This 3-page 2nd grade science worksheet covers eight landforms: mountain, hill, valley, plain, plateau, canyon, island and peninsula. Students write the letter of the matching definition next to each name, with a small picture beside every one. Page 2 asks them to sort words into High land and Low or flat land, then answer one question about water and land. It ties to NGSS 2-ESS2-2, and page 3 is the answer key.
2-ESS2-2
“Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.”
Part 1 gives students the names and pictures for eight kinds of land, and Part 2 sorts six of them by height and flatness.
A table lists eight numbered landforms, each with a small round picture and an empty Letter box. Students match them to definitions A to H, such as "high land that is flat on top" and "land with water on three sides".
A word bank of mountain, valley, hill, plain, plateau and canyon floor goes into a two-column chart headed High land and Low or flat land. Each column has five lines.
Students write two landforms in answer to "Which two landforms are about water and land?" on two lines under the chart.
Each landform is listed with its letter and definition, followed by the sorted chart and the island and peninsula answer.
Before writing letters
Show photos of a plateau and a mountain side by side. "High land that is flat on top" and "very high land with steep sides" are the pair worth talking through.
Island and peninsula
Draw both on the board and count the sides of water together, all around for one and three for the other. Students then match items 7 and 8 with confidence.
Canyon floor
Ask why the word bank says canyon floor and not canyon. Students see that one landform can have a high edge and a low bottom.
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