South Dakota Science 2-ESS2-2

Science2nd GradeEarth and Space Science

The Standard

Obtain and evaluate information about the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in your local areas. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS2.B; CCC: Stability/Change)

South Dakota Science Standards (2024) · Earth’s Systems

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do: Students use local maps, photos, or observations to find nearby land and water features. They describe their shapes and decide which source shows each shape most clearly.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can find a land feature and a water feature on a local map, name each, and describe their shapes. They can explain why a map shows a water feature’s outline better than a ground-level photo.
Common Misconceptions: Students may call every body of water a lake, even when a map shows a narrow stream. They may mistake roads for streams or think a ground-level photo shows a pond’s whole outline.
How to Assess It: Give students a map of a nearby area with land and water, plus a ground-level photo of the water. Ask them to circle one land feature and one water feature, describe their shapes, and say which source best shows the water’s outline.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

Give pairs an aerial photo of a nearby area, clay, and blue yarn; have them model the land and trace the water’s shape.
Compare aerial and ground-level photos of nearby water; ask, “Which shows its shape better, and what does each photo miss?”
Play map detective: give pairs cropped local map sections to match with photos, then have them name the land or water shapes.
Use a map of the nearest stream, pond, or shoreline to plan a walk; have students predict where its edge curves.

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