Key Stage 2 geography · Locational knowledge

KS2 countries of Europe and Russia: a guide for parents

Across Key Stage 2, children learn to find the countries of Europe on a map, including Russia, and to say something about each place they study: its capital and major cities, its landscape and climate, and how people live there. The National Curriculum names Europe and Russia but leaves schools to choose which countries to study in depth. The aim is a mental map of the continent that children can build on in secondary school.

Countries of Europe and Russia, explained

The programme of study asks pupils to locate the world’s countries using maps, focusing on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America. They look at environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities. It does not list which European countries, cities or rivers to learn, so schools choose. Many start with the UK’s near neighbours, such as Ireland, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, and then add countries that link to other topics, such as Greece, Norway or Poland. Your child will not be expected to name every country, but they should be able to find the ones they have studied and describe where they are.

Russia is named separately in the curriculum, and it is the hardest country in the region to place. It is the largest country in the world by area and it stretches across two continents. Its capital, Moscow, and most of its people are in Europe, but most of its land lies east of the Ural Mountains, in Asia. Children are usually shown that the Urals are the conventional dividing line. This is a good moment to explain that Europe and Asia are really one huge landmass, and that “continent” is a human way of dividing it up.

Children also look at environmental regions, which means areas with a similar climate and natural vegetation. Southern Europe around the Mediterranean Sea has hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Western Europe, including the UK, France and Germany, has a milder, changeable climate with rain all year. High mountain areas, such as the Alps and the Pyrenees, are colder and often snowy. In the far north, in Scandinavia and northern Russia, winters are long and cold, with huge conifer forests and, further north still, treeless tundra.

Human characteristics are the things people have built or arranged: capital cities and other major cities, languages, farming, industry and tourism. Rivers tie physical and human geography together. The Danube flows through several capital cities, including Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade, while the Rhine and the Volga carry goods and people through busy regions. Children also learn that Europe is not the same as the European Union: the UK, Norway and Switzerland are in Europe but are not members.

The skills matter as much as the facts. Children use atlases (including the index, which gives a page and grid reference), globes and digital mapping to find places, and they describe a location using compass directions, neighbouring countries and the seas around it. Sketch maps, quizzes and comparing two countries side by side all help the facts stick. This work also stretches pupils’ knowledge beyond the local area, to the UK and Europe, which prepares them for the more detailed regional study they meet in Key Stage 3.

Words your child will hear

Continent: One of the Earth’s seven large land areas, such as Europe or Asia.
Capital city: The city where a country’s government sits, such as Paris for France.
Border: The line that separates one country from another.
Peninsula: Land almost surrounded by water, like Italy or the Iberian Peninsula.
Landlocked: A country with no coast, such as Austria or Switzerland.
Atlas index: An A to Z list of places that gives the page and grid square where each can be found.
Environmental region: An area with a similar climate and natural vegetation, such as the Mediterranean.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
Pupils should be taught to use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: describing a country from an atlas

Use an atlas to describe where Italy is and what it is like.

Look up Italy in the atlas index. It gives a page number and a grid square, which takes you to a map of Europe or of southern Europe.
Describe the location. Italy is in southern Europe. It is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, reaching south into the Mediterranean Sea, with the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia nearby.
Name the neighbours using compass points. France is to the north-west, Switzerland and Austria are to the north, and Slovenia is to the north-east. Two tiny countries, San Marino and Vatican City, lie inside Italy’s borders.
Add physical features. The Alps form a high mountain wall across the north. The Apennine Mountains run down the length of the peninsula, and the River Po crosses the flat northern plain to reach the Adriatic Sea.
Add human features. The capital is Rome, on the River Tiber. Other major cities include Milan, Naples and Venice.
Link to the environment. The south and the coasts have a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers, while the high Alps are cold and snowy.

Italy is a boot-shaped country in southern Europe, surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea. It borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The Alps lie in the north and the Apennines run through the middle. Its capital is Rome, and most of the country has hot, dry summers.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking Russia is entirely in Asia, or entirely in Europe

On most world maps Russia is a single block of colour running across the top of the page, and its biggest areas are in Asia, so children assume it belongs to one continent.

What helps: Show Moscow and St Petersburg on a map and point out the Ural Mountains. Most people live in the European part, but most of the land is in Asia.

Using “Europe” and “the European Union” to mean the same thing

News stories often talk about “Europe” when they mean the EU, so children hear the two words used interchangeably. Some then believe the UK is no longer in Europe.

What helps: Explain that Europe is a place on the map and the EU is a group of countries that chose to join together. The UK, Norway and Switzerland are in Europe but are not members.

Assuming the capital is always the biggest or best-known city

Many capitals, such as Paris or Madrid, are also the largest city, which makes this feel like a rule.

What helps: Look at a counter-example together. Bern is the capital of Switzerland, though Zurich is larger. Ask “Which city does the government sit in?” rather than “Which is biggest?”

Picturing every part of Europe as having the same weather

Children tend to think of their own mild, rainy climate, or of snowy winter scenes, and apply it to the whole continent.

What helps: Compare weather forecasts for Athens, London and Oslo on the same day. Talk about why the far north is colder and the Mediterranean is hotter and drier in summer.

How to help at home

Plan an imaginary rail journey. Choose two European cities, such as London and Rome, and trace a route on an atlas or globe. Which countries, seas and mountain ranges would you cross, and in which compass direction are you travelling?
Read the labels. Look at where food, clothes and toys in your home were made. Find the European countries on a map and talk about what each might be known for.
Compare the weather. Pick two or three cities in different parts of Europe and look at the forecast each day for a week. Which are warmest and driest, and does their position on the map explain why?
Draw it from memory. Ask your child to sketch Europe, marking the countries and capitals they know, then check against an atlas. The mistakes show exactly what to look at next, and a few minutes is plenty.

Builds on

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Africa: regions, countries and cities
Key Stage 3: Russia: the world’s largest country
Key Stage 3: Asia, including China and India
Key Stage 3: The Middle East: location and landscapes