Oceans Unit. In this unit you get vocabulary activities, student readers, worksheets, a 3D map craftivity, and a fun lapbook activity. This is such a great way to cover this topic in depth and ensure your students have a firm understanding of this topic. Using the included activities alongside these free ones I mentioned is the perfect way to teach your students all about continents and oceans.
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