Countries of Europe and the Americas
Locate the world's countries and major cities using maps and atlases, with a focus on Europe (including Russia) and North and South America; know key physical and human features of the countries studied
What a learner can do afterwards
- Locate major countries of Europe and the Americas on a map (e.g., finding France, Russia, Brazil, the USA)
- Name capital or major cities of countries studied (e.g., Paris, Moscow, Buenos Aires)
- Describe a key feature of a country studied (e.g., 'the Andes run down the west side of South America')
1 · Read
An atlas is a book of maps that can take you anywhere in the world without leaving your seat. Each map shows countries side by side, like puzzle pieces fitting together. Every country has a capital city, the city where its government works. France is in Europe. In this topic, you will find countries in Europe, including Russia, and countries in North and South America.
Leo wants to find France. He checks the atlas index and reads 'France... page 12, C4.' He turns to page 12, finds column C and row 4, and spots France on the map, between Spain and Germany. Its capital city is Paris.
Russia's capital is Moscow. Brazil's capital is Brasilia. Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, and Madrid is the capital of Spain. The capital of the USA is Washington, D.C. New York City is big and famous, but it is not the capital. Russia stretches across Europe and Asia. The Andes run down the west side of South America. The Amazon covers much of the north of Brazil.
Maps often mark capital cities with a star, not a plain dot. When you learn a country, learn three things: where it sits, its capital, and one fact about it, like 'the Andes run down the west side of South America.'
Countries sit next to each other on the map, and each one has a capital city and its own special feature to remember.
More to read
Currency Symbols Used Around the World (With Codes)
Every country has its own kind of money, and each kind has its own symbol. When you study the countries of the world, money is a fun clue about who lives there.
In North America, the United States and Canada both use dollars. The symbol for the dollar looks like an S with a line through it: $. In many countries of South America and Latin America, people use the peso. The peso also uses a $ sign, so writers add letters to tell them apart.
In Europe, many countries share one kind of money called the euro. Its symbol looks like a curly E. France, Spain, Germany, and Italy all use the euro. The United Kingdom does not. It uses the pound, which has a symbol that looks like a fancy L.
So if you travel from Paris to London, you would change your euros into pounds. And if you flew from the United States to Brazil, you would trade your dollars for the money of Brazil, called the real.
Next time you look at a world map, try to guess what money each country uses.
How Do You Get To The North Pole?
Find the top of a globe. That very top spot is the North Pole. It is the northernmost place on Earth. If you stood there, every direction you walked would be south.
There is no land at the North Pole. It sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, on top of floating sea ice. The ice drifts and cracks, so nobody can build a town there.
Look at a world map or atlas. The North Pole is far north of the countries of Europe and North America. Norway is one of the European countries closest to it. Canada, in North America, is close to it too. So is Russia, which stretches across the top of Europe and Asia.
How do people visit? The fastest way is to fly. Many flights to the North Pole leave from Norway. Some explorers go by special ships that can smash through ice. A few very brave people have even skied there across the frozen ocean.
It is always cold at the North Pole, even in summer. But polar bears, seals, and Arctic foxes live in the lands and seas around it.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.