Grades 2–5
Erosion Experiment
Pour water on bare soil and on soil with plants, compare how much washes away and explain how plants help.
Science worksheet · Landforms and erosion
Weathering or Erosion?
Sort ten changes into weathering (breaking rock) and erosion (moving it), then explain the difference.
- Grade level
- Grades 3–5
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Landforms, Weathering and erosion, Earth changes
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces. Erosion carries the pieces away to a new place. Water, wind, ice and plants can do both.
- Write each change in the right column.
- In your own words, how are weathering and erosion different?
Teacher tip
Rub two rocks together (weathering) and then blow the dust away (erosion).
How to use it
- Build landforms in a sand tray or from playdough.
- Pour water over a sand hill to show erosion.
- Let partners compare answers and settle any differences with a book or a video.
Watch for
Weathering breaks rock; erosion moves it. The words get mixed up.
Talk about it
- What makes rocks break down?
- What evidence helped you choose your answer?
Take it further
Make a landform map of an imaginary island.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More landforms and erosion worksheets
Grades 2–4
Fast or Slow Changes?
Sort eight changes to Earth’s surface into fast and slow, then draw one.
Grades 2–4
Landforms
Label a mountain, valley, river, lake, island and plain on a picture, then draw the landform near you.
Grades 3–5
More Landform Words
Match peninsula, canyon, plateau, delta, glacier and dune to their meanings.
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.