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PlayOwl

Science · Grade 2

Engineer against Erosion

Rain washes soil off a hillside, a river eats away at its bank, and wind blows sand dunes across a road. Learners explain how wind and water change the shape of land, explore engineering solutions (plants, rock walls, fences and rows of trees), and compare data from a model 'rainstorm' test to decide which solution best slows erosion, while thinking about tradeoffs such as cost and time.

  • 3 lessons
  • About 80 minutes
  • Erosion solutions check: 8 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, match pairs, type a number, put in order, sort into groups and true or false
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Explain how wind and water change the shape of land (erosion) and why that can cause problems for people.
  • Describe solutions that slow or stop wind or water from changing the land, and how each one works.
  • Compare test data from several solutions to choose the best one, including tradeoffs such as cost and time.

Lessons

  1. Wind and water move land 4 steps2 practiceabout 24 min
  2. Solutions that hold the land 4 steps2 practiceabout 24 min
  3. Compare solutions with data 7 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  4. Erosion solutions 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