Objectives Overviews Second Grade: Science

Your second grade student will gain knowledge about scientific inquiry by:

Planning and conducting explorations and investigations
Exploring and pursuing student-generated “how” investigations questions
Reading and defining new vocabulary words
Using evidence to develop explanations of scientific investigations
Employing equipment and tools to systematically gather and record data
Reviewing the different parts of a scientific experiment
Recording the data from his demonstrations
Using recorded data to construct reasonable explanations and make predictions
Asking “how” and “can I/we” questions
Recognizing that explanations are generated in response to observations, events, and phenomena
Measuring properties of objects using tools such as rulers, balances, and thermometers
Using whole numbers to order, count, identify, measure and describe things and experiences
Sharing explanations with others to provide opportunities to ask questions, examine evidence, and suggest alternative explanations
Asking “how do you know” questions (not “why” questions) in appropriate situations and attempting to give reasonable answers when others ask questions

Your second grade student will examine the history and nature of science by:

Describing that scientific investigations generally work the same way under the same conditions
Explaining why scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists’ work
Studying biographies of famous people of science
Exploring science-based careers
Demonstrating that in science it is helpful to work with a team and share findings with others

Your second grade student will develop and demonstrate an understanding of safety and the risks associated with natural and personal hazards by:

Comparing the needs of a population with the sources and quanitites of resources
Describing ways in which using the solutions to a problem might affect other people and the environment

Your second grade student will develop and demonstrate an understanding of science, engineering, technology, and technological design by:

Explaining an area in which technology has impacted human lives
Explaining that people are always inventing new tools and ways of doing things
Explaining that developing and using technology involves benefits and risks
Investigating why people make new products or invent new ways to meet their individual wants and needs
Predicting how building or trying something new might affect other people and the environment
Communicating orally, pictorially, or in written form the design process used to make something

Your second grade student will learn about the characteristics of organisms, their lifecycles, and their environments by:

Describing and comparing the basic needs of plants and animals in different environments
Comparing similarities and differences among individuals of the same kind of plants and animals, including people
Exploring the environmental factors that impact the lifespan and lifecycles of organisms
Identifying the needs/behaviors of organisms and suggesting how organisms can adapt to their particular environment
Explaining that animals, including people, need air, water, food, living space, and shelter, and plants need air, water, nutrients, living space, and light to survive
Identifying that there are many distinct environments that support different kinds of organisms
Explaining why organisms can survive only in environments that meet their needs
Explaining that food is a basic need of plants and animals and is important because it is a source of energy
Investigating the different structures of plants and animals that help them live in different environments (lungs, gills, leaves, and roots)
Comparing the habitats of many different kinds of plants and animals and some of the ways animals depend on plants and each other
Comparing the activities of common animals (squirrels, chipmunks, deer, butterflies, bees, ants, bats, and frogs) during the different seasons by describing changes in their behavior and appearance

Your second grade student will understand the Earth and its place in the solar system by:

Comparing and contrasting Earth materials, atmospheric gases, and water, and exploring their roles as natural resources
Explaining how changes in the Earth and the sky cause weather and seasonal changes
Identifying patterns of objects in the sky (the stars and solar system)
Recognizing that there are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count
Observing and describing how the sun, moon, and stars all appear to move slowly across the sky
Observing and describing how the moon appears a little different every day, but looks nearly the same again about every four weeks
Observing and describing that some weather changes occur throughout the day and some changes occur in a repeating seasonal pattern
Describing weather by measurable quantities such as temperature and precipitation

Your second grade student will observe the interactions of matter, motion, energy, forces, and the transfer of energy by:

Comparing and contrasting observable properties and changes in states of matter
Describing positions and motions of objects and explaining relationships between motion and applied forces
Examining production of light and heat as forms of energy
Exploring how things make sound
Exploring and describing sounds produced by vibrating objects
Exploring with flashlights that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object