Continents lesson

1. CONTINENTS
MRS. GLADIMAR DE JESÚS
SOCIAL STUDIES
SIXTH GRADE

2. THE SIX CONTINENTS OF THE EARTH
• POPULATION IS ESTABLISHED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. THER ARE SIX
CONTINENTS ON THE PLANET EARTH:
• AMERICA
• ASIA
• AFRICA
• EUROPE
• OCEANIA
• ANTARTICA

3. AMERICA
• AMERICA IS THE SECOND LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE PLANET. IT CONSISTS OF
TWO MASSES OF LAND AND SEVERAL ISLANDS. IT IS DIVIDED IN THREE REGIONS:
• NORTH AMERICA
• CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
• SOUTH AMERICA
• IN AMERICA, THE RELIEF CONSISTS MAINLY OF PLAINS, VALLEYS, MOUNTAINS,
MOUNTAIN RENGES, AND PLATEAUS. THE COAST AND THE CLIMATE ARE
DIVERSE IN THIS CONTINENT.

5. ASIA
• ASIA IS THE LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE WORLD.
• REGIONS;
• ASIA IS DIVIDED ON VARIOUS REGIONS:
• NORTHERN ASIA
• CENTRAL ASIA
• SOUTHERN ASIA, WHICH INCLUDES THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE SOUTH OF THE HIMALAYAS
AND VARIOUS OTHERS ADJACENT FROM THE EAST AND WEST.
• RELIEF;
• ASIA HAS A VARIED RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY LONG AND HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES.
THE HIMALAYAN RANGE (WHERE MOUNTAIN EVEREST, THE WORLD’S HIGHEST PEAK,
IS) STANDS OUT. ASIA ALSO HAS LARGE PLATEAUS AND SEVERAL PLAINS. THE
SIBERIAN PLATEAU, INTERRUPTED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS, STRETCHES ALL THE
WAY INTO EUROPE. YOU MAY ALSO FIND ARCHIPELAGOS AND PENINSULAS
SURROUNDING THE CONTINENT.

6. ASIA
• BODIES OF WATER;
• ASIA HAS LONG AND LARGE RIVERS SUCH AS THE YANGTZE IN CHINA. AMONG THE
ASIAN LAKES, THE CASPIAN SEA, A SALT WATER LAKE, STANDS OUT. IT IS LOCATED
BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA AND IS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
• CLIMATE
• ASIA PRESENTS A DIVERSIFIED CLIMATE BECAUSE OF ITS VAST TERRITORIAL
EXTENSION. IT HAS REGIONS IN THE COLD, TEMPERATE, AND WARM ZONES.
• ON THE OTHER HAND, ASIAN WINTERS ARE COLD AND DRY BECAUSE WINDS BLOW
FROM LAND TO SEA. IN THE SUMMER, THE WIND BLOWS FROM THE OCEAN TO THE
LAND, WHICH CAUSES A LOT OF HUMIDITY AND RAIN. THIS TYPE OF CLIMATE IS
KNOWN AS MONSOON.
• MONSON IS THE TYPE OF WIND THAT BLOWS PARTICULARLY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.

8. AFRICA
• AFRICA IS THE THIRD LARGEST CONTINENT ON EARTH. IN AFRICA THERE IS
GREAT DIVERSITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
• REGIONS;
• AFRICA IS DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN REGIONS:
• NORTHERN AFRICA
• SUB-SAHARA AFRICA, LOCATED SOUTH OF THE SAHARA DESERT.
• RELIEF;
• GRAND PLATEAUS AND MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS FROM THE AFRICAN RELIEF. THERE
ARE ALSO ABUNDANT SAVANNAHS. IT HAS SEVERAL DEPRESSIONS, SOME IN THE
KALAHARI DESERT. THE GREAT AFRICAN PLATEAU OCCUPIES MOST OF THE
CONTINENT.
• THE CONTINENT’S LARGEST ISLAND, MADAGASCAR, IS LOCATED IN THE INDIAN
OCEAN.

9. AFRICA
• BODIES OF WATER;
• IN SOME PARTS OF AFRICA THERE ARE MANY RIVERS. THERE ARE ALSO VARIOUS
FRESHWATER LAKES. SOME OF THE RIVERS FEED OFF THE ABUNDANT TROPICAL
RAINS. HOWEVER, MORE THAT HALF THE CONTINENT IS MADE UP OF DESERTIC LAND
WITH NO PERMANENT RIVERS.
• CLIMATE;
• THE CLIMATE IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT IS MOSTLY UNIFORM. ONLY SOME
SECTORS HAVE TEMPERATE OR COLD CLIMATES. THE HIGH MOUNTAIN REGIONS
HAVE COLD TEMPERATURES AND ABUNDANT RAIN.
• IN THE WARM ZONES OF AFRICA, EQUATORIAL, TROPICAL, AND DESERTIC WEATHERS
ARE PRESENT. THE MEDITERRANEAN AND OCEANIC ZONES HAVE TEMPERATE
CLIMATES. SUMMERS ARE HOT AND WINTERS, MILD. RAIN MAINLY FALLS IN SPRING
AND AUTUMN. ON THE OTHER HAND, AREAS WITH OCEANIC CLIMATE REGISTER
ABUNDANT RAINFALL AND FAIR TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

11. EUROPE
• EUROPE IS THE SECOND SMALLEST CONTINENT OF ALL.
• REGIONS;
• EUROPE IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE REGIONS:
• NORTHERN EUROPE
• ATLANTIC EUROPE
• CENTRAL EUROPE
• EASTERN EUROPE
• MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE, WHICH CONSISTS OF THREE PENINSULAS: BALKAN, IBERIAN, AND
ITALIAN.
• RELIEF;
• EUROPE IS A CONTINENT WITH VARIOUS PENINSULAS. IT ALSO HAS PLAINS IN THE CENTER.
IN THE NORTH AND EAST, IT HAS ANCIENT MOUNTAINS. THE ALPINE RANGE FORMS AN
ARCH ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN. ITS COAST ARE VARIED BECAUSE OF THE LARGE
NUMBER OF PENINSULAS AND ISTHMI.
• ISTHMUS IS A LONG AND NARROW STRETCH OF LAND WITH SEA ON BOTH SIDES THAT LINKS
TWO LARGES AREAS OF LAND.

12. EUROPE
• BODIES OF WATER;
• IN EUROPE THERE ARE MANY SHORT RIVERS. SOME ARE USED FOR NAVIGATION AND
OTHERS ARE IMPORTANT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.
• CLIMATE;
• MOST OF EUROPE IS LOCATED IN THE TEMPERATE ZONE. CLIMATE IS MODERATE AND
DOES NOT CHANGE MUCH FROM ONE REGION TO THE OTHER. NORTHERN EUROPE IS
IN THE PLANET’S COLD ZONE.

14. • EURASIA
• MANY SCHOLARS JOIN THE CONTINENTS OF EUROPE AND ASIA
BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF A SINGLE CONTINENTAL MASS. THEY
CALL IT EURASIA. OTHERWISE, THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS TWO
DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, SEPARATED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND
THEIR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

15. OCEANIA
• OCEANIA IS THE SMALLEST CONTINENT AND HAS A VERY CHARACTERISTIC
RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY NEARLY TWENTY THOUSAND ISLANDS OF DIFFERENT
SIZES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. AUSTRALIA IS THE EARTH’S LARGEST ISLAND AND
PART OD THIS CONTINENT.
• REGIONS;
• OCEANIA IS COMPOSED OF FOUR REGIONS:
• AUSTRALIA
• MELANESIA
• MICRONESIA
• POLYNESIA
• RELIEF;
• THE AUSTRALIAN RELIEF IS MADE UP OF PLATEAUS AND PLAINS. IT HAS SEVERAL
DESERTS, A CENTRAL DEPRESSION, AND THE GREAT DIVIDED RANGE. THE ISLANDS
OD OCEANIA ARE OF VOLCANIC AND CORAL ORIGIN AND HAVE VERY FERTILE SOIL.

16. OCEANIA
• CLIMATE;
• A WARM CLIMATE PREVAILS IN OCEANIA. THE ISLANDS CLOSE TO THE EQUATOR ARE
HUMID, WITH ABUNDANT PRECIPITATION. THERE ARE OTHER ZONES IN THE TROPIC,
WHICH HAVE A DRY AND A RAINY SEASON. AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR IS ARID AND DRY
BECAUSE IT HARDLY RAINS. THE COAST RECEIVES PLENTY OF RAIN WITH SOME
FREQUENCY.
• BODY OF WATER;
• THE DRY CLIMATE IN AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR PREVENTS THE EXISTENCE OF
IMPORTANT, LARGE RIVERS. THE ISLANDS ARE SO SMALL THEY DO NOT HAVE
SIGNIFICANT BODIES OF WATER.

18. ANTARCTICA
• YOU ALREADY KNOW THE EARTH’S POLES ARE LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN AND
SOUTHERN ENDS OF THE PLANET. BECAUSE OF THEIR LOCATION, THESE AREAS
RECEIVE LESS SUNLIGHT. THEREFORE, THEY ARE VERY COLD PLACES COVERED
WITH ICE ALL YEAR LONG. THE ARTIC OCEAN IS LOCATED IN THE NORTH POLE,
INSIDE THE ARTIC CIRCLE. IT OCCUPIES GREAT PART OF THIS REGION, WHICH
CONTAINS MANY PENINSULAS.
• ANTARCTICA IS LOCATED IN THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE, IN THE SOUTH POLE. IT’S
LARGER THAN EUROPE AND THE LEAST ACCESSIBLE CONTINENT, BECAUSE IT’S
ALWAYS COVERED WITH ICE.
• IT WAS THE LAST REGION ON EARTH TO BE EXPLORED BY HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS
FREQUENTLY EXCLUDED FROM THE GROUP OF CONTINENTS BECAUSE IT DOES
NOT HAVE A PERMANENT POPULATION. NEITHER DOES IT HAVE A HISTORICAL
OR CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD. THERE ARE ONLY
SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS THAT WORK IN RESEARCH STATIONS. THESE RESEARCH
PROJECTS MAY ONLY HAVE PEACEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES.

19. ANTARCTICA
• AT LEAST 95% OF THE RELIEF IS COVERED WITH A GREAT MASS OF ICE,
SURROUNDED BY THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN. CLOSE TO 90% OF THE EARTH’S
FRESHWATER IS IN ANTARCTICA, FROZEN INTO HUGE GLACIERS.
• THIS CONTINENT’S TEMPERATURES IS THE COLDEST IN THE WORLD. IT HARDLY
EVER RAINS AND IT ALWAYS RECEIVES FREEZING WINDS. IN THE CONTINENT,
FAUNA IS SCARCE, BUT IN THE SURROUNDING OCEAN, IT IS ABUNDANT. DURING
SUMMER, THERE IS DAYLIGHT 24 HOURS, WHILE IN THE WINTER IT IS ALWAYS
NIGHT.

22. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• OBTAINED OF:
• SANTILLANA; SOCIAL STUDIES 6, TEXT BOOK, PART OF THE YASIBÍ PROJECT, P. 18-23