GeographyThe world map25 min★★ difficulty

Europe and the Americas

From the fjords of Norway to the Andes of South America, this half of the world map shapes trade, migration and culture that reach the UK every day.

Part of your national curriculum

Locational knowledge: Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Europe and North and South America

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Europe and North and South America

Key learning points

• Europe's patchwork
• North America
• South America
• Connections

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

extendlocationalknowledgedeepenspatial

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%

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Part 1 of 14

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Europe and the Americas

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 Europe and North and South America

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Europe's patchwork

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Europe's patchwork

Europe packs around 44 countries into a relatively small area. The Alps separate warmer Mediterranean states like Italy and Greece from cooler northern ones, while the North European Plain stretches from France to Russia, shaping historic trade and invasion routes.

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

North America

Canada, the USA and Mexico dominate North America. The Rocky Mountains run down the west, the Great Lakes sit on the Canada–USA border, and the Mississippi River drains the central plains into the Gulf of Mexico.

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

Which mountain range runs the length of South America's west coast?

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.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

Which canal links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Central America?

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · South America

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

South America

The Andes, the world's longest mountain range, run the length of South America's west coast, while the Amazon Rainforest and River dominate the north, spreading across Brazil, Peru and several neighbouring countries.

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 14

Learn

Connections

The Panama Canal cuts through Central America linking the Pacific and Atlantic, while transatlantic trade and migration have long connected Europe with the Americas.

Quick check

Part 11 of 14

Quick check

Which river dominates northern South America?

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: Europe and the Americas

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Which mountain range runs the length of South America's west coast?
2. Which canal links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Central America?
3. Which river dominates northern South America?

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

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Do 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.

Case study

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
Writing
Write the place, the facts and the figures from this lesson so you can revise them later.
Half a page
Explain answer
Writing
Answer in full sentences, giving causes and effects. Use one figure or place name as evidence.
8–10 sentences
Map or sketch
Diagram
Draw the map, cross-section or field sketch with a key, title and labels, then photograph it.
1 map with a key
Data work
Working out
Plot your figures as a graph on paper and write one sentence about the pattern.
1 graph + 1 sentence

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

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Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world's countries, focusing on Europe and North and South America