2nd Grade – Geography – Swedish Educational System

ContinentsDPP20121

Material for the lesson

Dices, colourful pens and world map.

Layout of the classroom

Phase 1. The room setting is empty to move freely. Or in the school garden if the weather is good.

Phase 2. The room setting is empty to move freely.

Phase 3. Students can use the whole classroom, the chairs and the desks for their group.

Phase 4. The room setting is empty to move freely.

Phase 1

The teacher divides the classroom into two sides. One side is the ocean the other side is the continent. When the teacher says “Ocean” all students must move to ocean side. When the teacher says “Continent” the students should move to the other side. If students make a mistake to move right side they will go out of the game and wait around the classroom.

When all students are out of the game the teacher will make a circle with all the students. The teacher explains that this circle is representing the world and there are continents and oceans in the world. The teacher also explains that today they will focus on continents.

Phase 2

Each student gets a paper airplane. They walk in the classroom freely until the teacher shouts freeze and then tell a number. The students should come together based on the number.

If the teacher says 3 then the 3 students should come together. The student who does not belong to a group has to miss a turn and pretend to take “an oxygen mask” until the teacher freezes the flight again.

The game continues until the last grouping is 4 people in 6 groups.

Phase 3

There will be 5 groups including 5 students in each group. The teacher will distribute the world map for each student and a dice for each group and some colorful pens.

In this world map there are 6 continents with the names on. The purpose of the game is to fill in world map with coloring the continents. Each student rolls the dice and fill in the map based on the number.

1.    Antarctica

2.    Europe and Asia

3.    North America

4.    South America

5.    Africa

6.    Australia

If the student has the same dice that already filled in so the student should wait until next turn. When a student fills all continents they should shout “MAP”.

Tips to the teacher:

Counting the continents can change in different education system. Thus the teacher can arrange the map and the activity based on local reality.

Phase 4

The teacher keeps the same 6 groups. The teacher gives each group a continent. The groups cannot speak to each other but they need to complete the world map. They can communicate with body language. They place themselves in the classroom as world map. When they finish they freeze.

Phase 5

The desks and the chairs will be organized back to the order they usually are.

Reflection will be on the today’s workshop especially on;

–       Which continent is the biggest one?

–       In Which continent do more people live?

–       Can there be different times in different content?

–       Can there be different seasons in different content?