Science · 2nd Grade · Earth's Shifting Surface · Weeks 19-27

Erosion by Wind and Ice

Students will explore how wind and ice also contribute to erosion, shaping landscapes in different environments.

• Common Core State Standards
• 2-ESS2-1

About This Topic

While water is the most familiar agent of erosion, wind and glacial ice also reshape Earth's surface in distinctive ways. Wind strips away loose soil and sand, creating sand dunes, desert pavements, and sculpted rock formations. Glaciers, massive slow-moving sheets of ice, carve wide U-shaped valleys, polish bedrock, and deposit enormous piles of rock far from their origin. This topic aligns with NGSS 2-ESS2-1 and extends students' understanding of erosion processes to environments where water plays a secondary role. In the US K-12 context, wind erosion is particularly relevant in the Midwest and Great Plains, while glacial evidence is visible across much of the northern United States.

Students compare the landforms created by wind, water, and ice erosion, learning that each agent leaves a distinctive signature. Wind creates smooth, rounded rocks and crescent-shaped dunes. Ice creates sharp, angular valleys and leaves scratched bedrock. These signatures help geologists identify past processes in the landscape today.

Active learning is effective here because wind and ice erosion operate at time scales that are impossible to observe directly. Models and simulations compress geological time into observable, testable sequences, making abstract geological forces tangible for second graders.

Key Questions

1. Compare the effects of wind erosion and water erosion on landforms.
2. Analyze how glaciers can carve out valleys and transport sediment.
3. Predict where wind erosion would be most prevalent on Earth.

Learning Objectives

• Compare the visual evidence of landforms shaped by wind erosion versus ice erosion.
• Explain how wind moves sand and soil to create specific landforms like dunes.
• Analyze how glaciers carve valleys and transport sediment, leaving behind distinctive geological features.
• Predict environments on Earth where wind erosion is likely to be a significant force.

Before You Start

Introduction to Erosion and Deposition

Why: Students need a foundational understanding of what erosion is and how it changes the Earth's surface before exploring specific agents like wind and ice.

Water Erosion and Landforms

Why: Comparing wind and ice erosion to water erosion requires prior knowledge of how water shapes the land.

Key Vocabulary

wind erosion	The process where wind picks up and moves loose soil, sand, and small rocks, changing the shape of the land.
glacial erosion	The process where large masses of ice, called glaciers, scrape and carry away rock and soil as they move, carving out the landscape.
sediment	Small pieces of rock and soil that are carried and deposited by wind, water, or ice.
landform	A natural feature of the Earth's surface, such as a mountain, valley, or plain, that can be shaped by erosion.
dune	A hill or ridge of sand built up by the action of the wind.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Glaciers are just large ice cubes that sit still and do nothing.

What to Teach Instead

Glaciers move constantly, pulling and scraping rock as they go. The evidence of glacial erosion, including polished bedrock, scratched rock surfaces, and U-shaped valleys, is visible across much of the northern United States today. Comparing a V-shaped river valley photo with a U-shaped glacial valley photo shows students a clear visible difference that active erosion agents produce.

Common Misconception

Wind erosion only happens in deserts.

What to Teach Instead

Wind erosion occurs in any environment where the ground surface is dry and exposed, including farm fields after harvest, coastal beaches, and dry riverbeds. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which devastated farmland across the Great Plains, is a powerful US-specific example of wind erosion caused by a combination of drought and exposed soil from farming practices.

Active Learning Ideas

Simulation Game: Wind Erosion in a Box

Pairs fill a shoebox lid with dry sand mixed with small pebbles. Using a straw, they blow gently across the surface at the same angle for 30 seconds and sketch where material moved. They test blowing harder and from a different angle and compare results. Groups discuss what natural feature the pebbles left behind, called desert pavement, might look like at full scale.

35 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Glacier in a Cup

Small groups freeze a cup of water with sand and small pebbles embedded in it overnight. They drag the ice block slowly across damp sand, then examine the tracks left behind. Students compare the shape of the glacier track to the water erosion channel from a previous investigation and identify at least one visible difference in the marks each agent leaves.

45 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Where Is Wind Erosion Strongest?

Show a world map with wind speed averages marked in color bands. Students think about which regions would have the most wind erosion and why, discuss with a partner, then check their predictions against photos of real wind-eroded landscapes from those regions to see how their reasoning held up.

20 min·Pairs

Gallery Walk: Three Agents of Erosion

Post three sets of unlabeled photos around the room, one set each for water, wind, and ice erosion. Students classify each photo and write one physical landscape feature that tells them which agent created it. The debrief focuses on the distinctive signatures of each erosion type and how students can tell them apart.

25 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Geologists study wind-eroded rock formations in places like Arches National Park in Utah to understand how wind has shaped the landscape over thousands of years.
• Glaciologists use satellite images and field data to track how glaciers in Alaska and Montana are changing, observing how they carve valleys and deposit sediment.
• Farmers in the Great Plains region of the US manage soil to prevent wind erosion, using techniques like planting windbreaks and cover crops to protect valuable topsoil.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Provide students with pictures of different landforms (e.g., sand dunes, U-shaped valleys, sculpted rocks). Ask them to label each picture with the primary agent of erosion (wind or ice) and write one sentence explaining their choice.

Exit Ticket

On an index card, have students draw a simple diagram showing either wind erosion or glacial erosion. They should label at least two key features of their drawing and write one sentence predicting where this type of erosion might be strongest on Earth.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are exploring a new planet. What clues would you look for in the landforms to tell you if wind or ice had been the main force shaping the planet?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their ideas and reasoning.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do glaciers cause erosion if they move so slowly?

Glaciers are extremely heavy and carry embedded rocks and sediment that act like sandpaper against the bedrock below. Even moving only a few feet per day, the pressure and abrasion are enormous. Over thousands of years, this carves valleys and moves millions of tons of rock far from its original location, leaving a permanently altered landscape.

What evidence of glacial erosion can students find in the US?

Much of the northern United States shows extensive glacial evidence including drumlins, glacial lakes like the Great Lakes, and erratic boulders deposited far from their origin. Connecting this to students' local geography makes glaciation a present-day observable phenomenon rather than a distant historical event, and it gives the topic immediate relevance for students in those regions.

How does active learning help students understand wind and ice erosion?

Simulations like the wind-in-a-box and the glacier-in-a-cup compress geological time into something students can observe and manipulate in a single class period. Making predictions about where material will move, then observing actual results, gives students direct evidence for forces they cannot experience at their natural scale, building understanding that descriptions alone cannot produce.

How does wind erosion compare to water erosion in terms of damage?

In dry regions, wind erosion can be as damaging as or more severe than water erosion. During the Dust Bowl, wind erosion stripped topsoil from millions of acres of American farmland, causing crop failures and a massive migration crisis. Water erosion tends to be tied to rainfall events, while wind erosion operates continuously wherever dry, exposed surfaces exist.