Continental drift

Maybe it was the growling of my stomach as I began writing this post. Maybe it was watching the 3 reams of paper go through the copy machine: worksheets destined for student desks, and ultimately, the trash. Either way, when I started researching creative methods for teaching students about continents, I looked for engaging and meaningful activities that would leave students with a lasting curiosity about how the earth came to look the way it looks today. Many students have learned about this topic on a very basic level, so I was looking for resources that would challenge students of all ages and skill levels to make learning connections with other subjects.

Every year, a new crop of students begins to learn about the continents. In the U.S. and Canada, students learn that there are seven continents, while students in some other countries may learn that there are as few as five or six continents (with North and South America combined into a single continent, called “the Americas”, and/or Asia and Europe combined into “Eurasia”). They learn about the distinguishing features of continents, such as the topography, geology, native plants and animals, and so forth. They also learn that, despite their massive size, the continents are constantly in flux.