Free educational resources from Science

Continents: Large Areas of Land

Imagine the Earth is like a big ball with huge pieces of land stuck on it. Those are the continents! There are several:

• • Africa: It’s a continent with a lot of wild nature, and it’s very hot in some areas. Lions, elephants, and giraffes live here!
  • America: It’s a very long continent, divided into North America (where the United States and Canada are) and South America (where Brazil and Argentina are). It has everything from very cold places to tropical rainforests!
  • Asia is the largest continent. Many people live here, and it has very tall mountains, like Mount Everest!
  • Europe: It’s where we live. It’s a smaller continent compared to the others, and it has many countries close together.
  • Oceania: It’s a continent made up of many islands. The largest one is Australia, where kangaroos live!
  • Arctic: It’s at the North Pole, the coldest part of the planet. Almost everything here is ice!

These continents are spread all over the Earth. They are very important because people live on them, and animals and plants grow there too. Each continent has different landscapes and living things!

Oceans: Enormous Areas of Water

Now think about the huge areas of salty water that surround the continents. Those are the oceans! The main ones are:

• Atlantic Ocean: It is between America and Europe and Africa. It’s very large and has many stories of ships sailing across it!
• Indian Ocean: It’s below Asia and between Africa and Australia. It’s a warm ocean!
• Pacific Ocean: It’s the largest ocean of all. It covers almost half of the Earth! It is between America and Asia and Australia.
• Arctic Ocean: It surrounds the North Pole. It’s a very cold ocean and is covered in ice!

Oceans are super important because they regulate the climate of the whole planet, like a giant air conditioner. Also, lots and lots of sea animals and plants live in them.

The Connection:

Continents and oceans are connected. The oceans surround the continents and sometimes separate them. Rivers that start on the continents often flow into the oceans. Everything on our planet is connected!

We recommend watching this short documentary video that will leave you with your mouth wide open!