Resources › For Educators Geography Printables Print Tetra Images - Mike Kemp/Getty Images For Educators Homeschooling Spelling Geography Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Secondary Education Special Education Teaching By Beverly Hernandez Beverly Hernandez Homeschooling Expert Beverly Hernandez is a veteran homeschooler and the former administrator of a large independent study program. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 15, 2019 Geography comes from the combination of two Greek words. Geo refers to earth and graph refers to writing or describing. Geography describes the Earth. It is the branch of science dedicated to the study of the Earth's physical features, such as oceans, mountains, and continents. Geography also includes the study of the people of the Earth and how they interact with it. This study includes cultures, population, and land use. The word geography was first used by Eratosthenes, a Greek scientist, writer, and poet, in the early 3rd century. Through detailed map-making and their knowledge of astronomy, the Greeks and Romans had a good understanding of the physical aspects of the world around them. They also observed the connections between people and their environment. The Arabs, Muslims, and Chinese also played an essential role in the further development of the study. Due to trade and exploration, geography was a critical subject for these early people groups. Activities for Learning About Geography Geography is still an important - and fun - subject to study because it affects everyone. The following free geography printables and activity pages relate to the branch of geography studying the physical features of the Earth. Use the printables to introduce your students to geography. Then, try some of these fun activities: Build a salt dough map depicting the physical features of your state or country or one that isn't based on a particular location but depicts a variety of geographical features (mountains, valleys, rivers, etc.) Create an edible map with cookie dough and use a variety of candies to represent geographic features Build a diorama showing various geographical features Travel Participate in a postcard swap with people from different states or countries. Ask them to send postcards depicting the geography of their state or country After completing the free printable geography worksheets, invite your students to complete the Geography Challenge to see how much they remember Create an illustrated geography dictionary. List and define a variety of geographical terms and draw a picture representing each Draw and color flags from countries around the world Make a meal from a different culture 01 of 09 Geography Vocabulary Print the pdf: Geography Vocabulary Sheet Introduce your students to ten basic geographical terms using this printable geography vocabulary worksheet. Use a dictionary or the Internet to look up each of the words in the word bank. Then, write each on the blank line next to its correct definition. 02 of 09 Geography Wordsearch Print the pdf: Geography Word Search In this activity, your students will review the geographical terms they defined by completing a fun word search. Students can find each word from the word bank in the puzzle among the jumbled letters. If your students don't remember some of the definitions review them using the vocabulary sheets. Read More Geography Worksheets for Students By Beverly Hernandez 03 of 09 Geography Crossword Puzzle Print the pdf: Geography Crossword Puzzle This geography crossword provides another interesting review opportunity. Fill in the puzzle with the correct geographical terms from the word bank based on the clues provided. 04 of 09 Geography Alphabet Activity Print the pdf: Geography Alphabet Activity In this activity, students will alphabetize the geographical terms. This worksheet offers children another way to review while also honing their alphabetizing skills. 05 of 09 Geography Term: Peninsula Print the pdf: Geography Term: Peninsula Your students can use the following pages in their illustrated geography dictionary. Color the picture and write the definition of each term on the lines provided. Cheat sheet: A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides and connected to the mainland. 06 of 09 Geography Term: Isthmus Print the pdf: Geography Coloring Page Color this isthmus page and add it to your illustrated dictionary. Cheat sheet: An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger bodies of land and surrounded on two sides by water. 07 of 09 Geography Term: Archipelago Print the pdf: Geography Term: Archipelago Color the archipelago and add it to your illustrated geography dictionary. Cheat sheet: An archipelago is a group or chain of islands. 08 of 09 Geography Term: Island Print the pdf: Geography Coloring Page Color the island and add it to your dictionary of illustrated geographical terms. Cheat sheet: An island is an area of land, smaller than a continent and completely surrounded by water. 09 of 09 Geography Term: Strait Print the pdf: Geography Term: Strait Color the strait coloring page and add it to your illustrated geography dictionary.Cheat sheet: A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Hernandez, Beverly. "Geography Printables." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/free-geography-printables-1832393. Hernandez, Beverly. (2020, August 27). Geography Printables. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/free-geography-printables-1832393 Hernandez, Beverly. "Geography Printables." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/free-geography-printables-1832393 (accessed March 28, 2024). copy citation