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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 wide, flat area of land? (plain / mountain / island / peninsula) → plainPrompt: Is it high or low? Flat or steep? Is water around it?
  2. Which description matches a plain? (a rounded rise of land, lower than a mountain / a high, flat area of land with steep sides / a wide, flat area of land / a deep, narrow valley with steep rock walls cut by a river) → a wide, flat area of landPrompt: Picture the landform from above and from the side.
  3. True or false? An island has water on only one side. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: 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 landslide after heavy rain? (fast (minutes to days) / slow (many years)) → fast (minutes to days)Prompt: Could you watch it happen in one day?
  2. Three of these are slow changes. Which one is NOT? (waves slowly shaping a cliff / a cave forming in limestone / a glacier carving a valley / an earthquake cracking a road) → an earthquake cracking a roadPrompt: 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. Three of these are slow changes. Which one is NOT? (an earthquake cracking a road / mountains wearing down / waves slowly shaping a cliff / a river carving a canyon) → an earthquake cracking a roadPrompt: How long does each change take?
  2. Scientists say the Grand Canyon took millions of years to form. What evidence suggests this? (Canyons are always old. / People dug it with spades. / The canyon looked the same last week. / The river wears away only a tiny amount of rock each year, but the canyon is very deep.) → The river wears away only a tiny amount of rock each year, but the canyon is very deep.Prompt: Small changes add up over a very long time.

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

eurekami

Earth changes: fast or slow?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    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.

  2. Question 2

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

    • A. waves slowly shaping a cliff
    • B. a storm washing away part of a beach
    • C. a river carving a canyon
    • D. a glacier carving a valley

  3. Question 3

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: waves slowly shaping a cliff?

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

  4. Question 4

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

  5. Question 5

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: a cave forming in limestone?

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

  6. Question 6

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

    • A. a landslide after heavy rain
    • B. a volcano erupting
    • C. mountains wearing down
    • D. a storm washing away part of a beach

  7. Question 7

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: a river carving a canyon?

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

  8. Question 8

    Is this a fast change or a slow change: an earthquake cracking a road?

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

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Answer key: Earth changes: fast or slow?

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

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

  3. 3. B. slow (many years)

  4. 4. C. the rounded mountains

  5. 5. B. slow (many years)

  6. 6. C. mountains wearing down

  7. 7. B. slow (many years)

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