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Holding the Land in Place is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on comparing solutions that slow wind or water changing the land, aligned to Common Core standard 2-ESS2-1. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Holding the Land in Place

2-ESS2-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Why does planting grass on a slope hold the soil?
  • A.Grass is heavy
  • B.Grass drinks all the water
  • C.The grass covers the soil so water cannot wash it away
2.What does a barrier at the bottom of a slope do?
  • A.Stops the rain falling
  • B.Makes the slope steeper
  • C.Catches soil that has already washed down
3.A plastic sheet let no soil wash off but the water ran off fast. What is the drawback?
  • A.The fast water may wash soil away further down
  • B.Plastic is green
  • C.There is no drawback
4.Which would you choose to stop a sand dune blowing away?
  • A.A smooth plastic sheet
  • B.Nothing at all
  • C.Plants with roots that hold the sand
5.A wall stops soil washing down but costs a lot. How do you decide?
  • A.Always pick the strongest
  • B.Always pick the cheapest
  • C.Weigh how well it works against what it costs
6.Why test two designs rather than just building the best-looking one?
  • A.Testing wastes time
  • B.Looks are what matter
  • C.The results show which actually holds the soil
7.What should be kept the same when comparing two slope designs?
  • A.The colour of the tray
  • B.The same jug of water, the same slope and the same soil
  • C.Nothing at all
8.Test results: bare soil lost a big pile, grassed soil lost hardly any. Which solution worked better?
  • A.The bare soil
  • B.The grass, because hardly any soil washed down
  • C.Neither worked

LessonPrint · 2-ESS2-1 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Holding the Land in Place

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The grass covers the soil so water cannot wash it away
  2. 2.Catches soil that has already washed down
  3. 3.The fast water may wash soil away further down
  4. 4.Plants with roots that hold the sand
  5. 5.Weigh how well it works against what it costs
  6. 6.The results show which actually holds the soil
  7. 7.The same jug of water, the same slope and the same soil
  8. 8.The grass, because hardly any soil washed down

More practice for 2-ESS2-1

Compare designs meant to stop wind or water reshaping the land.

Teaching this next? Holding the Land in Place is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-ESS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.