Subscribe

6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 9

World Maps & Globes

Continents, oceans and coordinates

What your child practices

Continents and oceans, hemispheres, latitude and longitude, map scale, projections and kinds of maps.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.6.1.18.1; SS.6.1.18.3 · absolute and relative location, and latitude and longitude

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. There are 7 continents and 5 oceans. The Atlantic lies between the Americas and Europe and Africa.
  2. North latitude means the Northern Hemisphere; west longitude means the Western Hemisphere.
  3. Use the scale: multiply the map distance by what 1 unit stands for. A thematic map shows one topic.

Example: A map's scale says 1 cm = 50 km. Two towns are 6 cm apart. How far apart are they? Each centimeter stands for 50 km. 6 × 50 = 300. Answer: 300 km

World Maps & Globes in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 1 of 9 in 6th grade Social Studies, before World Regions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A map that shows countries, borders and capitals is a…

    • Elevation map
    • Climate map
    • Physical map
    • Political map

  2. Question 2

    A thematic map shows…

    • Only oceans
    • One topic, such as rainfall or population
    • Every topic at once
    • Only borders

  3. Question 3

    A map's scale says 1 cm = 200 km. Two cities are 4 cm apart. How far apart are they?

    • 800 km
    • 50 km
    • 200 km
    • 204 km

  4. Question 4

    Why does every flat world map distort something?

    • Mapmakers are careless
    • A round Earth can't be flattened without stretching or squeezing
    • Earth is flat
    • Oceans move every year

  5. Question 5

    Which continent is the Sahara Desert on?

    • Asia
    • Africa
    • South America
    • Australia

  6. Question 6

    Which line of latitude is the Tropic of Cancer close to?

    • 0°
    • 90° N
    • 66.5° S
    • 23.5° N

More 6th grade