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Science lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 45 minutes

Earth changes: fast or slow?

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.2-ESS1-1England: KS2 Y3 RocksEngland: KS1 Geography links

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Earth changes: fast or slow?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Name the landform from its description

Leads to: Ways to slow wind and water from wearing away land

Materials: Rock samples, Hand lenses, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Name the landform from its description). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which landform is this: a mountain with an opening where hot melted rock can come out? (canyon / volcano / valley / plain) → volcanoPrompt: Is it high or low? Flat or steep? Is water around it?
  2. Which description matches a volcano? (land with water all around it / a high, flat area of land with steep sides / land with water on three sides / a mountain with an opening where hot melted rock can come out) → a mountain with an opening where hot melted rock can come outPrompt: Picture the landform from above and from the side.
  3. True or false? The Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Picture each landform: high, low, flat or surrounded by water?

Hook · 5 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: Earth changes: fast or slow?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this a fast change or a slow change: a storm washing away part of a beach?
  • Step 1: These changes happen suddenly.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: fast (minutes to days)
  • Answer: fast (minutes to days)
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this a fast change or a slow change: a cave forming in limestone? (fast (minutes to days) / slow (many years)) → slow (many years)Prompt: Could you watch it happen in one day?
  2. Three of these are fast changes. Which one is NOT? (a storm washing away part of a beach / a volcano erupting / an earthquake cracking a road / a cave forming in limestone) → a cave forming in limestonePrompt: How long does each change take?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. A hillside slid down onto a road after days of heavy rain. Is this fast or slow? (fast / it is not a change / slow) → fastPrompt: How long did the slide itself take?
  2. Three of these are fast changes. Which one is NOT? (an earthquake cracking a road / a glacier carving a valley / a volcano erupting / a flood covering fields) → a glacier carving a valleyPrompt: How long does each change take?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Name the landform from its description.
  • Use concrete materials: rock samples.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Ways to slow wind and water from wearing away land.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Earth changes: fast or slow?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: a glacier carving a valley?

    • A. fast (minutes to days)
    • B. slow (many years)

  2. Question 2

    Three of these are slow changes. Which one is NOT?

    • A. a storm washing away part of a beach
    • B. mountains wearing down
    • C. a cave forming in limestone
    • D. a glacier carving a valley

  3. Question 3

    What do a volcano erupting and an earthquake have in common?

    • A. Both can change the land quickly.
    • B. Both are caused by the wind.
    • C. Both take millions of years.
    • D. Neither changes the land.

  4. Question 4

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: a flood covering fields?

    • A. fast (minutes to days)
    • B. slow (many years)

  5. Question 5

    Three of these are fast changes. Which one is NOT?

    • A. a flood covering fields
    • B. a cave forming in limestone
    • C. a landslide after heavy rain
    • D. an earthquake cracking a road

  6. Question 6

    A sharp, jagged mountain range and an old, rounded mountain range are both made of hard rock. Which has probably been wearing down for longer?

    • A. the sharp, jagged mountains
    • B. the rounded mountains
    • C. both wore down in one day
    • D. mountains never wear down

  7. Question 7

    Scientists say the Grand Canyon took millions of years to form. What evidence suggests this?

    • A. People dug it with spades.
    • B. Canyons are always old.
    • C. The canyon looked the same last week.
    • D. The river wears away only a tiny amount of rock each year, but the canyon is very deep.

  8. Question 8

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: a volcano erupting?

    • A. fast (minutes to days)
    • B. slow (many years)

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Answer key: Earth changes: fast or slow?

  1. 1. B. slow (many years)

  2. 2. A. a storm washing away part of a beach

  3. 3. A. Both can change the land quickly.

  4. 4. A. fast (minutes to days)

  5. 5. B. a cave forming in limestone

  6. 6. B. the rounded mountains

  7. 7. D. The river wears away only a tiny amount of rock each year, but the canyon is very deep.

  8. 8. A. fast (minutes to days)