Forces Matching

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 to strengthen understanding of erosion by identifying the forces that shape Earth’s surface. Learners read eight real-world erosion events-such as riverbank collapse, sand dune movement, glacial carving, and wave-shaped cliffs-and match each one to the most likely driving force, including wind, water, glaciers, gravity, ocean waves, earthquakes, flooding, or human vegetation removal. The activity requires careful reading, cause-and-effect reasoning, and application of Earth science knowledge.

Skills Reinforced

• Erosion Agents & Outcomes (Grades 4-6) – Students identify which forces cause specific erosion events.
• Cause-and-Effect in Earth Systems – Learners analyze how different forces shape land in distinct ways.
• Human vs. Natural Drivers – Encourages recognition of both natural processes and human influence on erosion.
• Scientific Explanation Writing – Bonus sentences strengthen concise, evidence-based explanations.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary Earth science standards.
• Structured Matching Format – Letter-to-number system supports organization and accuracy.
• Real-World Scenarios – Connects scientific concepts to observable landform changes.
• Low-Prep & Printable – Easy to use for lessons, review, formative assessment, or homeschool instruction.

This printable science worksheet helps students build strong cause-and-effect understanding of how erosion works across different environments. By matching events to forces and explaining natural and human-influenced causes, learners strengthen scientific reasoning, vocabulary accuracy, and explanatory writing skills. Ideal for classroom or homeschool use, this activity offers a clear and engaging way to reinforce erosion concepts and Earth system processes.

This worksheet is part of our Weathering and Erosion Worksheets Collection.