Our World, Our Classroom: A 7 Continents 3D Globe Craft for ESL Students (Back to School Activity)

Our World, Our Classroom: A 7 Continents 3D Globe Craft for ESL Students

As ESL teachers, we are often asked to do more than teach English. We support students during math, science, social studies, and other content-area lessons. We help students understand vocabulary, follow directions, and find the language they need to participate. But there is another important part of these lessons. Our students bring their own stories, languages, cultures, and countries with them.

Sometimes, a simple geography lesson gives us the perfect opportunity to make space for those stories.

back-to-school-maps-globes-3-d-globe-community-activity

Disclaimer: In this blog, the terms ESL students (English as a Second Language), ELLs (English Language Learners), and ML (Multilingual Learners) are used interchangeably. While “Multilingual Learners” is becoming the more widely accepted term, “ESL students” and “English Language Learners” are still commonly used in various contexts. My aim is to be inclusive and clear to all readers, regardless of the terminology they are familiar with.

ESL and Social Studies: Learning About the 7 Continents

The 7 continents are a natural topic for an ESL and social studies lesson. Students learn geography vocabulary. They look at maps. They locate countries. They practice speaking. But you can also make the lesson personal. Instead of only asking students to name the continents, ask: “Where are you from?”Then help students find their country on a map.You might model: “I am from Mexico. Mexico is in North America.”

This gives students a reason to use the language they are learning. They are not simply repeating a sentence about a random place. They are talking about their own country and their own connection to the world.

A Perfect Back to School Integration Activity

This 7 Continents 3D Globe Craft is a great activity to use during Back to School integration when you are connecting ESL instruction with social studies and geography.

It gives you a natural way to introduce the seven continents while also getting to know your students. Ask students: “Where are you from?” Help them locate their country on the map. Then have them add their name or a heart to their country.

You can also create one large class 3D globe.

Go around the classroom one student at a time. Each student shares where they are from, identifies their country on the map, and adds their name or a heart. The finished globe becomes a visual representation of your classroom community.

But You Don't Have to Use It Only in September

The activity can also be revisited throughout the school year. Use it when you begin a geography or maps and globes unit. Bring it back when students are learning about countries, continents, cultures, or communities. Use the completed globes for partner speaking practice.

Ask students to find a classmate's country. Have students practice:

“I am from ______.” “______ is on the ______ continent.”

More advanced students can practice asking and answering questions with classmates.

This makes the globe craft more than a one-day Back to School activity. It can become a useful part of your ESL, social studies, geography, and language instruction throughout the year.

Differentiating the 7 Continents Globe Craft for ESL Learners

back-to-school-maps-globes-3-d-7-continents-activity

Students may come to the lesson with very different levels of English and geography knowledge. That is why the craft includes three levels.

Build the Globe: Students cut, assemble, and build the globe.
Match & Build: Students match continent names to the correct continents before assembling.
Label & Build: Students identify and label the continents independently.

There are also color and black-and-white versions. This makes it easy to use the same activity with students who need different levels of support.

You can also begin with a quick 7 continents smallest-to-largest warm-up before students start the craft.

From a Geography Lesson to a Meaningful ESL Lesson

The best integrated lessons do not always require a complicated plan. Sometimes, it is simply about finding a connection. A lesson about continents becomes a lesson about countries. A map activity becomes a speaking activity. A craft becomes a classroom community project. And students get to see themselves on the map.

Whether you use it as a Back to School ESL integration activity, as part of a social studies or geography unit, or revisit it throughout the school year, the 7 Continents 3D Globe Craft gives MLLs a hands-on way to learn geography while connecting their own experiences to the lesson.

Need more ESL community building activities? Check out this blog post!

Want to Take This Integration Further?

If you would like a full 33-day literacy and social studies unit plan with ESL differentiations and integrations, including science investigations, check out this resource.