Unit Plan/Pacing Calendar

Title of Unit The History of Planet Earth Grade Level 2nd Grade

Developed By Vianna Hong Time Frame 45 min lessons

Science Standards (Disciplinary Core Idea)

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth

● Some events happen very quickly; others occur very slowly, over a time period much longer than one
can observe. (2-ESS1-1)

Performance Expectation

2-ESS1-1: Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or
slowly.

Evidence Statement:
https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/evidence_statement/black_white/2-ESS1-1%20Evidence%20
Statements%20June%202015%20asterisks.pdf

CCSS Math Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.3: Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and

meters.
Unit Overview

Objective Skill
Students will be able to... Students will know...

● Lesson 1: ● Natural events such as earthquakes and erosion

SWBAT list natural events that occur on are all natural events that can change and impact
Earth by identifying change on Earth’s Earth’s surface.
surface.

● Lesson 2: ● Some natural events occur quickly and show

SWBAT categorize natural events by change over a short period of time (hours) while
identifying which events occur quickly or others occur slowly and don't show change until
slowly. over a long period of time (days, weeks, months,
years).

● Lesson 3: ● Natural events such as earthquakes occur

SWBAT explain why some natural events
occur quickly and some occur slowly by
analyzing their cause and effects.
quickly because they can cause change and
impact the Earth’s surface in a short period of
time (hours). Effects of quick natural events such
as earthquakes include cracks and landslides on
Earth’s surface. Natural events such as erosion
occur slowly because it causes change after a
long period of time (days, weeks, months, years).
Effects of slow natural events like erosion include
the movement, and or removal of sediments
(sand dunes, beaches).
● Lesson 4:
SWBAT associate units of lengths with
different natural events by evaluating how
long their change takes to occur. (Math)
● Lesson 5:
SWBAT describe whether a natural event
occurs quickly or slowly by giving 2 reasons
to support their answer.
Assessment
Focus question
● How can Earth’s surface be changed?
● What natural events can occur quickly or slowly
that can affect the shape of Earth’s surface?
● How does the speed of natural events affect
Earth’s surface?
● How does the speed of natural events connect
with the units of lengths we can use to measure
the change it caused?
● How can reasoning be used to support whether
a natural event occurs fast or slow?
● Natural events that happen quickly (minutes,
hours) create changes that are usually large
changes to the Earth’s surface where using a
bigger unit of length (feet, meters) would be
more appropriate to measure the change that
just occurred. Natural events that happen slowly
(days, weeks, months, years) create very small
changes over time where using a smaller unit of
length (inches, centimeters) would be more
appropriate to measure the change that
occurred.
● There are various reasons as to why natural
events can occur quickly or slowly. Fast events
such as earthquakes can quickly cause cracks in
Earth’s surface within hours and large units of
length (feet, meters) are used to measure the
large change that was created in that period of
time. Slow events such as erosion move
sediments of Earth’s surface to a different
location which can take days, weeks, months,
and years to see a change and usually use small
units of length (inches, centimeters) to measure
the change that was created in a period of time.
Knowledge
Students will understand...
● Natural events can change the shape of Earth’s
surface.
● Natural events such as earthquakes show
changes on the Earth’s surface quickly. Natural
events such as erosion slowly show noticeable
change on the Earth’s surface after a long period
of time (weeks, months, years).
● The speed of how natural events occur affects
how fast change is created on Earth’s surface.
● Bigger units of lengths (feets, meters) correlate
with natural events that occur quickly. Smaller
units of lengths (inches, centimeters) correlate
with natural events that occur slowly.
● Providing reasons can help create an evidence
based statement that supports whether a natural
 event occurs fast or slow.

Vocabulary (with definitions)

Earth: The planet we live on

Change: Make something different
Hurricane: Strong storms that can be very dangerous
Earthquakes: Shaking of the Earth’s surface
Volcano Eruption: Blast of lava and magma from a volcano
Erosion: Moving of small pieces of Earth’s surface from one place to another
Sediments: Small rocks, sand, and soil on Earth’s surface
Occur: To happen
Unit of Length: Specific names of measurements
Correlate: To have a connection with something
Categorize: To put in a certain group
Associate: Another word for correlate
Support: To help
Reason: An explanation for your answer