Virginia SOL 2.7.b

Science2nd GradeEarth and Space Systems

The Standard

wind and weather can change the land

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how wind and rain wear away or move soil and small rocks. They use observations, pictures, or simple models to describe land before and after a change.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can identify where soil moved and name wind or rain as the cause. They can predict that bare, loose soil will change more easily than soil held by plant roots.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think soil disappears rather than moving to a new place. They may also think land changes only during strong storms or that rain only creates puddles.
How to Assess It: Ask: “A bare dirt hill gets wind and rain for one month. Draw and label how the hill might change.”

Lesson moves

Build two sand hills, then use a fan on one and a spray bottle on the other to observe where sediment moves.
Ask students to write: “How can a rainy day change a hill even after the water is gone?”
Sort before-and-after landform cards by likely cause, wind, rain, or neither, then explain each choice to a partner.
Walk around the schoolyard to find moved soil near gutters, slopes, or bare patches, then sketch one example.

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