🏔️ Landforms All Around

Earth Science Unit 3, Lesson 1 of 6

Grade: 2 Duration: 45 minutes Subject: Earth Science, Earth Features Materials: Playdough, blue paper, toothpicks, crayons
NGSS Standard: 2-ESS2-2 — Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

🎯 Learning Goals

📦 Materials

📖 Vocabulary

landform A natural shape on Earth's surface, like a mountain or valley
mountain A very tall, steep rise of land with a peak at the top
valley A low area of land between hills or mountains
plain A wide, flat area of land
island A piece of land completely surrounded by water
peninsula A piece of land that sticks out into water, connected on one side

🔬 Background

Earth is not flat! The surface has many different shapes called landforms. A mountain is a tall, steep rise of land with a peak at the top. A valley is a low area of land between hills or mountains, often with a river running through it. A plain is a wide, flat area of land. An island is a piece of land completely surrounded by water.

Landforms are created by powerful forces inside and outside the Earth. Volcanoes push hot rock up to form new mountains. Moving plates of rock under Earth crack and fold the surface into ridges and valleys. Wind and water slowly wear away rock over millions of years, carving out canyons and valleys.

Maps show us where landforms are found. Scientists who study Earth's surface are called geographers. They make maps that show mountains with triangles, valleys with V shapes, and water with blue color. When you look at a globe, you can see the rough, bumpy shape of continents, islands, and ocean floors.

🧪 Activity: Landform Builder

Step 1: Look at photos of Earth (a globe, atlas, or the internet) and find one example of each: a mountain, valley, plain, and island. If a globe is not available, discuss what each looks like from memory.
Step 2: Set up your workspace with playdough and blue paper (or a bowl of water for the "ocean").
Step 3: Build a mountain: roll playdough into a cone shape, tall and peaked at the top.
Step 4: Build a valley: make two small hills side by side, then press a low curved channel between them.
Step 5: Build a plain: flatten a piece of playdough into a wide, flat shape.
Step 6: Build an island: shape playdough into a mound and place it in the "ocean" (blue bowl or on blue paper surrounded by blue space).
Step 7: Make small paper flags: cut tiny rectangles, fold them over a toothpick or pencil tip, and label each landform with its name. If that feels too fiddly, just write the labels on scrap paper and place them beside each model.
Step 8: Look at all 4 landforms together. Discuss: Which is tallest? Which is lowest? Which is surrounded by water?

💬 Discussion Questions

Q1: Where would you build a city, on a plain or in a valley? Why?

Hint: Plains make the easiest places to build cities because they are flat and wide with lots of room. Many of the world's biggest cities (like Chicago, Denver) are built on plains. Valleys can be good too because rivers often run through them, providing water, but they can flood!

Q2: What do you think would happen if you poured water at the top of your mountain model?

Hint: The water would run down the sides of the mountain and collect in the low valley below. This is exactly how rivers and streams form in real life: rain falls on mountains and flows downhill into valleys.

✏️ Student Worksheet

Landforms All Around - Student Worksheet
Name: _________________________    Date: _____________

1. Draw and label 4 landforms

Label: ___________________

Label: ___________________

Label: ___________________

Label: ___________________

2. Fill in the blank

A landform that is completely surrounded by water is called a(n) ___________________.

3. How did your model show shape?

Choose one landform model and explain how its shape helped show what it was.

4. Circle the right answer

Where would you most likely find a river?

(a) In a valley     (b) On a mountain peak     (c) In the middle of a plain

5. Draw a simple map

Draw a map that includes: 1 mountain, 1 valley, and 1 ocean. Color the water blue.

👩‍🏫 Parent/Teacher Notes

✂️ PARENT ANSWER KEY

Worksheet Answers

  1. Draw and label 4 landforms: Accept any combination of mountain, valley, plain, island, peninsula. Drawings should roughly match the shape (mountain = tall/pointed, valley = low between hills, plain = flat, island = surrounded by water).
  2. Fill in the blank: island
  3. Circle the right answer: (a) In a valley
  4. Draw a simple map: Accept any drawing that includes a triangular or peaked mountain shape, a low area for a valley, and a blue-colored area for the ocean. Labels are a bonus.
© 2026 Little Lab Coats. For personal, non-commercial use only. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or resale is prohibited. Printed copies are for use within your immediate household only.