Look for the largest single pieces of land separated by water. These are called continents and the water separating them are oceans. Continents from largest to smallest are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia
Look at a continent and identify the next largest landforms, which are mountain. Mountain landforms include mountain ranges, mountains, hills, plateaus and valleys
Look for flat landforms not related to high elevation mountains. These are called continental plain landforms.
Continental plain landforms include plains, tundras (icy plains) and ice sheets.
Look for water that is most often colored blue on maps, globes and in satellite photos. Look for the edges where the water touches land and how it creates unique landforms because of the eroding effect it has on land. Rivers are long lines of water that shape the land around them. See how very large rivers such as the Mississippi River in North America fan out like fingers where they meet an ocean. This landform is called a river delta. Lakes are bodies of water completely surrounded by land. Coasts are where the edges of continents meet the ocean. River landforms include rivers, river deltas, lakes, waterfalls, rapids and river valleys. Coastal landforms include coasts, peninsulas, isthmus, beaches, bays and cliffs.