Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Face-to-face lessons: 1-2

Lesson plans: 4-6

Online sessions: 5-6

Booklet: 2

Activities 1-4

Topic: Map skills: Africa our continent:

Countries of Africa
Location of all countries
Landlocked or with a coastline; N,S, or on Equator
Madagascar - a country and an island
Zanzibar - an island of Tanzania
Big cities of Africa – including Cairo, Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi
South Africa’s neighbours (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe)
Concept of capital cities
Capital cities of South Africa and neighbouring countries

New Vocabulary:

Equator The equator is an imaginary line around the Earth at 0 degrees latitude,
dividing it into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Island An island is land surrounded by water, separate from the mainland.

Country A country is a distinct area of land with its own government, rules, and
culture.

Neighbouring Neighbouring refers to places or things located near each other.

Major City A major city is a large, influential urban area with significant economic
and cultural importance.

Capital City The capital city is the main city of a country, housing government offices
and serving as the political center.

Countries in Africa
There are 54 countries in Africa. Each country has its own capital city, language, and currency.
Use the political map of Africa to find the following countries:
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan (6)
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia,

Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo,
Benin, Cape Verde, Niger, and Nigeria (16)
Middle/Central Africa: Chad, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea,
Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Rwanda,
Burundi (10)
Eastern Africa: Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia,
Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania,
Mozambique, Seychelles, Comoros islands,
Mauritius, Madagascar (island) (13)
Southern Africa: Angola, Zambia, Malawi,
Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Lesotho, Eswatini (9)

Location of Countries: Landlocked or With a

Coastline: Some countries are landlocked and
others have a coastline. A coastline is a long, vast strip of land by the sea. Landlocked countries are
countries that do not have a coastline. In other words, these countries do not border an ocean but are
surrounded by other countries.

You can see on the map of Africa that, for example, Niger, Chad, and Rwanda are landlocked countries
while Egypt, Namibia, and South Africa have coastlines.

Countries and borders

Asia is the largest continent in the world, and Africa is the second largest continent. In Africa, each of
the 54 countries has it its own government and leader. All countries on the African continent have
borders.

A border shows you where one country ends and the other begins. Borders on maps are shown in red
lines.

South Africa share border lines with 6 neighbouring countires:

- Botswana
- Lesotho
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Swaziland
- Zimbabwe
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Some countries have coastlines and others are landlocked. A country may also be an island on its own,
e.g. Madagascar. In some cases a country ma be part of a larger continent and have its own island. An
example of this is Zanzibar. Zanzibar is an island and part of Tanzania.

Capital Cities of South Africa and Neighbouring Countries.

Big Cities in Africa
Cities are densely populated areas that have residential, industrial, and commercial areas.
The following table contains information on some of Africa’s largest cities

- Every country has a capital city; it is usually where the government meets
- South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria Cape Town, and Bloemfontein
- People in the National Government sped half the year in each of these two cities.
- Pretoria is the national capital city of South Africa
- Johannesburg is the provincial capital city of Gauteng and the largest city in South
Africa.

Capital Cities in South Africa

A capital city is the most important city in
an area and usually also the largest city in
the area.
South Africa has nine provinces and each
province has a capital city.
If you look at the map of South Africa
below, you can see the provinces and their
capital cities.

Capital Cities in South Africa’s

Neighbouring Countries
The six neighbouring countries of South
Africa also each have their own capitals.
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

The table below shows the neighbouring countries and their capitals.

Let’s look at the map below. All the capital cities are circled:
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Complete the following activities in your workbook.

Activity 1: Study the map and then answer the questions that follow:

1. What oceans and seas surround Africa?

2. Can someone indicate the coastline of Africa?
3. Give me an example of a landlocked country in Africa.
4. What does this mean?

Activity 2: Look at the blank map of Africa. Indicate the following:

Colour all the landlocked countries in yellow.
Colour all the countries that lie on the equator in green.
Colour all the countries on the coastline in orange.
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Colour and label the oceans seas.

Colour the islands red.
Label Tanzania, Zanzibar and Madagascar.
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

Activity 3: Big Cities in Africa

1. Look at the following table, then answer the questions that follow:

a) In which country is Cairo located?

b) True or false: Lagos is a city in Kenya.
c) Which city has the largest population?
d) Which city has the largest land area?
e) Why do you think Johannesburg can be considered a city?

2. Indicate the six neighbouring countries of South Africa on the map below.
 Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2

3. Study the political map of South Africa and complete the table below.

4. Indicate the capital cities of South Africa’s neighbouring countries on the map by
using the information in the table below:
Grade 5 Term 1 Geography Activity Booklet 2