- State College Area School District
- Elementary Curriculum
- Grade 2
- Grade 2 Science Curriculum
Curriculum for Grades K-5
Page Navigation
- Elementary Curriculum Office
- Our Schools
- Strategic Plan
- Elementary Student Handbook
- Elementary Curriculum
- Instructional Framework for English Language Arts (ELA)
- Digital Citizenship
- Technology Tools to Support Learning
- Assessment
- Elementary Progress Reports
- Homework
-
Grade 2 Science Curriculum
Grade 2 Course Description
In second grade, students will formulate answers to questions such as: “How are materials similar and different from one another, and how do the properties of the materials relate to their use? What do plants need to grow? How many types of living things live in a place?” Students are expected to develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination. Students are also expected to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. An understanding of observable properties of materials is developed by students at this level through analysis and classification of different materials. In the second grade performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate grade appropriate proficiency in developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Students are expected to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas. (From the NGSS)
Look No Hands!
2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
2-PS1-2 Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
3-PS2-3 Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
What are the Mystery Substances?
2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
PA Observe, describe, and classify matter by properties and uses (e.g., size, shape, weight, solid, liquid, gas).
2-PS1-2 Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.* (also in STEM)
2-PS1-3 Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.
2-PS1-4 Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
PA Plan and carry out investigations to test the idea that warming some materials causes them to change from solid to liquid and cooling causes them to change from liquid to solid.
EC S4.C.1.1.1 Use physical properties [e.g., mass, shape, size, volume, color, texture, magnetism, state (i.e., solid liquid, and gas), conductivity (i.e., electrical and heat)] to describe matter.
EC S4.C.1.1.2 Categorize/group objects using physical characteristics.
S4.D.1.3.2 Explain how water goes through phase changes (i.e., evaporation, condensation, freezing, and melting).
Why are Plants Growing in Different Places?
2-LS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.
PA Plan and carry out investigations to test whether plants from different settings have different needs for water, sunlight, and type of soil.
2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.*
PA Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information that in any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well and some do not.
2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
PA Construct an explanation about why living things can only survive where their needs are met.
EC S4.B.1.1.3 Describe basic needs of plants and animals (e.g., air, water, food).