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29 Activities To Master Learning About Landforms

March 31, 2023 //  by Garrett Geissel

The study of landforms is an important step in scientific education for children in early elementary grades and it helps to set the foundation for understanding Earth science. Use these engaging activities to teach students about landforms and bodies of water. With these resources, children will learn about all types of landforms and more with hands-on experiences, cool crafts, and fun ideas for games!  

1. Build-an-Island STEM Challenge

Challenge your learners to build an island that will solve a posed problem. Next, children will work to plan and develop their islands using their knowledge of landforms. They will illustrate their island on paper and work to create 3D models using play dough! 

Learn More: The First Grade Round Up

2. Sculpt-Arades Game Cards

Print these bright landform cards and grab playdough to teach landforms. Learners will get a card and have to build the designated landform.

Learn More: Andrea Knight Teacher Author

3. Building Landforms with Sand

Building landforms with sand: 1 of 5 fun Montessori landform activities that will help kids recognize basic land and water forms in no time! || Gift of Curiosity

Use Tupperware and wet sand to ask children to create the desired landform with this interactive idea. Print the landform cards and ask students to create the desired shape in their plastic containers. Hands may get messy here, but the container helps to keep everything contained and clean! 

Learn More: Gift of Curiosity

4. Biome Coloring Pages

Kids will have fun learning about five different biomes with these free printable biome coloring pages. Each biomes coloring worksheet focuses on a different animal habitat such as the tundra, desert, marine, wetland, and rainforest.  Children will color and read key facts about each biome. This is a fun way to learn about biomes for kids from kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students.  Simlply download biomes coloring pages pdf and you are ready to read, color, and learn!

You will only need crayons and paper for this simple activity. Children will love learning more about biomes that contain the landforms that are being discussed. Use these coloring pages as a brain break in-between learning. 

Learn More: Kindergarten Worksheets and Games

5. Exploring Landforms and Bodies of Water Video

Use this informative Earth video to teach students about landforms and bodies of water. This is a great resource to use either before or after a class discussion on the various landforms present on our planet. 

Learn More: Free School

6. Do-A-Dot Landforms Book

Perfect for independent practice or centers, these landform dot pages are great to discuss landforms! Landform illustrations are already present and children will simply need a dot marker and a piece of paper to learn more about the various landforms. 

Learn More: Preschool Play and Learn

7. Classroom Activity Landforms

This low-prep activity is great for a whole class discussion of landforms or can alternatively be used as an afternoon activity to reinforce an Earth science unit. Use the provided article and images and have children describe each landform to create their original definitions and landform descriptions. 

Learn More: Britannica Education

8. Edible Rocks Activity

Take a tasty break and learn more about rock formations with this edible “rocks” activity. Learn about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks as part of a discussion of landform layers. You will need Snickers bars to demonstrate the different rock types and children will love eating these at the end!  

Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

9. Paper Plate Nature Island

Gather a paper plate, rocks, playdough, and other household items to create this natural island formation. Learners can paint their ocean first and then create their own island formation using the provided materials. 

Learn More: The Pinterested Parent

10. Landform Diorama Project

This landform diorama is perfect for the end of a landform unit. Ask children to select multiple landforms to create a diorama. They can use a large container, playdough, grass, and paint to build their chosen landform. Add toy animals to top it off! 

Learn More: The Crafty Classroom

11. Guess My Landform Game

Play “Guess My Landform” using printed pictures, game cards, and playdough. Perfect for partners in class or centers; children will pull a card and create the targeted landform. Next, the second player will guess what landform was created. Children then swap roles and continue to do more.  

Learn More: The First Grade Roundup

12. Directed Cutting Activity

You've heard about directed drawing, but did you know that you can do directed cutting, too? In this activity, I taught students about landforms by cutting them from a variety of pieces of construction paper. We added labels and definitions afterward. This was an awesome calm activity that helped students practice their cutting skills. #cuttingskills #landforms #directeddrawing #directedcutting #secondgrade #secondgradesocialstudies #socialstudies

Learners will only need paper, glue, and scissors to complete this directed cutting activity. Have children cut out and glue a variety of landforms on a large piece of construction paper. Next, have them label each landform and provide descriptions of the climate, etc. of each.  

Learn More: What I Have Learned

13. Erosion Science Lab

Are you teaching about rocks and minerals? Grab this FREE science lab on erosion that your students will LOVE!

Using aluminum food pans and sand, learners can create various landforms. Place a Styrofoam cup filled with water above the landform and poke a small hole in the bottom of the cup. The water will trickle down and erode in different patterns depending on the differing landforms created. 

Learn More: Learning Lab Resources

14. Landform Snack: Mountain Ranges

This snack is a great way to demonstrate one of the major landforms on Earth. Use a graham cracker, sprinkles, frosting, and Hershey’s kisses to create this mountain range. Ask students to observe the geographical features of the mountain range before they have a tasty treat! 

Learn More: Andrea Knight

15. Landforms Anchor Chart

Create this large anchor chart to display in your classroom. Learners can use chart paper and colored pencils to illustrate the major landforms. This resource is great for students to view and work from as they learn more about natural science. 

Learn More: Teacherific Fun

16. Landform Diorama

Use the bottom of a drink holder to create this landform diorama. Perfect for the start of a landform unit- children will create a variety of landforms using the underside of the drink carrier. Just add paper, toothpicks, and paint to create the differing geography. 

Learn More: A Little Pinch of Perfect

17. Build a River Model

Use this video to teach children how to build a river model using aluminum pans, rocks, sand, and foil. Children can test major landforms and how bodies of water interact within them.  

Learn More: Science Buddies

18. Visual Guide to Landforms

This high-quality resource is a great visual guide to landforms. It’s perfect for interactive notebooks or a larger version on a whiteboard. This visual guide will make it easy to see the various landforms on Earth. 

Learn More: Only Passionate Curiosity

19. Paper Art: Landforms for Kids

Paper Art Landforms for Kids- Kid World Citizen

This is a great project to demonstrate all major landforms! Use paper, glue, and colored pencils to create these fantastic paper landforms. This craft will challenge children to create and label a variety of landforms. 

Learn More: Kid World Citizen

20. Printable Landforms Handouts

Grab these free printable landform worksheets to learn about different types of landforms while sneaking in some themed math and literacy practice too with this huge free printable pack. Each of these landforms worksheet focus on eleven different landforms: canyon, desert, hills, island, lake, mountains, ocean, plain, river, valley and volcano. Use these landforms worksheets pdf free with preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade students to learn about landforms for kids with these science worksheets that also review other skills too!

Add to your children’s knowledge about landforms with these printable resources. Math challenges and sight word worksheets are provided and make lesson prep easy! 

Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

21. Landforms Flipbook

This low-prep activity is a good visual resource for teaching your students about the different types of landforms. Cut out the provided pages to create six different landforms and then staple them together to create this fantastic flipbook. 

Learn More: Gingersnaps Treats for Teachers

22. Landforms Cards

Use these landform cards to play a variety of games. Simply print out the cards and have students match the illustration with its definition. You can also ask the students to label specific sections of the landforms or describe the elements of each picture. 

Learn More: Simple Living Creative Learning

23. Hands-On Landforms Project

Give students paper plates, salt dough, paint, toothpicks, paper, and tape to create this cool project. They will then create and label ten separate landforms on their plates using the provided materials. 

Learn More: Frazzled First Year Teacher

24. Salt Dough Landforms Lab

Create salt dough or use playdough in this landforms lab activity. Get a map of your current geographical location and ask children to create a replica of the place with dough. Paint the landform when you are finished to highlight all of the different features. 

Learn More: Mama Scouts

25. Edible Landforms Project

Prepare an aluminum pan, rock candy, ice cream cones, frosting, and other basic food objects to create an edible landform. Children will love creating this tasty diorama while they label and learn more about each landform. 

Learn More: Pinterest

26. Pizza Box Landform Diorama

Learners will use a pizza box, paper, crayons, and other craft materials to create these pizza box landform dioramas. Children will draw a map of the specific area on the top flap of the pizza box. Then, they can create a 3D diorama of the landform on the bottom of the box. 

Learn More: Mrs. Sparks Third Grade

27. U.S. Landforms Edible Project

Create a geographical replica of the United States with this entirely edible project. You can use any edible objects that you have to create mountain ranges, great lakes, great plains, and more. 

Learn More: Simply Second Grade

28. Landforms and Bodies of Water Flip-Flap Books

Learners can use paper and colored pencils to create this beautiful flip book for landforms and bodies of water. All of the pages will be stapled together for students to refer back to. 

Learn More: Simply Skilled in Second

29. Desert Diorama

Desert Diorama Craft

A shoe box, paper, sand, rocks, and small toys are all your learners need to create desert diorama boxes. Adaptable to any major landform, these projects will require students to research specific landforms and then create models with a shoebox. 

Learn More: The Spruce Crafts

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