LITTLE EXPLORERS · BIG WORLD
Learn geography, one small discovery at a time. Read, listen, and find your way. There’s no timer. Take all the time you need.
Every activity works without seeing a map. Use your screen reader, keyboard, or optional read-aloud. Audio starts only when you ask.
Our planet, Earth · Card 1 of 3
Earth is the planet where we live. It is round, a little like a ball, though it is not a perfect ball. Earth travels around the Sun. Every city, forest, mountain, and ocean we will explore in these lessons is part of our shared home.
Say, type, or think of one place on Earth that you would like to learn about.
TRY WHAT YOU LEARNED
Choose an answer and check it. Hints help you learn. You can try as many times as you like.
A LITTLE PRACTICE ADVENTURE
This is an invented neighborhood for learning directions. North is at the top, east at the right, south at the bottom, and west at the left. The words tell you everything you need.
Mission 1 of 3
Start at the Park. Move one square north to reach the Station.
You are at the Park, in row middle, column middle.
North: Station. East: Market. South: Lake. West: Museum.
Each cell is one square. North is toward the north row; east is toward the east column. Only north, east, south, and west moves are allowed.
| Row / column | West | Middle | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Library | Station | Garden |
| Middle | Museum | Park (you are here) | Market |
| South | School | Lake | Café |
OPEN YOUR WORLD
Read any lesson here, including when interactive tools are unavailable. Grown-ups can follow the sources for more detail.
Meet the round planet we share, with land and a great connected ocean.
Earth is the planet where we live. It is round, a little like a ball, though it is not a perfect ball. Earth travels around the Sun. Every city, forest, mountain, and ocean we will explore in these lessons is part of our shared home.
A little discovery: Say, type, or think of one place on Earth that you would like to learn about.
Earth has land and water. Mountains, plains, and islands are kinds of land. Rivers, lakes, and oceans hold water. The ocean covers about 71 percent of Earth's surface. That is about seven out of every ten equal parts. Water covers much more of the surface than land does.
A little discovery: Imagine ten equal pieces covering Earth. About seven are ocean. How many pieces are left? You can count, speak, or think it through.
A globe is a small model of Earth. A map represents a place, often on a flat surface. Maps and globes can use raised shapes, spoken descriptions, or printed labels. They help us learn where places are. A model is smaller and simpler than the real place it represents.
A little discovery: Describe one place with words: what is beside it, near it, or inside it? Your description can help someone learn about that place.
Learn one common way to name Earth's great land regions.
A continent is one of Earth's great land regions. In these lessons, we use a common seven-continent model: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. You do not need to learn every name at once. Choose a few, then come back for more.
A little discovery: Choose two continent names. Say, type, or think of each name, then try a third.
Books do not always group continents in the same way. Europe and Asia share one huge landmass called Eurasia. Some groupings join them together; this lesson counts them separately. Our seven-continent model uses the name Australia. Oceania is a wider region that includes Australia and many Pacific islands.
A little discovery: Finish this thought in your own way: Europe and Asia share a landmass called...
A continent and a country are different kinds of places. Europe is a continent. Germany is a country in Europe. North America is a continent too. The United States is one country with land there. Learning the kind of place helps us understand how its name fits into the world.
A little discovery: Choose Germany or Europe. Is your choice a country or a continent? You can use the words above for a clue.
Explore the five named parts of Earth's connected global ocean.
Earth has one great, connected global ocean. People give different parts of it different names, which helps us describe places. The borders between these ocean regions are not walls. Ocean water can move from one region into another. One connected ocean can have several useful names.
A little discovery: Imagine one large room with a reading area and a play area. Can two named areas still belong to the same room?
In these lessons, the five ocean names are Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern. Many countries, including the United States, use these five names. Older books may list four. The Southern Ocean is the name now commonly used for the ocean region around the continent of Antarctica.
A little discovery: Make a slow rhythm with the five names. You can say them, type them, or repeat them quietly in your mind.
The ocean contains salt water. Rivers and lakes can hold fresh water, which has much less salt. Most of Earth's water is in the ocean. Ocean regions reach around continents and islands, so learning a continent's name and nearby ocean names gives us more ways to describe a place.
A little discovery: Complete the pair: Antarctica is a continent, and the Southern Ocean is an ocean...
Practice north, east, south, and west with words and imagination.
The four main compass directions are north, east, south, and west. They help us describe where places are. North and south are opposites. East and west are opposites too. Imagine facing north: east is on your right, west is on your left, and south is behind you.
A little discovery: Stay comfortably where you are. Imagine facing north. Which direction would be behind you? No movement is needed.
A compass is a tool that helps people find directions. A magnetic compass responds to Earth's magnetic field. Magnetic north is not always the same as true north on a map. When using a real compass, an adult can help explain its reading. For now, we can practice the four direction names.
A little discovery: Choose a direction and name its opposite: north or south, east or west.
A map may put north at the top, but that is not a rule for every map. Check its direction labels or ask for its spoken description. If a map says north is at the top, south is at the bottom, east is to the right, and west is to the left.
A little discovery: An imaginary map says, 'North is at the top.' What direction is at the bottom? You can answer from the words alone.
Connect a city, a state, a country, and a continent.
One place can belong to several bigger places. A city can be in a state. That state can be part of a country. The country has a place on a continent. Countries use different names for their regions, so this city, state, country pattern is useful but does not fit everywhere.
A little discovery: Imagine a small box inside a larger box, inside a bigger box. Each box can have its own name.
Munich is a city in the state of Bavaria. Bavaria is part of the country Germany. Germany is in the continent of Europe. We can say the chain in order: Munich, Bavaria, Germany, Europe. All four names help describe Munich's place in the world, from the city to its continent.
A little discovery: Say, type, or think through the chain: Munich, Bavaria, Germany, Europe. Which one is the country?
Anchorage is a city in Alaska. Alaska is a state in the United States. Alaska is also part of the continent of North America. Our chain is Anchorage, Alaska, United States, North America. Here, Alaska names a state, while Anchorage names a city within that state.
A little discovery: Which name is a city: Anchorage or Alaska? Then try naming the state, country, and continent in the chain.
Meet a U.S. state in North America, and learn two city names.
Alaska is a state in the United States, in the northwestern part of North America. It lies west of Canada. Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, which means it covers the most space. A state can cover a very large area and still be part of a country.
A little discovery: Finish this chain in words or in your mind: Alaska is a state; the United States is a country; North America is a...
Juneau is Alaska's capital city. A capital is a place where a government does important work. Anchorage is another city in Alaska. These city names have different jobs in our lesson: Juneau helps us remember the capital, and Anchorage gives us another example of a city inside the state.
A little discovery: Pair each name with its description: Juneau, Alaska's capital; Anchorage, another city in Alaska.
Alaska became a U.S. state on January 3, 1959. This date tells us when its statehood began. It does not mean the land or its story began that day. Our place words still fit: a city such as Juneau is in Alaska, and Alaska is part of the United States.
A little discovery: You do not need to memorize the date. Practice the place words instead: city, state, country, continent.