Passport to Fun - Learning About the Continents

Summer is a great time to learn about and 'visit' different parts of the world with a “Passport to Fun” or “World Traveler” unit. Deb Chitwood of Living Montessori Now offers some fantastic resource links to help you introduce the concept of continents to your kiddos. Whether you create them from colorful sheets of felt or print them onto card stock, here's a list of supplies you'll need for your geography learning center...

• World map
• Colorful continent cutouts
• Continent and ocean labels

There are several ways you can use these materials to teach your kiddos about the continents {they get more challenging as they go along}:

1. Providing them with both a labeled and unlabeled world map, invite your students to use the completed map to place the continent and ocean labels in the correct place. This activity stresses proper vocabulary while introducing continent/ocean location on the map.
2. Providing students with an unlabeled world map, have them match the continent cutouts to their correct place on the map and match the continent/ocean labels to their proper places. This activity will help your kiddos review proper vocabulary, highlighting continent/ocean location.
3. With a blank world map {i.e. simple blue circles or a blue rectangle}, invite students to place the continent cutouts in their proper place, labeling the landmasses and oceans with the correct name. This activity encourages students to demonstrate their knowledge of vocabulary and continent/ocean location on the map.

This series of exercises provides a natural progression for learning and reviewing new concepts. Be sure to visit Living Montessori Now for links to printable maps and resources!