Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
Half the world's land and most of its population sit across these four regions. A good mental map here unlocks the news, trade and travel.
Part of your national curriculum
- Locational knowledge: Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
Key learning points
- • Africa's scale
- • Russia's reach
- • Asia's giants
- • Why location matters
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
An English teaching video on this topic from Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Africa's scale
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Africa's scale
Africa contains 54 countries and could fit the USA, China, India and much of Europe inside its borders. The Sahara divides a mostly arid north from a more tropical, densely populated south, where Nigeria alone has over 200 million people.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Russia's reach
Russia spans 11 time zones from Kaliningrad to the Bering Strait, more than any other country. Most Russians live in the western fifth, near Moscow and St Petersburg, while Siberia remains vast and sparsely populated.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
Which mountain range is often used to mark the boundary between Europe and Asia within Russia?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
Which desert separates North Africa from Sub-Saharan Africa?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Asia's giants
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
Asia's giants
Asia holds China and India, the world's two most populous countries, alongside deserts, the Himalayas and dense archipelagos like Indonesia. The Middle East, centred on the Arabian Peninsula, links Africa, Asia and Europe and holds huge oil reserves around the Persian Gulf.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 14
Learn
Why location matters
Knowing where the Sahel, the Tigris-Euphrates or the Ural Mountains lie helps explain conflict, migration, trade routes and climate patterns you meet across the news and in other subjects.
Quick check
Part 11 of 14
Quick check
Which two countries are the world's most populous?
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which mountain range is often used to mark the boundary between Europe and Asia within Russia?
2. Which desert separates North Africa from Sub-Saharan Africa?
3. Which two countries are the world's most populous?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Flooding on the River Calder
The town of Harbrook sits where a steep valley opens onto a flat floodplain. In December 2015, 120 mm of rain fell in 36 hours onto ground that was already saturated. The river rose 2.4 m in five hours, and 380 homes and 54 businesses flooded. Two roads and the railway closed for eleven days.
Geographers pointed to physical causes — steep slopes, impermeable rock, heavy rainfall — and human causes: moorland drained upstream, new housing built on the floodplain, and drains designed for smaller storms.
Since then the town has planted 40 hectares of woodland upstream, built leaky dams in small streams, and raised flood walls to 1.8 m. In the storm of 2020 the peak river level was 0.3 m lower and 40 homes flooded, not 380.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- List two physical and two human causes of the 2015 flood.
- Explain how planting woodland upstream lowers the river's peak level.
- Using the figures, judge how successful the scheme has been. Quote data in your answer.
Case study notes
WritingWrite the place, the facts and the figures from this lesson so you can revise them later.
Half a page
Explain answer
WritingAnswer in full sentences, giving causes and effects. Use one figure or place name as evidence.
8–10 sentences
Map or sketch
DiagramDraw the map, cross-section or field sketch with a key, title and labels, then photograph it.
1 map with a key
Data work
Working outPlot your figures as a graph on paper and write one sentence about the pattern.
1 graph + 1 sentence
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
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Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East