Second Grade Science DBQ Earth’s Systems: Processes that ... · the Earth - Teacher’s Guide A DBQ is a very structured activity, it cannot be independent or used as a worksheet,

Developed by Jillian Welch, Kate Smith Elementary School, 2018

Second Grade Science DBQ – Earth’s Systems: Processes that

Shape the Earth - Teacher’s Guide

A science document based question (DBQ) is an authentic assessment where students

interact with science related texts. Much like a DBQ in social studies, students analyze

documents, gather information, and fill in short scaffolded responses. Then students

assimilate and synthesize the information from the documents, and write to an

overarching prompt, by using information from the documents as well as integrating

background knowledge they may have brought to the topic. In this science version of a

DBQ, the documents include text, visual models, diagrams, illustrations, videos, etc., all

examples of resources a scientist or engineer might use in research and/or in the field.

This DBQ is aligned with the second grade NGSS topic titled Earth’s Systems: Processes

that Shape the Earth (2-ESS1-1, 2-ESS2-1, 2-ESS2-2, 2-ESS2-3). It is meant accompany a

hands-on unit of study focusing on these standards.

With prompting and support, the students will review the series of documents to write

to a final prompt.

Helpful vocabulary:

preserve

Earth

surface

erosion

erode

earthquake

force

expand

canyon

Writing Task:

As an environmental engineer, you will have to understand, design, and construct

many things. Answer the following question: How can we design solutions to

slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land?

Use at least four of the vocabulary words in your writing.

Use evidence from each document.

Use your background knowledge about this topic.


Second Grade Science DBQ – Earth’s Systems: Process that Shape

the Earth - Teacher’s Guide

A DBQ is a very structured activity, it cannot be independent or used as a worksheet, it must

be directed. Most of the time, a DBQ combines prior knowledge and inferences with the

documents students are exposed to.

When directing students though this DBQ, these are the suggested steps in the process for

each document:

1. Review the final writing prompt. Throughout the document, you might want to

reference this question as the objective for what students are expected to understand.

2. Have students look at, read, watch, or listen to the document.

3. Have the students discuss their general observations of the document.

4. Talk through the first question, or have groups of students talk through the question.

You could also have students jot down their individual ideas prior to having this

discussion.

5. Have students write their answers to the question, either independently or together.

As the students get comfortable with the process, they should do the writing

independently after their discussions.

6. Move on to the next question, discuss, and then write.

You will notice that the questions in each document build on one another, leading students to

higher levels of thinking and deeper into the content. It is important to do each document

and the questions in the order they are listed as part of the scaffolding process.

The vocabulary words should be posted, as they come about in the DBQ, in a highly visible

area of your classroom and should be referred to often.

When completing the final writing, the length and specific details of writing is dependent on

purpose, timing, and your expectations. Depending on your students writing ability, you

might also choose to scaffold this writing and/or model how to cite from the documents.

*Note: To be effective, this DBQ will need to be printed in color, projected onto a board in

color, or you could use the pictures at the back of this teacher’s document printed in color

for each group. When printing this DBQ for students, you will NOT need to include the first

page, however students should know the final writing prompt throughout the process so

they understand and make connections to the final writing task.


1. What forces can change the shape of the land?

Lead students to see that water and temperature change the shape of land as seen in the

pictures. Some students might suggest that wind can change the land. Be sure to include the

vocabulary word “force” in your discussion.

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: Think about the weather; how might

weather change the land? What do you see in these documents that might change the shape of

the land?

2. On Earth’s surface, where might I find water as a solid or a liquid?

Possible responses: (2-ESS2-3 and 2-ESS2-2)

Solid Liquid

Ice Lakes

Iceberg Oceans

Snow Rivers and Streams

Puddles

3. How can water change our land?

Lead students to use prior knowledge of what they have seen outside. For example, they might

suggest that rain and water might move things from one place to another. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: Have you seen sand on the playground move

without people moving it? How did it move? (on the playground, sometimes we see “rivers”

where the dirt has been swept away by water) What do you see in the pictures that might show a

change to the land? How did the water make that change?

Video resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0n3vEul0Hc

Document A

Image 1

Image 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0n3vEul0Hc


4. How can ice change our land?

Allow students to answer this using their background knowledge. Some students might suggest

that when ice is thrown at the land (like when it hails) it can leave holes in the ground if it has

enough force. Some students might share knowledge about glaciers and how they move dirt. (2-

ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What do you see in the pictures that might

indicate a change to the land? How did the ice make that change?

5. How does a liquid changing to solid change the land?

Students need to refer to Image 2 where the water is freezing inside the rock. When water

freezes, it expands, which is why the rock would break apart. Make sure to include the vocabulary

word “expand” in your discussion. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: How does liquid change to a solid? What do

we have to do to make that change happen? What does water become when it changes to a

solid? When a liquid changes to a solid, what happens (you might want to do a small experiment

with this by putting a completely full bottle of water in the freezer so students can see that water

expands when it freezes)? If the liquid expands when it is on or in the land, how would that affect

the land?


1. Circle One: The crack in the road in Picture 1 was caused by a …

quick change slow change

How do you know? A crack in the pavement could happen quickly. Make sure to include the vocabulary word “surface” in your

discussion. (2-ESS1-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: How do you know a slow change from a quick change

to the Earth’s surface? Look at the picture, how did it get this way (i.e. How did the road end up with a

giant crack in it?) Which of the two pictures took longer to form?

What might have caused this change? This could happen very quickly when the land moves. (2-ESS1-1)

2. Circle One: The canyon in Picture 2 was caused by a …

quick change slow change

How do you know? Lead students to the understanding that a canyon cannot develop quickly, therefore it must be considered

a slow change. Make sure to include the vocabulary word “surface” in your discussion. (2-ESS1-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: How do you know a slow change from a quick change

to the Earth’s surface? Look at the picture, how did it get this way (i.e. How did the canyon form?) How

long would it take for this canyon to form? Which of the two pictures took longer to form?

What might have caused this change? Introduce the idea of erosion by leading students to understand that at one time, the land was flat, and

the canyon had to be dug into the land; this type of change takes a very long time. Compare this to when

rain water collects on the playground and forms small “rivers”, think about the size of those “rivers”

compared to the size of this canyon. (2-ESS1-1)

Video resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZZEJMtLOKU

Document B

Picture 1 Picture 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZZEJMtLOKU


3. What natural phenomena cause changes to the land? Name the phenomena and

the changes it might create.

Possible responses: Wind causes dirt to move which very slowly changes the land; hurricanes and

tornadoes can change the land by moving the dirt to new places; volcanoes erupt to form new

mountains; floods cause movement of dirt, soil, and plants; etc. (2-ESS1-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What other natural hazards can you name?

What might happen to the land during that natural hazard? How does this change the land?

4. What natural phenomena might cause the changes in Picture 1 and 2?

Lead students to understand that the river at the bottom of the canyon is what has created the

canyon itself. The water very slowly washed away the land until it formed a deep canyon. Make

sure to include the vocabulary word “erode/erosion” in your discussion. In the case of the

cracked pavement, this could happen during an earthquake when the land moves very suddenly.

(2-ESS1-1)


1. Looking at image 1, what do you notice about the water level compared to the

land? Students should observe that the water level is much higher than the level of the land. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What does the green portion of this picture

represent? What does the gray represent? What does the blue represent? What do you notice about the

level of the land compared to the water?

2. What is the purpose of the levee (or wall)? Lead students to understand that the levee holds the water back so that it does not flood the land. (2-

ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: Which part of the picture is the levee? (point out

that the grey part is the levee, which is a type of wall) Where in the picture is the levee located? (between

the water and the land) What do you notice about the level of the levee compared to the water?

3. Looking at image 2, how do tree and plant roots help prevent erosion? Help students understand that the tree and plant roots hold the soil together to help prevent it from

moving anywhere. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: This might be a good time to show students what

roots do by bringing in a potted plant that you can take out of the pot to see the roots holding the soil

together. If the roots are holding onto the soil, is the soil going to move a lot?

Video resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im4HVXMGI68

Document C

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im4HVXMGI68


4. Looking at image 3, what is the purpose of the netting? Lead students to understand that the netting holds the rocks on the mountainside, to prevent them from

falling. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: How have you used nets at home? How do they help

you? How could your use of nets be applied to this picture?

5. Which solution would work best to prevent wind from changing the shape of the

land: a levee, roots, or a net? Why? Answers will vary, however the most likely response is Image 2, the roots, because the soil is being held

down by the roots. Students need to justify their opinions. Make sure to include the vocabulary word

“preserve” in your discussion as students are discussing how to preserve the shape of the land. (2-ESS2-1

and K-2-ETS1-3)

6. Which of the three solutions, a levee, roots, or a net, would work best to prevent

water from changing the shape of the land? Why? Answers will vary, however the most likely response is Image 1, the levee, because the levee holds the

water back, preventing it from affecting the land. Students need to justify their opinions. Make sure to

include the vocabulary word “preserve” in your discussion as students are discussing how to preserve the

shape of the land. (2-ESS2-1 and K-2-ETS1-3)


1. Color in the area of the original landscape on image 1.

Students should color everything under the dotted line on Image 1. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: Look at the labels on the diagram. What does

each part represent?

2. Compare image 1 and image 2. How have wind and water changed the land?

Lead students to understand that the wind and water have eroded the land back to its new shape.

Originally the water would have stopped at the dotted line, but over time, the wind has pushed

the water up against the land, washing the land back to its new placement. (2-ESS2-1)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: How does wind affect the water? What

happens on the beach when water hits the sand or the sea wall? If this repeated over many

years, what would it do to the land?

Video resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JeT1t-4ttI,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJe6hrdL3M

3. Explain how the picture is a map.

Help students to understand that a map shows the shape and placement of land, therefore this

picture is a map because it shows where the land is. (2-ESS2-2)

Possible leading questions if students are struggling: What do maps represent? What do you see

on a map?

Document D

Image 1 Image 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JeT1t-4ttI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJe6hrdL3M


4. How might an environmental engineer prevent the land from eroding?

Answers will vary, however help students refer back to Document C and the possible solutions to

keeping the land from changing. Students will need to justify any response that they give. (2-

ESS2-1 and K-2-ETS1-1)

5. On image 1, draw a house somewhere on the land. How would the change in this

land affect the people living in this house?

Answers will vary. Students should be able to identify that as the land changes, the house is

affected because it might not have land to sit on if the land washes away. (2-ESS2-1)


Name: _________________________________________________

Writing Task: As an environmental engineer, you will have to understand, design, and

construct many things. Answer the following question: How can we design solutions

to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land?

Use at least one piece of evidence from each document. After a piece of evidence from a

document, put the document letter in parentheses. For example, “An earthquake causes

quick changes to the land (Doc. B).”

Correctly use at least four of the vocabulary terms from this DBQ in your writing.

preserve

Earth

surface

erosion

erode

earthquake

force

expand

canyon

Students reference all documents in their answer, include an introduction that

restates the question, and a conclusion that restates the question.

Students use at least 4 vocabulary words in their answer.

Students mention that wind and water change land, for example the canyon was

created by a river very slowly changing the land and freezing water can break rocks

and land apart quickly.

Students identify that engineers can design solutions, such as levees, nets, and even

planting more trees, to prevent wind and water from changing the shape of the

land.

Allow students to be somewhat creative in any descriptions of design solutions, as

long as they can explain and justify their response.


Document A

Image 1

Image 2


Document B

Picture 1


Document B, continued

Picture 2


Document C

Image 1


Document C, continued

Image 2


Document C, continued

Image 3


Document D

Documents

Second Grade Science DBQ Earth’s Systems: Processes that ... · the Earth - Teacher’s Guide A DBQ is a very structured activity, it cannot be independent or used as a worksheet,