Exploring the World

Lesson Overview

Year Level: Year 1
Subject: Other (Geography)
Unit: Exploring Our World (Lesson 6 of 15)
Lesson Duration: 40 minutes
Class Size: 20 students
Australian Curriculum Links:

• HASS (Geography) - Year 1
  • ACHASSK031: Identify and describe the natural and human features of places.
  • ACHASSK047: Recognise and explore the globe as a representation of Earth, showing land and water.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Identify and name the seven continents and five oceans.
2. Locate continents and oceans on a world map.
3. Understand that Australia is both a country and a continent.
4. Recognise that the Earth is mostly covered by water.

Resources Required

• Large world map (physical or digital)
• Inflatable globe or beach ball globe
• Printed worksheets with a blank world map
• Coloured pencils or crayons
• Blue playdough (to represent oceans)
• Simple song or chant about continents and oceans

---

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction – Where in the World Are We? (5 minutes)

• Gather students on the floor in front of the world map.
• Ask “Who can name a place they have visited or heard about?”
• Show Australia on the map: “This is where we live! But there are many other places in the world.”
• Introduce the word 'continent' and explain that continents are big land areas.
• Introduce the word 'ocean', explaining that most of our planet is covered by water.

Teacher prompt: “Imagine if the whole class went on a fun adventure—would we walk the whole way to America? No! We would need to cross a big ocean.”

---

2. Explicit Teaching – Meet the Continents & Oceans! (10 minutes)

• Show the seven continents (Australia, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Europe) on the world map.
• Use simple descriptions for each (e.g., "Africa has lots of wild animals like lions and elephants").
• Introduce the five oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic).
• Pass around an inflatable globe and have students find Australia.

Activity: Call out the name of a continent or ocean. Students take turns pointing to it on the map or globe.

---

3. Hands-On Activity – Make the World! (15 minutes)

• Hand out blank world maps.
• Guide students through colouring the continents and oceans using different colours (blue for oceans, green/brown for land).
• Challenge students to create playdough oceans by placing pieces onto the blue areas of their maps.
• Ask students to trace Australia in yellow, emphasising that it is both a continent and a country.

---

4. Song & Movement – Continents & Oceans Chant (5 minutes)

• Teach a simple, catchy chant to reinforce learning:

  Tune: "If You’re Happy and You Know It"
  (Lyrics can be displayed on the board)

  "There are seven big continents on Earth!
  There are seven big continents on Earth!
  Asia, Africa, Australia too!
  Europe and Antarctica, woo-hoo!
  North America, South America—so true!"

  • Do simple hand gestures for each continent (e.g., big arms for Africa, shivering for Antarctica!).
  • Repeat with the five oceans using swaying arm motions.

---

5. Conclusion – What Did We Learn? (5 minutes)

• Ask students: “What is a continent? What is an ocean?”
• Have students share their favourite continent or ocean and why.
• Challenge them: "Tonight, tell someone at home one new thing you learned about our world!"

Exit Question: Point to any place on the world map and ask: “Is this land or water?"

---

Assessment & Differentiation

Assessment (Formative & Summative)

✔️ Observation during the map-pointing activity
✔️ Checking world map worksheets for accurate colouring
✔️ Verbal responses in exit question & discussion

Differentiation Strategies

• Support:
  • Use visual aids (flashcards with labels).
  • Provide a teacher-guided small group for extra assistance.
• Extension:
  • Ask students to find a country within a continent.
  • Introduce basic compass directions (North, South, East, West).

---

Reflection for Next Lesson

• Did students grasp the idea of continents vs. oceans?
• Were they engaged in the hands-on and movement activities?
• Adjust for Lesson 7: Dive deeper into Australia’s place in the world.

🎉 WOW Factor: Instead of a usual worksheet, students used playdough & a sing-along to connect with geography in a fun, multi-sensory way!