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3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 7

Globes & World Maps

Continents, oceans and hemispheres

What your child practices

Continents and oceans, the equator, prime meridian and hemispheres, map tools such as the title, key, compass rose, grid and scale, and finding world communities on a map or globe.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3.1a; 3.1b; 3.2a; 3.2b · Earth's land and water, the tools on maps and globes, and locating world communities by continent, hemisphere and the equator and prime meridian

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. There are 7 continents and 5 oceans.
  2. The equator splits Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The prime meridian splits east and west.
  3. Map tools: title, key, compass rose, grid and scale.

Example: Is Sydney, Australia, in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere? Find the equator around the middle of the globe. Australia is below the equator. Answer: the Southern Hemisphere

Globes & World Maps in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 3 of 7 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Communities Around the World and before Communities Around the World.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    Which is the largest continent?

    • Antarctica
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe

  2. Question 2

    Places near the poles are usually…

    • cold
    • deserts of hot sand
    • rainy jungles
    • hot

  3. Question 3

    Which tells the relative location of Mexico?

    • in the middle of Europe
    • at 10 Main Street
    • in the Pacific Ocean
    • south of the United States

  4. Question 4

    On which continent is Italy?

    • Australia
    • Antarctica
    • Africa
    • Europe

  5. Question 5

    Is Beijing in the Eastern Hemisphere or the Western Hemisphere?

    • the Eastern Hemisphere
    • the Western Hemisphere

  6. Question 6

    Is Sydney in the Eastern Hemisphere or the Western Hemisphere?

    • the Western Hemisphere
    • the Eastern Hemisphere

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