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Science · Grade 2

Earth Changes Quickly and Slowly

Some changes to Earth's surface happen in minutes: a volcano erupts, an earthquake shakes, a landslide rushes downhill. Others take so long that no one could watch them happen, like a river carving a canyon. Learners sort Earth events by how fast they happen, place them on timelines, and use evidence from several sources (photos, measurements and eyewitness reports) to show that a change happened.

  • 3 lessons
  • About 75 minutes
  • Earth changes check: 8 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number, put in order and sort into groups
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Sort Earth events into those that happen quickly (minutes to days) and those that happen slowly (many years or longer).
  • Use timelines to compare how long different Earth events take.
  • Use information from more than one source as evidence that an Earth change happened.

Lessons

  1. Quick changes 4 steps2 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Slow changes and timelines 4 steps2 practiceabout 25 min
  3. Evidence from several sources 6 steps2 practiceabout 28 min
  4. Earth changes check 8 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Marble MountainLay straights, curves, drops and splitters to roll marbles down the mountain.
  • Habitat Builder 3DFind the right home for frogs, camels, polar bears and more.
  • Weather LabPredict the weather in a box, then run a fair test to find out why.

More 2nd grade science

Guide for grown-ups