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Geography · Grade 2

Landforms, Rivers and Coasts

Rivers have parts, and coasts have shapes. Learners follow a river from its source to its mouth, see how the Missouri and Ohio rivers feed the Mississippi and how the Mississippi built its delta, name coastal features such as bays, peninsulas, cliffs and harbors, find real examples on a map, and discover that moving water slowly wears land away in some places and builds it up in others.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 60 minutes
  • Rivers and coasts check: 8 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, label a picture, pin a map, match pairs, put in order and sort into groups
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What learners will discover

  • Name the parts of a river (source, tributary, banks, mouth, delta) and put them in order from source to mouth.
  • Name and tell apart coastal features: beach, cliff, bay, peninsula, island and harbor.
  • Find real rivers and coastal features on a map, such as the Mississippi Delta, the Florida peninsula, Chesapeake Bay and the islands of Hawaii.
  • Explain that moving water slowly shapes the land by wearing it away and building it up.

Lessons

  1. Parts of a river 4 steps2 practiceabout 15 min
  2. The Mississippi and its helpers 5 steps3 practiceabout 15 min
  3. Coasts 4 steps2 practiceabout 15 min
  4. Water shapes the land 5 steps2 practiceabout 15 min
  5. Rivers and coasts check 8 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Globe ExplorerSpin a real 3D globe, flip to the flat map, and find continents, oceans and countries.
  • Pin the PlanetDrag the pin onto wonders, cities and exact latitude and longitude points.
  • Mapmaker QuestFollow directions to make a map, then read its legend, compass rose and scale.

More 2nd grade geography

Guide for grown-ups