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Lesson 3 of 6
Lesson 3 of 6
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The world's five oceans
I can explain what an ocean is and name Earth’s five oceans.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The ocean is a vast joined-up area of salt water covering nearly three-quarters of Earth's surface.
- We have five named ocean areas: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern.
- Oceans are very important for all life on Earth.
Keywords
Ocean - An ocean is a very big area of salt water between the continents.
Earth - Earth is the name of the planet that we live on.
Life - Life is the time between birth and death.
Tourist - A tourist is someone who who travels to a different place from where they live for a holiday.
Common misconception
The Pacific ocean is on both sides of the world.
The world is round and spherical in shape like a ball. If we cut it and lay it out flat it will look like there are two Pacific oceans but they are one connected ocean when looking at the Earth in a 3D perspective.
Ask children to share experiences od when they have been to the ocean to develop a personal connection to the importance of oceans.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Globes, maps
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.The planet that we live on is called ...
The planet that we live on is called ...
the Moon.
the Sun.
Mars.
Q2.What are the large areas of salt water separating the continents called?
What are the large areas of salt water separating the continents called?
Q3.Someone who visits a place on holiday is called a .
Someone who visits a place on holiday is called a .
Q4.What things can you do as a tourist visiting an ocean?
What things can you do as a tourist visiting an ocean?
fly on an aeroplane
Q5.Oceans are big areas of ...
Oceans are big areas of ...
fresh water.
brown water.
Q6.Match these sentence starters to the appropriate sentence endings to complete these sentences about Earth.
Match these sentence starters to the appropriate sentence endings to complete these sentences about Earth.
a large land mass.
seven continents.
land and water.
Assessment exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.How much of the Earth's surface do oceans cover?
How much of the Earth's surface do oceans cover?
Q2.Oceans are large joined-up areas of ...
Oceans are large joined-up areas of ...
fresh water covering Earth's surface.
fresh and salt water covering Earth's surface.
Q3.What are the names of the five oceans?
What are the names of the five oceans?
Indian, Asian, Atlantic, Pacific, Southern
Arctic, Antarctic, Indian, Asian, Atlantic
Q4.Why are oceans important?
Why are oceans important?
They are a source of drinking water.
Q5.What fraction of living things are thought to live in the oceans?
What fraction of living things are thought to live in the oceans?
½ to ¼
¼ to ¾
Q6.Why do tourists visit oceans?
Why do tourists visit oceans?
to go star gazing