Four continents

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/four-continents

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the philosophical alignment?Reflected Renaissance emphasis on patterns of four (seasons, elements, directions, virtues)
2. What is the geopolitical implication?Reinforced a Eurocentric worldview and influenced early global mapping and cultural categorization
3. What were the four big lands called in the 16th century?In the 1500s Europeans named the four big lands Africa, America, Asia, and Europe.
4. Why did people in the 1500s think the world had only four continents?They liked the idea of four because it matched the four seasons, four elements, four directions, and four virtues, so they organized the world into four parts.

Renaissance: A transformative period in European history (c. 14th-17th centuries) characterized by a revival of classical art, literature, and learning.
Iconography: The visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study of them.
Eurocentrism: A worldview centered on Western civilization, often implying a belief in its superiority.