Lesson pack · 15 minutes · Ages 8 to 14
Oceania's flags
By the end, students can: recognise the flags of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands, and find the Southern Cross.
The plan
- 0 to 2 minStarter
Show the Southern Cross star pattern. Ask: why would countries in the southern hemisphere put these stars on their flags?
- 2 to 10 minLive game
Host Oceania islands as a live game (10 flags, easy). Count how many flags show the Southern Cross.
- 10 to 13 minLook-alikes
Put each pair below on the board and ask the class what's different before you reveal it.
- 13 to 15 minPlenary
How many flags today had the Southern Cross? Which was the hardest to spot?
Look-alike flags to discuss
Australia has white stars, including a big seven-pointed one. New Zealand has four red stars with white edges.
Both are light blue with a Union Jack. Fiji has a shield. Tuvalu has nine yellow stars.
Homework
Set Oceania islands as homework. It's short, so it suits a quick task.
Where it fits
- England, Key Stage 2 geography: locating the world's countries on maps, with a focus on Europe and the Americas
- England, Key Stage 3 geography: extending locational knowledge of the world's countries, including Africa and Asia
- US National Geography Standards: using maps and other geographic representations to understand places