Printable map of Central Asia

Few regions are as quick to put on a sheet as Central Asia, so this map often goes on a worksheet with other tasks, or on a card for a short test. You can print With country borders, which shows the five countries as separate shapes, or a Blank outline of the region. Both are PDFs for A4 or Letter, in colour or black and white, with no names on them.

Five names, five spellings

The names are the challenge here, not the shapes. Pupils fill in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from the list further down the page, then swap sheets and mark each other's spelling letter by letter. A good starter is to hand out the sheet, keep the list to yourself and give three minutes. A scoring game keeps the class engaged: one point for each correct name, one more for each correct spelling.

Younger children can colour each country a different colour and write its name in the key at the side. A research task fits five pupils nicely: each takes a country, finds its capital in an atlas and writes it on the sheet.

Which sheet to print

With country borders is the sheet for naming and colouring. The Blank outline is for tracing or for pupils who draw the borders in from a reference map. Choose black and white for a class set. To shade countries first, use the bar on the map and Download your map. For the region in context, the printable map of Asia makes a good second sheet.

Printing tips

Print at 100% so the five countries come out at the same size on every copy, and laminate one for the wall.