2-ESS2-2: Modeling Land and Water
Also called NGSS 2-ESS2-2 · Topic: Earth's Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative scaling in models.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 2-ESS2-2 Means in Plain English
Second graders make a model, like a map, a drawing or a clay landscape, that shows what kinds of land and water a place has and how they are shaped. Their models include features such as hills, valleys, mountains, lakes, rivers and oceans.
Models do not need to be drawn to scale, so students show what is where without measuring real sizes. This leads to reading maps for patterns in mountains, coastlines and ocean floors in 4th grade (4-ESS2-2).
2-ESS2-2 I Can Statements
- I can name kinds of land, like hills and valleys.
- I can name bodies of water, like lakes and rivers.
- I can build a model that shows land and water in a place.
2-ESS2-2 Worked Example
A tabletop landscape built from modeling clay in a foil baking pan.
Where does water collect on a model landscape, and what features does it form?
Set It Up: A foil baking pan, two sticks of modeling clay, a cup of water tinted blue, a spoon and toothpick flags for labels.
- Press clay into a tall mountain at one end and a low hill in the middle.Mountain and hill
- Pinch a dip between them for a valley and press a hollow at the far end.Valley and hollow
- Spoon blue water slowly onto the mountain top.Water runs down the valley
- Keep spooning until water pools at the low end.A lake fills the hollow
- Add a lump of clay in the lake and flag every feature.Island, lake, river, valley, mountain
Water ran downhill through the valley like a river and collected in the lowest spot as a lake.
Why it works: Water always flows to lower ground, so rivers follow valleys and lakes fill low places surrounded by higher land.
Common Mistakes with 2-ESS2-2
Mixing up water words
Calling a river a lake
Try this: A river is moving water that flows in a long channel. A lake is still water that fills a low area.
Water flowing uphill
A drawn river running from a lake up to a mountain top
Try this: Rivers start high and flow down to lower ground. Check each drawn river by asking which end is higher.
Leaving out the water
A model with mountains and hills but no rivers or lakes
Try this: A complete model shows both land and water. Add at least one body of water and label where it sits.
Where 2-ESS2-2 Fits
Practice 2-ESS2-2
Quick Check
- What is the difference between a hill and a mountain?
- Why do rivers flow through valleys?
- What is an island?