- A globe has the shape of a sphere, or ball.
- A globe is a model of the Earth that shows Earth’s major bodies of water and its 7 continents.
- Continents are large land masses.
- Earth’s continents, from largest to smallest, are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
- The equator is a line on a globe that is halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole.
- The equator divides Earth into two equal halves called hemispheres.
- The Northern Hemisphere is north of the equator. The Southern Hemisphere is south of the equator.
- The Prime Meridian runs north and south (North Pole to South Pole) on the globe.
- The Prime Meridian is often used to divide Earth into the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere.
- A map is a drawing that shows all or part of Earth on a flat surface.
- Map title tells the subject of the map and/or may identify the kind of map.
- A political map shows cities, states, and countries.
- A physical map shows kinds of land and bodies of water.
- A historical map shows parts of the world as they were in the past.
- A map key, or legend, explains the symbols used on a map.
- Symbols on a map may be color, patterns, lines or other special marks.
- An inset map is a smaller map within a larger one.
- A locator is a small map or globe that shows where the place on the main map is located within a larger area.
- A map scale, or distance scale, compares a distance on the map to a distance on Earth.
- A compass rose or direction marker, shows direction.
- The cardinal directions are north, south, east, and west.
- The intermediate directions, or directions between the cardinal directions, are northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.
- Grid system are lines on a map that cross each other that form a pattern of squares.
- The grid system helps people find places on maps. It uses letters and numbers.
- The lines are in columns (up and down-vertical) and rows (left to right-horizonal).
- The columns are use numbers and the rows use letters.
- Each square on a map can be identified by its letter and number. The letter and number combination are also known as coordinates.