Places around the world
Grade 5 · Geography
Explore places, read maps and discover the world around you.
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Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude
Is Chile in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere? Which line runs through Greenwich? A free Grade 5 geography game on latitude, longitude and hemispheres.
Play Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude
Learning about places around the world
In this Grade 5 geography collection, you can practice Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Keep a globe, atlas or simple map nearby. Ask your child to point to a place or direction before naming it. Relate a map symbol or feature to a real example, and compare places rather than memorising isolated names.
Ask: “Where would you look to check your answer?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude
Geographers use imaginary lines to describe where places are. Lines of latitude run around the Earth from east to west, and the most important is the Equator, at 0°, which splits the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Lines of longitude run from pole to pole; the Prime (or Greenwich) Meridian, at 0°, runs through London and splits the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Try an example: Which hemisphere is Chile in?
Chile runs down the west coast of South America, all of it below the Equator.
Show the answer
The Southern Hemisphere.
What to look out for
Mixing up latitude and longitude. Latitude lines are like the rungs of a ladder ("ladder-tude"), running across. Longitude lines are long, running from pole to pole.
Read the full Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude guide
Practice away from the screen
- Find the Equator on a globe and spin it to see which countries it crosses.
Curriculum connections
Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude
Suggested grade 5 practice, selected by skill and reading demand. US states and schools teach these topics in different grades; this is not a state-standards alignment claim.
NCSS C3 Framework teaching connection: Geographic representations and places. Use place names, compass directions and physical features as background for reading maps and asking questions about places. Extend the game with a map or photograph; recognizing labels alone is not a complete geographic inquiry. Read the framework.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with places around the world?
Start with Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. These games provide focused practice. Grade suggestions do not replace your school’s curriculum, and any Common Core connection applies only to the skill described.