LOST CONTINENTS - CHILDRENS UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCATION AND ORIENTATION OF THE EARTHS LAND MASSES

Fifty-three 10-11 year-old children were asked to identify continent s hapes and to arrange them to form a map of the world. They were also a sked to arrange similar shapes on a plain spherical surface to make a globe. Australasia, Europe and Asia were the most recognised continent s. Although shapes were arranged with considerable accuracy to form a world map, shapes on the globe were arranged so as to be bunched aroun d the equator. Africa and Antarctica were least well known, least corr ectly located and their orientations most misaligned. Possible reasons for this are discussed and some teaching approaches suggested.