What each grade learns › Kindergarten › Geography

What does a kindergartner learn in Geography?

Your child learns to find home on a map and globe, tell land from water, and name landforms and weather patterns. They also learn how people use the land, and they meet the seven continents and some special places around the world. Every le

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36 weeks, 72 lessons, in 8 units. Every school and state does it a little differently, so think of this as the usual path.

Our Place in the World

Children start with the places they know best, such as home, neighborhood and town, and learn position words, which are the first steps to reading maps.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.1.K-2, D2.Geo.2.K-2
  1. Week 1: What is geography? Learning about placesAt home: Ask your child to name three places they have been this week and what each place looked like.
  2. Week 1: Where is home? My house and my addressAt home: Help your child say their street address out loud and find your house number outside.
  3. Week 2: My neighborhood: places close to homeAt home: On a walk, point out places near your home, like a park, a store, or a mailbox, and name each one.
  4. Week 2: Near and farAt home: Ask your child to sort things they know into near (the kitchen) and far (grandma's house).
  5. Week 3: Position words: up, down, over, underAt home: Play a game with a toy and a box: put it over, under, on, and beside the box.
  6. Week 3: Position words: next to, between, in front, behindAt home: Line up three stuffed animals and ask which one is between the other two.
  7. Week 4: My town, my state, my countryAt home: Say the name of your town, state, and country together, and ask your child to repeat them.
  8. Week 4: Earth is our homeAt home: Look at a picture of Earth from space and talk about how everyone you know lives on this one planet.

Maps and Globes

Children learn what maps and globes show, how to read pictures and symbols, and how directions help us find places.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.1.K-2, D2.Geo.2.K-2, D2.Geo.3.K-2
  1. Week 5: Land and water on EarthAt home: Show your child a picture of Earth and have them point to the blue (water) and the green or brown (land).
  2. Week 5: What is a map?At home: Look at any simple map, such as one from a zoo or a mall, and ask, 'What is this showing us?'
  3. Week 6: What is a globe?At home: If you have a globe or ball, point out that a globe is a small model of the whole Earth.
  4. Week 6: Globe or flat map: how are they different?At home: Peel an orange and try to lay the peel flat to see why flat maps stretch the Earth.
  5. Week 7: A bird's-eye view: looking down from aboveAt home: Place a cup, a spoon, and a toy on the table and look straight down to see what shapes they make.
  6. Week 7: Drawing a map of a roomAt home: Have your child draw a simple map of their bedroom showing the bed, door, and window.
  7. Week 8: Pictures and symbols on mapsAt home: Ask your child to make up a symbol for a tree, a house, and a road on their own drawing.
  8. Week 8: The map key: what the symbols meanAt home: Add a small key to your child's room map that shows what each symbol stands for.
  9. Week 9: The compass rose: north and southAt home: Draw a plus sign on paper, label the top N and the bottom S, and point to them together.
  10. Week 9: East and west: the other two directionsAt home: Watch where the sun rises and sets and talk about which direction is east and which is west.

Places and Regions

Children learn to describe different kinds of places, see what makes a place special, and understand that an area can be alike in some ways.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.3.K-2, D2.Geo.4.K-2, D2.Geo.6.K-2
  1. Week 10: Natural places and human-made placesAt home: Go outside and find one thing nature made, like a rock, and one thing people made, like a bench.
  2. Week 10: Places in a community: school, library, fire stationAt home: Name three helpful places in your town and what people do at each one.
  3. Week 11: City, town, and countrysideAt home: Look at photos of a busy city and a quiet farm area and ask what is different.
  4. Week 11: What is a region? Areas that are alikeAt home: Sort a pile of toys into groups, then explain that a region is a big area grouped by what is alike there.
  5. Week 12: Homes around the worldAt home: Look at pictures of different homes, like an apartment, a house, or a houseboat, and talk about why people live in them.
  6. Week 12: Landmarks: special places people knowAt home: Name a landmark near you, like a statue or a bridge, and ask why people remember it.
  7. Week 13: Roads, bridges, and paths connect placesAt home: On a drive or walk, notice the roads and paths you use and where they lead.
  8. Week 13: Places we go in a dayAt home: At bedtime, ask your child to name the places they went today in order.

Landforms and Water

Children learn the names and shapes of landforms and bodies of water, which are the building blocks of every map.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.2.K-2, D2.Geo.6.K-2; NGSS K-ESS2-2
  1. Week 14: Describing a place with wordsAt home: Pick a place, like the park, and describe it with three words, such as green, loud, and big.
  2. Week 14: Mountains: the tallest landformsAt home: Pile up pillows or blankets into a tall mountain and tell your child it is like a real one.
  3. Week 15: Hills and valleysAt home: Make a bumpy landscape with a blanket and show how the low parts between the humps are valleys.
  4. Week 15: Plains: wide, flat landAt home: Smooth out a blanket or tray of flour to show a flat plain, and talk about how far you could see on it.
  5. Week 16: Deserts: dry land with little rainAt home: Feel a bowl of dry sand or salt and talk about why few plants grow in a desert.
  6. Week 16: Islands: land surrounded by waterAt home: Put a small rock in a bowl of water and point to the island with water all around it.
  7. Week 17: Oceans: big salty waterAt home: Stir salt into a cup of water and explain that ocean water tastes salty (don't drink it).
  8. Week 17: Rivers and lakesAt home: Pour a little water down a baking tray tilted slightly and watch it flow like a river.
  9. Week 18: Beaches and coastsAt home: Look at pictures of a beach and point out where the land stops and the water begins.
  10. Week 18: Finding landforms on a mapAt home: Look at a map and ask your child to find blue for water and brown or green for land.

Weather and Climate

Children learn how weather changes day to day, how seasons repeat, and why some places are always hot, cold, wet, or dry.

Standards: NGSS K-ESS2-1, K-ESS3-2; C3 D2.Geo.7.K-2
  1. Week 19: What is weather? Sun, rain, wind, and snowAt home: Look out the window each morning and have your child say what the weather is.
  2. Week 19: The four seasonsAt home: Talk about what you wear and do in each season and draw a picture of your favorite one.
  3. Week 20: Hot placesAt home: Look at pictures of very hot places and talk about what people wear and drink there.
  4. Week 20: Cold placesAt home: Hold an ice cube and talk about how people and animals stay warm in very cold places.
  5. Week 21: Rainy places and rainforestsAt home: Use a spray bottle or sprinkle drops of water on a plant and talk about how rainforest plants get lots of water.
  6. Week 21: Dry places with little rainAt home: Compare a damp sponge and a dry sponge to show a rainy place and a dry place.
  7. Week 22: Climate: the usual weather of a placeAt home: Ask, 'What is the weather usually like here in summer?' and explain that this is the climate.
  8. Week 22: Dressing for the weather and climateAt home: Let your child pick clothes for a hot day, a rainy day, and a snowy day.

How People Use the Land

Children discover that land and water give people food, water, and shelter, and that we should take care of them.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.5.K-2, D2.Geo.8.K-2; NGSS K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3
  1. Week 23: The Sun warms Earth: hot in the middle, cold at the top and bottomAt home: Shine a flashlight on a ball and show that the middle gets the most light while the top and bottom get less.
  2. Week 23: The land gives us what we needAt home: At dinner, ask your child which foods came from plants, animals, or the sea.
  3. Week 24: Farms: using land to grow foodAt home: Plant a bean seed in a cup of soil or a wet paper towel and watch it start to grow.
  4. Week 24: Animals on farms and ranchesAt home: Make a list of foods that come from farm animals, like milk and eggs.
  5. Week 25: Forests: wood and paperAt home: Find three things around your home made from wood or paper, and talk about trees.
  6. Week 25: Where our water comes fromAt home: Turn on the tap and talk about how the water traveled from a river, lake, or underground to your home.
  7. Week 26: Building homes with local materialsAt home: Build a small house with blocks, sticks, or paper and talk about what real houses are made of.
  8. Week 26: Cities and towns: using land for buildings and roadsAt home: Build a mini town with boxes and talk about where the roads, shops, and homes would go.
  9. Week 27: Parks and wild places: saving land for natureAt home: Visit a park or green space and talk about why we keep places for plants and animals.
  10. Week 27: Taking care of Earth: reuse and recycleAt home: Sort a few items into recycle and trash, and think of one way to reuse something at home.

Continents and Oceans

Children learn that Earth's land is divided into seven big continents and that large oceans surround them, which is the first big-picture look at the world map.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.2.K-2, D2.Geo.3.K-2
  1. Week 28: The seven continentsAt home: Say the seven continent names together while pointing to them on a map or globe.
  2. Week 28: North America: our continentAt home: Find North America on a map and point to where you live.
  3. Week 29: South AmericaAt home: Find South America on a globe and trace its shape with your finger.
  4. Week 29: EuropeAt home: Look at a map of Europe and notice how many small countries it has.
  5. Week 30: AfricaAt home: Find Africa on a map and name one animal that lives there, like a lion or an elephant.
  6. Week 30: Asia: the biggest continentAt home: Compare Asia to other continents on a map and notice how large it is.
  7. Week 31: Australia and OceaniaAt home: Find Australia on a map and point out the islands near it.
  8. Week 31: Antarctica: the icy continentAt home: Put an ice cube in a bowl and talk about how Antarctica is covered in ice.

World Regions and People

Children visit special regions around the world, such as polar, rainforest, desert, and island regions, and learn that kids everywhere live in different ways but share the same Earth.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.4.K-2, D2.Geo.6.K-2, D2.Geo.7.K-2
  1. Week 32: The five oceansAt home: Color the water on a simple world map blue and say the ocean names: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic.
  2. Week 32: Polar regions: the Arctic and AntarcticaAt home: Look at pictures of polar bears and penguins and ask which pole each one lives near.
  3. Week 33: Rainforest regions: the AmazonAt home: Find the Amazon rainforest on a map and name a rainforest animal, like a parrot or a sloth.
  4. Week 33: Desert regions: the SaharaAt home: Find the Sahara on a map of Africa and talk about why people there wear light, covering clothes.
  5. Week 34: Grassland regions: the African savannaAt home: Draw a wide grassy field with a tall tree and a giraffe to show a savanna.
  6. Week 34: Mountain regions: the Andes and the HimalayasAt home: Find a mountain range on a map and talk about how people dress when they live high up.
  7. Week 35: Island regions: Hawaii and the Pacific IslandsAt home: Find Hawaii on a globe and see how small it looks in the big ocean.
  8. Week 35: How children live around the worldAt home: Read a picture book about children in another country and talk about how their day is like yours.
  9. Week 36: Countries and their flagsAt home: Look at the flags of your country and one other country and notice the colors and shapes.
  10. Week 36: We all share one EarthAt home: Draw a picture of Earth with people holding hands around it and say one way to care for our world.

Written with AI from what schools usually teach (like the Common Core for math and NGSS for science). Check your state's standards if you need to match them.