STS 2nd Grade Landforms Unit: DRAFT

NGSS Performance Expectations:

2-ESS1-1. Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events
can occur quickly or slowly.
2-ESS2-1. Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from
changing the shape of the land.
2-ESS2-2. Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water
in an area.
2-ESS2-3 Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be
solid or liquid.

Essential Questions/Outcomes (a first stab at some ):

1) Compare and contrast weathering, and erosion.
2) How does water change earth surfaces quickly? Slowly?
3) Identify and describe some common landforms.
a. Extension: How are they formed? (weathering, erosion, deposition, or other)

Vocabulary (most important starred):

weathering*
erosion*
deposition*
sediment*
common water bodies*: lake, pond, ocean, river, stream
common landforms*: canyon, mountain, valley, delta, beach, dune
meander
flood plain
river mouth
plateau

Science Lab Experiments/Explorations:

Mystery Science 1: Where do rivers come from?
Mystery Science 2: Why is there sand at the beach?
Sugar Shake: Weathering
Stream Table 1: What is Erosion?
o Students will see the formation of rivers, canyons, meanders, and deltas through
erosion and deposition. Lesson Hook: How did the Grand Canyon form? (Revisit at
end of lab.)
Stream Table 2: What causes Erosion to happen more quickly?
o Students will compare erosion during a standard rain storm to erosion during a
flood.
 o Students will compare rain-induced erosion on flat surfaces to sloped surfaces.
Stream Table 3 & 4: Design Erosion Prevention
o Design and test a solution to prevent water from eroding the land in your
stream table

*After stream tables: address landforms forming through plate tectonics possibly

Read Alouds:

Classroom Lesson Ideas:

Study the meaning of weathering, erosion, deposition through reading passages and/or
vocabulary study.
Study other vocab words listed above.
Model different types of landforms using playdough or other materials.
MAPS: basic map skills, plotting landforms on maps, BASICS of topographic mapping (?)
Erosion, weathering and deposition change/create landforms, but they also affect human
life. What are some examples of this? (persistent flooding, beach erosion, etc.)
Explore/discuss more of 2-ESS1-1:
o Wind erosion at beach vs. wind erosion over thousands of years (Monument
Valley)
o Erosion from flash flooding/hurricanes vs. erosion over thousands of year
(formation of canyons).
Geothermal activity and how it can form landforms as well: volcanoes/earth quakes

Possible extension:
o Which types of landforms are formed through weathering vs. erosion vs.
deposition?