Earth’s Land Chapter 5 Lesson 1

Vocabulary Landform Crust Mantle Core

What is land like on Earth? Land is different all over Earth. It can be smooth, rocky, or flat. The different shapes of Earth’s land is called a landform.

Mountains A mountain is a high area of land. Mountains have pointed tops and steep sides.

Hills Hills are small, round mounds of Earth. Hills are not as high as mountains.

Valleys Valleys are the low land between mountains or hills. A river or stream will often flow through a valley.

Plains Plains are flat and wide land. Plains are often used for farm land.

What can maps tell us about Earth? A globe is a map in the shape of a ball. Maps can also be flat. An atlas is a book of maps. Maps can show if land is high or low. Maps usually have symbols to show different landforms.

Continents and Islands The big pieces of land on Earth are called continents. Continents are surrounded by oceans. There are 7 continents. Small pieces of land on Earth are called islands. Islands have water on all sides.

What is inside Earth? Earth is made up of 3 main layers. The crust, the mantle and the core.

The Crust This is the outer layer of the Earth. It is very hard. It is the thinnest layer. We live on the crust.

The Mantle Below the crust is the mantle. This is a very hot layer. It is often split into the inner mantle and outer mantle.

The Core The center of the Earth is called the core. The core is part liquid and part solid. The core is the hottest part of Earth.

Answer me this… How are continents different from islands? How are hills different from mountains? How is the crust different from the core? Can you name all 7 continents?

Make your own World Map: Color and label using the following: North America green South America purple Europe yellow Asia red Africa orange Australia pink Antarctica keep white