What students investigate

Students start with the ocean, a huge body of salty water that holds most of Earth’s water. They see rivers and streams where water flows across land, and lakes and ponds surrounded by land.

Then they learn that water can be a liquid or solid ice: ice can cover a lake, snow and glaciers are frozen water on land, and groundwater fills spaces in soil and rock underground. The last cards use pictures and captions to find a pattern and show that a source with facts we can check is better than an opinion.

Who it is for

Finding Water is written for Grade 2 Earth science and pairs with Maps Around Us. It also leads into the free bonus pack The Water Cycle, which shows how water moves between those places.

The words source, glacier, groundwater and opinion are taught on Learn cards before any question uses them.

What students learn

10 learning ideas, one at a time. Each one is a silent animated Learn card, then Review and Mastery questions.

1. Water is found in many places on Earth.
2. The ocean is a huge body of salty water. It holds most of Earth’s water.
3. Rivers and streams are places where liquid water flows across land.
4. Lakes and ponds are bodies of water surrounded by land.
5. Liquid water and solid ice are two forms of water.
6. Ice can cover a lake. The water below may be liquid or frozen.
7. Snow and glacier ice are frozen water on land.
8. Groundwater fills spaces in soil and rock underground.
9. Pictures and captions can show a pattern in where water is.
10. A source with facts we can check is better than an opinion.

Science words in this pack

Each word is taught on its Learn card, then used again in Review and Mastery.

• source
• ocean
• salty
• river
• stream
• lake
• pond
• liquid
• solid
• ice
• frozen
• surface
• snow
• glacier
• groundwater
• pore
• pattern
• compare
• evidence
• opinion

Inside the pack

How it works in class

• Learn. 10 silent whiteboard animations, one idea per card. No audio, so it works on a classroom screen or a quiet device.
• Review. 30 practice questions with feedback. Ideas a student misses come back.
• Mastery. 30 questions to show what each student knows on their own.
• Certificate. A student who finishes can print a certificate or save it as a PDF. It shows first-try Review and Mastery results and the ideas that needed a retry.

Standards connections

These cards support parts of the following NGSS performance expectations. They do not replace hands-on investigations.

• 2-ESS2-3 — core ideas

More in Science in Motion — Grade 2

• Materials Detectives: Observe, Test & Sort Look closely. Test properties. Sort what you find.
• Choosing Materials Pick the best material for a job by testing its properties.
• Build With Pieces See how a set of small pieces can be built into many new objects.
• Heating & Cooling Find out which changes from heating or cooling can be undone.
• Compare Habitats Compare the plants and animals that live in different places.
• Shaping the Land Explore hills, valleys and rivers, and how wind and water change land.
• What Plants Need Test what plants need to grow: light and water.
• Pollinators & Seeds See how animals move pollen and help seeds travel.
• Maps Around Us Use simple maps to show the shapes of land and water.
• The Water Cycle Follow water as it moves between sky, land, and water.

About the Science in Motion — Grade 2 series