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NGSS*2nd GradeEarth and Space Science

2-ESS2-3: Where Water Is Found on Earth

Also called NGSS 2-ESS2-3 · Topic: Earth's Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth · Earth and Space Science

Practice ItAll 14 2nd Grade Science Standards

The Official Wording

Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026

What 2-ESS2-3 Means in Plain English

Second graders gather information from books, maps, photos and globes to find where water is on Earth, such as oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, glaciers and ice caps. They also learn that water can be solid, like ice and snow, or liquid.

Students identify and describe water, not measure exact amounts or explain the water cycle. In 5th grade they describe and graph how much of Earth's water is salty or fresh (5-ESS2-2).

2-ESS2-3 I Can Statements

  • I can name places on Earth where water is found.
  • I can tell if water in a picture is solid or liquid.
  • I can use books, maps and photos to find information.

2-ESS2-3 Worked Example

A globe toss and photo sort that show how much of Earth's surface is water, and in what form.

The Question

Is more of Earth's surface covered by water or by land, and where is that water frozen?

Set It Up: An inflatable globe, a tally chart, and eight photos of water places, from an ocean beach to a mountain glacier.

Globe, tally chart and photos
GlobeTally chartWater photos
What Students Do
  1. Toss the globe around the circle, and each time note what lies under the right pointer finger of the child holding it.Water or land
  2. Tally 20 tosses.Water: 14. Land: 6
  3. Sort the photos into solid water and liquid water.Solid: 3 photos. Liquid: 5 photos
  4. Circle the photos taken in very cold places.Every solid water photo is cold
What They Find

Water covered most of the globe, and it showed up as liquid in oceans, lakes and rivers and as solid ice in cold places.

Why it works: About 71 percent of Earth's surface is covered by water, and water freezes into solid ice wherever it gets cold enough.

Common Mistakes with 2-ESS2-3

Thinking ice is not water

“A glacier is ice, not water”

Try this: Ice and snow are water in solid form. Melt an ice cube in a cup to show it becomes liquid water.

Forgetting oceans

Listing lakes and rivers but not oceans

Try this: Point to the blue on a globe. Oceans hold most of Earth's water, far more than all lakes and rivers combined.

Thinking land covers most of Earth

“There’s more land because that’s where we live”

Try this: Use the globe toss or a world map as evidence. Water covers far more of Earth's surface than land does.

Where 2-ESS2-3 Fits

Comes BeforeK-ESS2-1Observe local weather, including rain and snow, as a first look at the forms water takes.
Alongside2-ESS2-2Model the shapes of land and water in an area, like lakes and rivers.2-PS1-4Show with evidence that freezing and melting water can be undone.
Comes Next5-ESS2-2Graph how Earth's water is split between salty oceans and fresh water in ice, lakes and underground.

Practice 2-ESS2-3

Graph Paper GeneratorFree ToolGraph the globe toss tallies as two bars, one for water and one for land.Bar graph1 cm gridLarge squares
Open

Quick Check

  1. Name two places on Earth where water is solid.
  2. Is a river solid or liquid water?
  3. Does Earth have more water or more land on its surface?

2-ESS2-3: Other Names

2-ESS2-3NGSS 2-ESS2-3Water on EarthSolid and liquid water

Official wording from NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. The plain-English lines and everything else on this page are EMStudio’s own explanations, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standards.

*NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.