Trinidad and Tobago is a country of two main islands. Trinidad is the larger island. Tobago is smaller, and it lies to the north-east of Trinidad. The country sits at the southern end of the Caribbean island chain, very close to the continent of South America.

A map is a drawing of a place as if you were looking down from above. In this lesson you will use a map to say who is near, who is far, and which way to point. You will also sort islands into the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles.

Find the Caribbean Sea on the regional map. The islands curve from the north-west down toward South America. Trinidad and Tobago is at the southern end of that curve. Venezuela, on the continent, is the nearest country across the water. Grenada is the nearest Caribbean island, to the north.

Trinidad and Tobago is one country made of two islands, plus some small islands. Port of Spain, the capital, is on Trinidad. Scarborough is the capital of Tobago. When a test says “Trinidad and Tobago”, name the country. When it says “Tobago”, name the smaller island to the north-east.

The Greater Antilles are the large islands to the north: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Hispaniola is one island shared by two countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The Lesser Antilles are the smaller islands in the curve that runs down toward South America. Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Barbados are in that curve. Trinidad and Tobago is at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles.

Some books split the Lesser Antilles into Windward Islands and Leeward Islands, and they do not all draw the line in the same place. In this lesson the Windward Islands include Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenada. The Leeward Islands are farther north, and they include Antigua and Saint Kitts. We do not call Trinidad and Tobago a Windward Island here. We call it the southern end of the Lesser Antilles, next to the Windwards and next to South America.

Stand in Trinidad and point. Grenada is north. Barbados is north-east. Tobago is north-east of Trinidad. Venezuela is west and south-west, across a narrow stretch of water, on the continent of South America. Guyana is also on that continent, farther south-east along the coast.

Closest does not mean largest. Cuba is huge, but it is not the closest neighbour. Grenada is smaller, and it is the nearest Caribbean island. On a test, read the question. “Closest Caribbean island” means Grenada. “Closest country on the continent” means Venezuela.

A useful map has a title, a compass, and labels that do not cross. Draw Trinidad larger than Tobago. Put Tobago to the north-east. Mark Grenada to the north and Venezuela to the west.