Puzzle Map of the Continents

The puzzle map translates the round Earth into a flat form the child can take apart and rebuild. Each continent has its color, its shape, and its place. A continent placed in the wrong socket will not fit — the shape itself is the control.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Cultural Studies
• Learning area: Geography
• Level: Ages 4-5

Objectives

• Name and locate the seven continents
• Develop a sense of the global layout of land
• Refine the pincer grip through use of the small knobs
• Prepare for the puzzle maps of individual continents

Materials

• Puzzle map of the world, each continent removable on a small knob, in its standard Montessori color
• Optional control map

Instructions

1. Bring the puzzle to a table. 2. Remove one continent using the knob, and place it to the side. 3. Name it and invite the child to look at its shape. 4. Remove another, name it, and so on until all continents are on the table. 5. Replace them one by one, naming each. 6. Use a three-period lesson to teach the names. 7. Over subsequent days, compare continent shapes and sizes. 8. Relate each continent to the sandpaper globe. 9. Locate and discuss 'where we live'.

Educator tip

Use the Montessori color code consistently across all maps; the colors become another language that encodes continents.

Assessment

Observe whether the child names and places each continent fluently and carries the color scheme to other materials.

More from Cultural Studies

• Parts of the Flower
• Parts of the Fish
• First Great Lesson: God With No Hands (The Coming of the Universe)
• Time Line of Life
• Fundamental Needs of Humans
• Third Great Lesson: The Coming of Humans
• Impressionistic Chart of Ancient Civilizations
• Second Great Lesson: The Coming of Life