Before the lesson
- On a projector, open the menu (top right) and choose the Light look: it is made for bright rooms.
- To present, press P, or the present button by the zoom: the panels step aside and the captions grow. Esc to come back.
- For a patchy school network, open the site once beforehand: it saves itself and works without internet after that (except street maps).
1The 7 continents and 5 oceans, Key stage 1
Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans.
Show it
- Europe beside AfricaTwo continents at their true size. Drag Europe down onto Africa: Africa is about five times bigger.
- Tap the seaTap any ocean for its name and its true area. Turn the globe to see how the five oceans join up.
- How big is Africa, really?A story: the United States, China, India and Europe all fit inside Africa, with room left over.
Ask
- Which is the biggest continent, and which is the smallest?
- Which ocean would a ship cross to sail from the UK to Brazil?
Check
Find it on the Earth: three of each day’s five are a continent or an ocean to tap.
2Hot and cold places, Key stage 1
Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles.
Show it
- Is the Sun ever straight overhead?A story: the Sun is high over the Equator all year and low near the Poles, where its light is spread thin.
- Why do we have seasons?A story: the Earth leans over as it goes round the Sun, so each half takes its turn tilted towards it.
- Day and night in DecemberIt opens on 21 December. Turn the dial through the day: the North Pole stays in the dark the whole time, while the Equator gets its usual 12 hours.
Ask
- Why is it hotter at the Equator than at the North Pole?
- Why is it summer in Australia when it is winter in the UK?
Check
Children shade the hot belt and the two cold caps on a blank world map, then open the story of the Earth’s imaginary lines to check.
3The countries of Europe and the Americas, Key stage 2
Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities.
Show it
- Russia, at its true sizeIts own page: the biggest country, 16.9 million km², which Mercator draws at about six times its true size.
- Russia laid over AfricaMoved to the Equator, Russia covers barely half of Africa. Drag it back north: on Equal Earth its area stays the same wherever it goes.
- North and South AmericaThe two continents side by side at their true size: 24.2 and 17.7 million km².
- Every country, rankedAll 242 countries and territories by true area, with how much Mercator enlarges each one.
- Major citiesSearch for a city, such as Rio de Janeiro or Moscow, and the map flies there, right down to its streets.
Ask
- Russia looks bigger than Africa on most maps. Is it?
- Which is bigger, Brazil or the United States? Guess, then check.
Check
Today’s five: five pairs of countries a day, and which of each pair is bigger.
4Latitude, longitude and the lines round the Earth, Key stage 2
Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night).
Show it
- The Earth’s imaginary linesA story that draws each line in turn and says why it is where it is.
- The lines on MercatorSwitch on Earth’s lines in the map layers. On Mercator the lines of latitude spread further apart towards the Poles: that spreading is the stretch.
- The Prime Meridian through GreenwichSwitch on Earth’s lines in the map layers: the line that starts the count of longitude runs through London, so the UK is in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Ask
- Which hemispheres is the UK in?
- Why is the Tropic of Cancer where it is, and not somewhere else?
Check
Find it on the Earth: each day, one of the five is a line, and one is a place given only by its latitude and longitude.
5Time zones, day and night, Key stage 2
…the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night).
Show it
- What time is it there?A story: every 15° of longitude is an hour, and the date changes at the line opposite Greenwich.
- The sun dialTurn the dial: day and night sweep round the Earth, and the hours along the map turn with them.
- How far ahead is Japan?Each country’s card gives its local time, and how far ahead of you or behind you it is.
Ask
- When it is noon in London, what time is it in Tokyo?
- If you fly west across the 180° line, what happens to the date?
Check
Children pick three cities, work out their times from London’s on paper, then check each one on its country’s card.
6Maps, atlases and globes, Key stages 1 and 2
Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied.
Show it
- The globe, folded flatPress Equal Earth under the map to fold the globe flat, and back: a flat map always has to stretch something.
- A chart for sailorsA Learn chapter: the most famous map was made for ships, not for comparing sizes.
- Greenland on two mapsGreenland on Mercator, then press Equal Earth: the same island at its true size.
Ask
- What does a globe show truly that a flat map cannot?
- Why do the maps on phones still make the north look so big?
Check
Children find one country on the classroom wall map and on EqualGlobe, and explain why it looks a different size.
What children often think
Each of these comes from the maps children have seen, and each has a view that answers it.
- ✕"Greenland is about as big as Africa." Africa is fourteen times bigger. Mercator, the map most of us know, enlarges land near the Poles. How small is Greenland, really?
- ✕"Russia is bigger than Africa." Russia is the biggest country, but Africa is nearly twice its size. Russia laid over Africa
- ✕"Europe is one of the biggest continents." It is one of the smallest. Africa is about five times its size. Europe beside Africa
- ✕"It’s hotter at the Equator because it’s closer to the Sun." The Sun is higher in the sky there, so its light falls on less ground. Is the Sun ever straight overhead?
- ✕"It’s the same time everywhere." When it is morning in the UK, it is evening in Japan. What time is it there?
- ✕"The lines on the map are really there." They are imaginary, drawn to help us find places, and each is where it is for a reason. The Earth’s imaginary lines
The statutory requirements are quoted from the national curriculum in England: geography programmes of study (Department for Education, 2013), under the Open Government Licence v3.0.