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Cultural: Continent Globe

Young children don’t naturally have an understanding of the great wide world outside of their own context – they live within the confines of home, family, school (and wherever else they spend the majority of their time). The Continent Globe lesson is how children start to learn where they exist in the world in relation to other places; they will learn the names and placement of continents on the globe, and to locate themselves within that framework.

montessori continent globe

For this lesson, Montessori classrooms use a special globe that breaks down the specific continents by colour:

  • North America: orange
  • South America: pink
  • Europe: red
  • Africa: green
  • Asia: yellow
  • Australasia/ Australia: brown
  • Antarctica: white

These colours will be applied to all lessons with continents across the curriculum in order to assist with memory and learning. It is however totally fine to present this lesson at home with whatever globe you have available.

Start by talking to your child about how the globe is a sphere that represents the plant on which we live. Point out the continents (land) and the blue on the globe, which represents water, before naming the continents. Have a look at the following tutorial by My Montessori Works for a great little song that will help children remember the names of the seven continents:

Once you have presented the lesson and practised the Continent Song, you might like to invite your child to name the continents on the globe. For extra context and understanding, think about the continents in relation to any friends or family members that may live on another continent – plotting travel routes on the globe.

If you’d like further information about this tutorial, feel free to contact us at info@saintandrewsmontessori.com. We’re happy to answer any questions.