Browse

Erosion and Earth Changes Worksheets for 2nd Grade

11 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Fast and slow changes to the land, weathering and erosion, the Grand Canyon and Mount St. Helens, and ways to slow erosion.

Download the erosion and earth changes worksheets

Fast and slow changes

A poster, a fast or slow sort with a cut and paste twin, and a which is faster comparison.

Weathering and erosion

Read what weathering and erosion are and match each cause to how it changes the land.

A slow change and a fast change

Two reading passages: the Grand Canyon and Mount St. Helens.

Slowing erosion

Compare test results for different covers, choose solutions to land problems and design your own.

  • Preview of the printable “Erosion experiment results worksheet” worksheet: comparing solutions that slow water from changing the shape of the landView all 2 pages

    Erosion experiment results worksheet

    Comparing solutions that slow water from changing the shape of the land

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages42 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Erosion design challenge worksheet” worksheet: designing, testing and improving a solution that slows water from changing the landView larger

    Erosion design challenge worksheet

    Designing, testing and improving a solution that slows water from changing the land

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    1 page33 KB

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these erosion and earth changes worksheets

The land is always changing. A volcano can build a mountain in days, and a landslide can reshape a hill in minutes. Other changes, like a river carving a canyon, take millions of years. Second graders compare fast and slow changes and use what they learn to protect the land.

These erosion worksheets begin with a fast and slow changes poster and sort, then explain weathering and erosion in plain words. Two reading passages compare a slow change, the Grand Canyon, with a fast one, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Children read real-looking test results to compare ways to stop erosion and then design and test their own solution.

Pages are black and white with short directions a 2nd grader can read. Each prints on US Letter or A4, and every page with right answers has a key on page 2.

Standards

  • NGSS 2-ESS1-1Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.
  • NGSS 2-ESS2-1Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.
  • NGSS K-2-ETS1-2Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
  • NGSS K-2-ETS1-1Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

How to use them

  1. Start with the poster and ask children to act out a fast change and a slow change.
  2. Use the sort or its cut and paste twin, then the which is faster page.
  3. Read both passages and compare them on a T-chart: how long did each change take?
  4. Build sand hills in trays for the erosion test, and compare your results with the class results page.
  5. Finish with the design challenge: sketch, build, test and improve.

Teaching tips

  • Weathering breaks rock into pieces. Erosion carries the pieces away. Children often mix these up.
  • Most erosion is slow, but a flood or a landslide can move a lot of land very fast.
  • Plant roots hold soil in place. That is why grass and trees are some of the best ways to slow erosion.
  • In a design challenge, praise changes that come from test results, not from guessing.
  • Keep the volcano and earthquake talk calm and factual for anxious children.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is erosion for kids?

Erosion is when wind, water or ice carries away bits of rock and soil. Rain washes soil down a hill, rivers carry sand downstream and wind blows sand across a desert.

What are fast and slow changes to the Earth?

Fast changes, like volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and floods, happen in minutes, hours or days. Slow changes, like a river carving a canyon or wind wearing down rock, take many years, even millions of years.

How can we slow erosion?

Planting grass and trees, placing rocks along riverbanks, building walls and fences, and growing grass on sand dunes all help slow wind or water from changing the land.