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Earth’s Land & Water

Second graders explore the shapes of Earth’s surface — mountains, valleys, and plains — and its bodies of water — oceans, lakes, and rivers — and learn to find land and water on a map.

Grade 2Earth Features35 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsNGSS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Identify landforms.
  • ✓Identify bodies of water.
  • ✓Tell salt from fresh water.
  • ✓Read land and water on a map.
Essential Question

From tall mountains to wide oceans, Earth’s surface has an amazing variety of land and water. What are the different shapes of land and kinds of water — and how do maps show them?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Land & Water Explorer

Project this and tap each idea. Have children learn Earth’s landforms, bodies of water, and how to read a map!

🌍 Explore Earth’s land & water — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · 5E Instructional Model (Engage · Explore · Explain · Elaborate · Evaluate)

35 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Engage — Mountains to Oceans

5 min

Earth has tall mountains and wide oceans — what are all the shapes of land and water?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show land and water photos.
  • Ask what shapes they see.
  • Pose the question.

🎒 Student Actions

  • See them.
  • Name some.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Explore Land & Water

10 min

Students investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to the Land & Water Explorer.
  • Note landforms.
  • Note bodies of water.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note landforms.
  • Note water.
3

Explain — Land, Water, Maps

10 min

Students explain.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain landforms.
  • Explain bodies of water.
  • Explain salt vs. fresh.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain landforms.
  • Explain water.
  • Explain salt/fresh.
4

Elaborate — Reading Maps

8 min

Students elaborate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Find land and water on a map.
  • Identify a landform.
  • Explain map colors.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Read a map.
  • Identify one.
  • Explain colors.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a landform.
  • Name a body of water.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Name one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 2 / Elementary Science).

NGSS
2-ESS2-2

Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

NGSS
2-ESS2-3

Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

NGSS
2-ESS2-1

Compare solutions to slow or prevent land changes.

NGSS
SEP-2

Developing and using models.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Landform/water picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A ___ is a kind of ___.”
  • Use a simple map.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with mountain vs. ocean.
  • Use picture cards.
  • Use a colored map.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Build a landform model.
  • Map the local area.
  • Explain the water cycle.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🗺️Maps and a globe
  • 💻The Land & Water Explorer
  • 🏔️Landform photos
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

landforma natural shape of landmountaina tall, rocky landformvalleya low area between hillsplaina wide, flat areaoceana huge body of salt waterlakewater surrounded by landriverflowing watermapa drawing of a place from above
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one landform.
A mountain, hill, valley, or plain.
QUESTION 2
Name one body of water.
An ocean, lake, river, or pond.
QUESTION 3
On a map, what color usually shows water?
Blue.

Growing at home? Map your neighborhood.

Have families draw a simple map of their neighborhood, marking any land and water features they see. A printable land-and-water sheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Earth’s Land & WaterFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Earth’s Land & WaterQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Earth’s Land & WaterPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: lake, landform, map, mountain, ocean, plain, river, valley
  1. a low area between hills
  2. a tall, rocky landform
  3. a drawing of a place from above
  4. a natural shape of land
  5. a wide, flat area
  6. water surrounded by land
  7. a huge body of salt water
  8. flowing water

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one landform.
  2. Name one body of water.
  3. On a map, what color usually shows water?
Answer key — Part A: 1) valley · 2) mountain · 3) map · 4) landform · 5) plain · 6) lake · 7) ocean · 8) river
Part B: 1) A mountain, hill, valley, or plain. 2) An ocean, lake, river, or pond. 3) Blue.