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2nd Grade Earth Science Resources

34 2nd grade Earth Science resources: 21 worksheets, 8 activities, 4 songs and more. How teachers use these

2nd Grade Earth Science Resources

34 2nd grade Earth Science resources: 21 worksheets, 8 activities, 4 songs and more. How teachers use these

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeReduce, Reuse, Recycle Sorting Worksheet

A second grade Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Sorting Worksheet where students sort nine everyday items into the correct earth-friendly bin. Answer key included — a quick, no-prep Earth Day activity for home or classroom.

Video
Video2nd GradeSeasons Song

The Seasons Song by Have Fun Teaching is perfect for teaching and learning all about the seasons of the year. This is a fun way for kids to learn the seasons. With this seasons song, your kids can learn about Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. While listening to the Seasons…

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeWeather Fill in the Blank Worksheet

This Weather Fill in the Blank Worksheet lets 2nd graders complete eight weather sentences using a word bank of terms like thunder, sleet, and downpour. Includes an answer key for quick, no-prep science vocabulary practice.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradePrintable Thermometer

This Printable Thermometer shows Fahrenheit and Celsius scales side by side, giving 2nd grade students an easy classroom tool for tracking temperature and weather. Print, mark, and reuse all year long.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeWeather Words Worksheet

This Weather Words Worksheet helps 2nd graders sort sixteen weather terms into precipitation, storms, sky conditions, and temperature. Answer key included — a quick, no-prep way to grow earth science vocabulary.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeNatural Disasters Fill in the Blanks Worksheet

This Natural Disasters Fill in the Blanks Worksheet has 2nd graders match blizzards, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes to picture-clue sentences. Answer key included — perfect for no-prep extreme weather vocabulary practice.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeReduce, Reuse, Recycle Worksheet

This Reduce, Reuse, Recycle worksheet helps 2nd grade students learn the three Rs by matching each word to its meaning and sorting Earth Day scenarios. Answer key included for quick, no-prep practice.

Video
Video2nd GradeCreation Song

While watching the Creation Song, students learn about the days of Creation perfect for Sunday school, kid's church, and Bible lessons for kids. Bring joy and understanding into your kid's church, Sunday school, and classroom with this song about the days of Creation. Your kids will love a new way…

Activity
Activity2nd GradeGo Green Recycle Activity

This go green recycle activity helps preschool to 3rd grade students sort everyday items into paper, plastic, metal, and glass, with a practice page and answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeErosion Writing Worksheet

This erosion writing worksheet has 2nd grade students read a short fact box, answer four questions, and explain how plants slow erosion. An answer key is included for easy checking.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeRecycling Sort Worksheet

A recycling sort worksheet for second grade, where students sort paper, plastic, and glass items into the correct bins. Includes an answer key—a hands-on Earth Day science activity for classrooms and homeschool.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeNeeds and Wants Sorting Worksheet

This Needs and Wants Sorting Worksheet helps 2nd graders sort a word bank of everyday items into needs and wants. A complete answer key is included—perfect for quick, no-prep practice at home or in class.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSolar System Activity

This solar system activity is a Space Race game where 2nd to 5th Grade students spin, write and color the eight planets in order. Includes trivia cards, practice and answer key.

Assessment
Assessment2nd GradeForests Life Science Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Forests Life Science Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 2nd graders a short non-fiction passage about pine, leafy, and rain forests, plus questions and an answer key. Great no-prep practice for main idea and key details.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeWeather Writing Worksheet

This weather writing worksheet gives 2nd grade students a Word Bank of weather words, four sentences to complete, and lines to describe the sky outside. An answer key is included, so science writing practice is ready in minutes.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSun Activity

This sun activity sends 1st and 2nd grade children on a read-the-room hunt for twelve sun fact cards, with a recording sheet, a Yes or No practice page and answer keys included.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeNatural Disasters Matching Worksheet

This Natural Disasters Matching Worksheet gives 2nd Grade students six weather words, six clues to match them to and an answer key, so severe-weather vocabulary is learned by its features.

Assessment
Assessment2nd GradeWetlands Life Science Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Explore swamps, bogs, and marshes with this wetlands life science reading comprehension worksheet. Second graders read a short nonfiction passage and answer six questions, and an answer key is included, so learning about habitats stays easy and fun.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeWeather Wiz Activity

This weather wiz activity has 1st to 3rd graders read weather fact cards, decide if each is sunny, rainy, snowy or cloudy, and record them on a sort chart. Answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet2nd GradeMoon Writing Worksheet

This Moon Writing Worksheet gives 2nd grade students five short facts about the Moon, four questions to answer on the lines, and space to write two sentences of their own. An answer key is included for quick checking.

From our teachers' playbook

Rocks, rain, sky and our planet

What do 2nd graders learn about Earth science?

Second graders explore the planet under their feet and the sky above. They learn about land and water: mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans, and how wind and water slowly change land through erosion. They track weather with thermometers, learn about events like earthquakes and floods, and observe the sun, moon and planets. They also learn to care for Earth by reducing, reusing and recycling. The click is when kids see a muddy stream after rain and realize the water is carrying soil away.

Our favorite ways to teach Earth science

Earth science is all around us. These moves get kids observing it.

Sort the trash

Bring in clean recyclables and trash and let kids sort them: reduce, reuse or recycle? Then they weigh the class trash for a week. Hands-on sorting turns caring for Earth into an action, not just a slogan.

Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Sorting WorksheetTry it withReduce, Reuse, Recycle Sorting WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Be a weather watcher

Read a real thermometer each morning and record the temperature on a class chart. After a few weeks, kids look for patterns. Is it warmer in the afternoon? Data they collect themselves is the most meaningful.

Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).

Printable ThermometerTry it withPrintable ThermometerWorksheetsOpen it →

Read about land and water

Pair a reading passage about lakes and seas with a map. Kids find bodies of water near them and compare them to what they read. Reading builds the science words; the map makes them local.

Why it works: shuffled practice teaches kids to choose the right strategy, not just repeat one, and it improved test scores in research (Rohrer and Taylor, 2007).

Lakes and Seas Life Science Reading Comprehension WorksheetTry it withLakes and Seas Life Science Reading Comprehension WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask

What do 2nd graders learn in Earth science?

Landforms and bodies of water, how wind and water change the land, weather, natural events like earthquakes and floods, the sun, moon and planets, and caring for the Earth.

How do I explain erosion to a 2nd grader?

Erosion is when wind or water slowly moves soil and rock from one place to another. Pour water over a sand hill outside and watch it carve a path.

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is what's happening outside today. Climate is the usual weather in a place over many years.

How can I teach Earth science at home?

Collect rocks, keep a weather chart, watch the moon and visit a creek or beach. Ask "What do you notice? What do you think caused that?"