This map symbols worksheet asks 2nd grade students to name six common map pictures using a word box with two extra choices. A full answer key is included, so map key practice takes no prep.
This neighborhood map worksheet has 2nd graders draw their own street from above, then invent symbols and explain them in a map key. An open-ended template that builds real map skills.
A national parks activity for 2nd to 4th grade: students walk a ranger trail of 12 picture cards about famous parks, with a trail log and answer key included.
This land or water activity is a K-2nd grade animal sorting card game with a spinner and sorting mat. Children classify animals by where they live, and an answer key is included.
Using this Survivor Desert Edition Activity, students play the survivor board game to test your knowledge of animals and their habitats.
Using this Survivor Ocean Edition Activity, students play the survivor board game to test your knowledge of animals and their habitats.
Using Color Me Curious Research Writing Activity, students participate in shared research and writing projects to learn about any topic.
Using this Survivor Rainforest Edition Activity, students play the survivor board game to test your knowledge of animals and their habitats.
Deserts, oceans, mountains, oh my!
Geography in second grade is the study of our amazing planet and where people live on it. Kids learn the difference between land and water, and they meet landforms and bodies of water like mountains, plains, islands, rivers, lakes and oceans. They explore habitats such as deserts and rainforests and talk about how weather and land change the way people and animals live. Many also find the seven continents and five oceans on a globe. The click moment is when a child says, "That blue part is way bigger than the land!"
Geography comes alive when kids can sort it, see it and imagine themselves there.
Start with the biggest idea: is it land or water? Kids sort picture cards of islands, lakes, mountains and rivers into two piles and explain each choice. Once that is solid, sort the land pile again by shape, like flat, tall or surrounded by water.
Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.
Try it withLand or Water ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Real photos make landforms unforgettable. Show a canyon, a geyser or a giant mountain from a national park and ask kids to describe what they see in three words. Then find the park on a map together.
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).
Try it withNational Parks ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Ask kids what they would need to live in the desert: water, shade, a hat! Thinking about survival makes them notice how hot, dry or wet a place is, and that is the heart of geography.
Why it works: in a well-known study, a few short sessions of a simple number board game measurably boosted young children's number skills (Ramani and Siegler, 2008).
Try it withSurvivor Desert Edition ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Pack your bags! These turn the classroom into a world tour.
ActivitiesTeams plan how to survive on an ocean island, choosing what to bring and explaining why.
Open Survivor Ocean Edition Activity →
ActivitiesKids explore the wet, leafy rainforest and decide how animals and people stay safe there.
Open Survivor Rainforest Edition Activity →
ActivitiesEach child picks a place to research, then writes and colors three cool facts to share with the class.
Open Color Me Curious Research Writing Activity →Teacher favorites right now: 50 States Song, Map Symbols Worksheet and Neighborhood Map Worksheet.
Second graders learn about land and water, common landforms like mountains and islands, bodies of water like rivers and oceans, and different habitats. Many also learn the continents and oceans on a globe.
Landforms are natural shapes of the land, like mountains, hills, valleys, plains, islands and canyons. Kids learn them best with real photos and simple models made from clay or sand.
Spin a globe and let your child point to a random spot, then talk about whether it is land or water and what it might be like there. Watching nature shows and looking at travel photos also builds geography sense.
Most second graders learn the seven continents and the five oceans. A song or a coloring map makes the names much easier to remember.
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