Teaching the Continents and Oceans to Young Children

For parents and teachers · 3 min read

Naming and finding the seven continents and five oceans is one of the first world-map skills children learn at school, often at age 5 to 7. It gives them the “big picture” that everything else, from countries to animals to weather, fits into. Here is a simple way to teach it at home or in class.

The seven continents

Most English-speaking schools teach seven continents. From largest to smallest by area:

Asia
Africa
North America
South America
Antarctica
Europe
Australia (often taught as Oceania, with the Pacific islands)

The five oceans

From largest to smallest:

Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Southern Ocean (around Antarctica)
Arctic Ocean (around the North Pole)

Start with a big, simple map

Use a world map with the continents in clearly different colours and no country borders. Too much detail at the start makes it hard to see the shapes. Point out that water covers most of the Earth: about 71 percent of its surface is ocean.

Then find where you live. Children understand the map better once they know where “here” is, and where family or friends live.

Shapes and stories help children remember

South America looks like an ice-cream cone or a carrot.
Africa sits right in the middle of most world maps, with the Equator running across it.
Australia is a continent and a country at the same time.
Antarctica is at the bottom, white and icy, and has no countries at all.
Asia is the biggest continent, and more people live there than on all the others put together.
The Pacific is the biggest ocean: it is bigger than all the land on Earth put together.

Watch out for these mix-ups

Europe and Asia are joined: they are one big piece of land, and the line between them is a line people agreed on.
North and South America are joined by a thin strip of land called Central America.
Some countries teach six continents (for example, joining North and South America into one America). If your child’s school does, follow the school.
The Arctic is an ocean with floating ice; Antarctica is land covered in ice. Children often swap them.

Hands-on activities

Continent puzzle: cut the continents out of a printed map and have your child put the world back together.
Animal match: which continent does a kangaroo, a penguin, a panda or a lion come from?
Beach-ball globe: throw an inflatable globe; whoever catches it names the continent or ocean under their right thumb. (It lands on water more often than land, which surprises children.)
Label the world: Flagoo’s printable blank world map has spaces for all seven continents and five oceans.

Then make it a game

Once children know the names, practise finding them quickly. In Continents & Oceans on Flagoo, children hear a name and tap the place on the map, and a wrong tap shows the right spot in green. Animals & Habitats then connects the continents to the animals that live there.

Questions parents and teachers ask

How many continents are there?

Most English-speaking schools teach seven: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia (or Oceania). Some countries count six by joining the Americas or Europe and Asia.

How many oceans are there?

Five: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans. The Pacific is the largest and the Arctic is the smallest.

At what age do children learn the continents?

Usually between ages 5 and 7. In England, naming and locating the seven continents and five oceans is part of the Key Stage 1 geography curriculum.

Flagoo team · Updated 2026-10-12

Practise it on Flagoo

Continents & Oceans: Tap the continent or ocean on the map
Animals & Habitats: Rainforest, desert, ocean… who lives where?
Map Skills: Compass, map symbols, grid squares & the globe
Find it on the Map: Hear a country, point to it
Blank world map (printable)
Geography facts for kids

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