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  1. 2nd Grade Science

  3. What Land and Water Can You Find?

2ND GRADE SCIENCE • EARTH'S SYSTEMS

What Land and Water Can You Find?

Let's explore a place where mountains meet the ocean and discover all the different kinds of land and water on Earth!

SECTION 1

What's Happening?

🔍 LOOK AT THIS!

There are so many different kinds of land and water all in one place!

🌊 OCEAN🌊 OCEAN🏖️ Beach⛰️ Mountains💧 Lake🏞️ River🌿 Flat land
A colorful view of an island with mountains, a river, a lake, a beach, and the ocean around it.
💭 THINKING QUESTIONS
SECTION 2

What Scientists Know

Earth has many different kinds of land and water. Scientists call these landforms (that means the shapes of land) and bodies of water (that means places where water collects). Let's learn about them!

1

Kinds of Land

Land comes in many shapes! Mountains are tall and pointy. Hills are shorter and rounded. Plains are big, flat areas. A valley is a low area between mountains or hills.
2

Kinds of Water

Water collects in different places! An ocean is a huge body of salt water. A lake is water with land all around it. A river is water that flows in a long path. A pond is like a small lake.
✦ KEY TAKEAWAY
KEY TAKEAWAY
SECTION 3

Let's Investigate!

🔬 LET'S TRY IT!

Here is what you can do:

  • Look at a map of a place you know (your town, your state, or a park you have visited).
  • Find all the blue parts on the map. Blue means water! Is it a lake, a river, or an ocean?
  • Find all the green and brown parts. Those show land! Can you see mountains, hills, or flat land?
  • Draw a picture of what you found. Label each kind of land and water with its name.

What you might need: a map (paper or on a computer), crayons or markers, paper

How Scientists Read a Map

🗺️ Our MapMap Key= Water= Flat Land= Mountains⛰️ Mountains🌾 Plains (flat land)🏞️ River💧 Lake🌊 Ocean🏔️ HillsValley ↓
A diagram showing how to read a map by looking for blue areas (water) and green/brown areas (land), with examples of each landform and body of water labeled.
SECTION 4

What We Discovered

When we look at maps and pictures, we can identify (that means find and name) many kinds of land and water. Each kind has special features that help us know what it is.

Mountains are very tall and have pointed or rounded tops. Hills are shorter than mountains but still rise above the flat land around them. Plains are big areas of flat land with no tall hills or mountains. A valley is the low space between two mountains or hills.

Oceans are the biggest bodies of water on Earth. They are full of salt water. Rivers flow from high places to low places, like a long path of water. Lakes have land all around them and do not flow like a river. A pond is a small, shallow lake.

LANDFORM OR BODY OF WATERWHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
⛰️ MountainVery tall land with a pointy or rounded top
🏔️ HillRaised land, shorter than a mountain, usually rounded
🌾 PlainBig flat area of land
🏞️ ValleyLow land between mountains or hills
🌊 OceanVery large body of salt water
💧 LakeWater with land all around it
🏞️ RiverWater that flows in a long path
🐸 PondA small, shallow lake
SECTION 5

Do You See the Pattern?

Scientists look for patterns (things that happen again and again the same way). There is a pattern with landforms and bodies of water. Do you notice it?

Land and water come in different sizes and shapes. Some are very big, and some are smaller. Some are tall, and some are flat. This pattern helps us sort and name them!

PATTERNLAND EXAMPLEWATER EXAMPLE
Very bigMountain range (many mountains in a row)Ocean (covers most of Earth!)
MediumHill, plainLake, river
SmallA small hill in a parkPond, stream

This is the same pattern you see in other places! Animals come in different sizes — tiny ants and huge whales. Rocks come in different sizes too — tiny pebbles and giant boulders. Size and shape help us tell things apart everywhere in nature!

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY
KEY TAKEAWAY
SECTION 6

People Use This Science!

Knowing the kinds of land and water helps people every day!

1

Map Makers

People who make maps need to show mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans. They use special colors and shapes so everyone can read the map.
2

Builders

Before building a house or a road, people look at the land. Is it flat or hilly? Is there a river nearby? This helps them choose the best place to build.

Try this design challenge: Can you draw a map of a made-up town? Include at least two kinds of land and two kinds of water. Think about where people would put houses, roads, and parks. Would you put a house on top of a mountain or on flat land?

SECTION 7

Key Vocabulary

  • Landform — A shape of land on Earth, like a mountain, hill, or plain.
  • Body of water — A place where water collects, like an ocean, lake, river, or pond.
  • Mountain — Very tall land with a pointy or rounded top.
  • Valley — Low land between mountains or hills.
  • Plain — A big flat area of land.
  • Observe — To look closely and carefully at something.
SECTION 8

Show What You Know!

PROBLEM 1 — WARM-UP
Mia visits a place where tall, rocky land rises high above the flat ground around it. The top is pointed and covered with snow. What kind of land is Mia looking at?
PROBLEM 2 — ON TRACK
Carlos is looking at a map of his town. He sees a blue shape that is long and thin. It starts in the hills and flows all the way to a bigger body of water. What body of water does the blue shape most likely show?
PROBLEM 3 — ON TRACK
Aisha walks outside and sees flat land stretching far in every direction. There are grasses and wildflowers but no hills or mountains nearby. What kind of land does Aisha see?
PROBLEM 4 — CHALLENGE
Jayden is using a reference book about Earth's land and water. He reads about a body of water that is surrounded by land on all sides. It has fresh water and is smaller than an ocean. Which body of water is Jayden reading about?
SECTION 9

What's Next?

🔮 WHAT'S NEXT?
SUMMARY

What We Learned

Varsity Tutors • 2nd Grade Science (NGSS) • Landforms & Bodies of Water