GRADE 5 GEOGRAPHY – TERM 1
Compass
An Instrument that is used to show direction.
1.
Answer true or
false to the
following:
a) The equator divides the Earth into east and west.
b) The South Pole is on the continent of Antarctica.
c) The North Pole is always shown to be at the top of the
globe.
2. Where does the red arrow always point on a compass?
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The Seven Continents
The world is made up of seven different continents. They are
North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia and Antarctica.
Colour in and name all the continents.
North America in Yellow
South America in Purple
Europe in Green
Asia in Pink
Africa in Red
Australia in Orange
Antarctica in Blue
Name places and Give directions.
Use the map of the world below to answer the questions that
follow.
1. Name the seven continents that you see on the map.
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2. Through which two continents does the equator lie?
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3. Name three continents that lie NORTH of the equator.
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4. Name two continents that lie SOUTH of the equator.
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5. Think of the eight directions on a compass. In which
direction from South Africa is each of the following?
6. Name the two Asian countries labelled on the map.
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7. Which continent will you reach if you travel south from
South Africa?
8. In which direction is India from Madagascar?
The Oceans around Africa and African Countries
The huge stretches of ocean on either side of Africa are the
Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean lies
to the west between Africa and the Americas and the Indian Ocean lies
to the East between Africa and India. The two smaller stretches of sea
are the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the north-
east or the continent.
Africa is the second biggest continent in the world. It has 54 countries
and each country has its own government and leader. The 54 countries
are: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso Burundi, Cameroon,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Eswatini (formerly
known as Swaziland),
Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Ivory Coast (Cote
d’Ivoire), Kenya, Lesotho,
Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mayotte,
Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,
Réunion, Rwanda, Saint
Helena, São Tomé and
Príncipe, Senegal,
Seychelles, Sierre Leone,
Somalia, South Africa,
South Sudan, Sudan,
United Republic of
Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Countries on the continent of Africa all have borders. The borders
between countries are shown as red lines on most maps. Sou th Africa
shares a border with six other countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho,
Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
1. Colour in South Africa in RED and its bordering countries in BLUE.
Many countries on the continent have coastlines. This means that they
have sea or ocean along their borders. Some countries have no
coastlines which means that they are landlocked.
2. Which two of South Africa’s bordering countries are costal
countries?
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3. What is the landlocked
country within South
Africa?
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Every country has a capital
city. This is usually where the
government meets. South
Africa has two capital cities:
Pretoria and Cape Town. The
government spends half the
year in each one.
Reading a Map of Africa
Look at the map below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Name the ocean:
a) On the west coast of Africa
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b) On the south and east coast of Africa
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2. Name the sea:
a) To the north of Africa
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b) To the north-east of Africa
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3. Complete the table of the six countries that border South
Africa:
Country Name Capital City Landlocked or
Costal
Namibia
Maseru
Mozambique
Mbabane
Zimbabwe
Botswana
4. What are the two capital cities of South Africa?
5. Which is South Africa’s biggest city?
6. Give the names of three countries that are on the
equator.
7. Name an African country that is also an island.
8. Use the map to name the capital cities of the following
countries:
a) Egypt
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b) Nigeria
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c) Kenya
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Ways of showing height above sea level
A physical map shows natural or physical features. In addition
to mountains, rivers and lakes it shows high and low areas.
High and low areas are measures from the level of the sea.
Because the sea is never
still, it is measures as the
halfway point between the
high and low tides. Any place
on the coast is at 0 metres
above sea level.
Africa’s highest mountain
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa. It is 5 895
metres above sea level. High
mountain peaks such a Mount
Kilimanjaro can sometimes be
labelled with a spot height on a
map. A mountain is indicated
with a red triangle.
A physical map is often coloured
or shaded to show the height of the land above sea level.
These colours and the heights are shown on a key next to the
map.
ACTIVITY
1. Look at the map and key and fill in the missing words.
a) The areas between 0 and 200 metres above sea level
are shaded
in _______________.
b) Areas between 200 and 1000 metres above sea level
are shaded
in ________________ and _______________.
c) The higher mountain areas are shown in shades of
_______________.
2. What is the name of the highest peak in Africa?
3. Find two different spot heights on the map. For each,
name the mountain and the height of it.
Mountain Name Height
4. Is the highest area of Africa in the north or the south?
Rivers, Lakes and Borders
1. Look at the map below and answer the questions that
follow.
a) Name the lake where the White Nile starts.
b) Name one river that joins the White Nile.
c) Which sea does the Nile flow into?
d) Which river crosses the equator twice?
e) Name two rivers that flow into the Indian Ocean.
f) Answer True or False to the following:
i) Rivers always start in high places and flow down
to lower places.
ii) One river can flow into another river.
iii) All rivers flow south.
2. Look at the map and answer the questions.
a) Name any six rivers that are seen on this map.
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b) Find and name Africa’s three biggest lakes.
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c) Most lakes are circular. What do you notice about the
shapes of the lakes?
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3. Use both maps to answer the following questions.
a) Which of these three lakes has the same name as a
country in Africa?
b) The border between Tanzania and the Democratic
Republic of Congo goes along the middle of one of
these three lakes. Which lake is it?
c) In which three countries does Lake Victoria lie?
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a) Follow the course of the Orange River and fill in the
name of the country for each of the spaces below.
The Orange River starts in the landlocked country of
_________________________. It then flows westwards and
across
the country of _________________________. The last part
of this
river marks the border between
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b) Fill in the name of a river or country of each of the
spaces below.
The Victoria Falls is on the _________________________
River. This
waterfall is on the border between
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and _________________________.
