Science education in the second grade builds
on the unifying concepts previously introduced in kindergarten and first grade
including the use of evidence, explanation, measurement, order and organization.
Second graders are introduced to changes through the study of animal life cycles,
weather, properties of materials, and sound. Changes vary in rate, scale, and
pattern. The following explanations characterize the strands at the second grade
level.
The Nature of Science Strand
is designed to help students develop an understanding of the human dimensions
of science, the nature of scientific thought, and the enterprise of science
in society. Teachers should emphasize experiences of investigating and thinking
about explanations. Students using a cooperative learning approach can conduct
simple investigations and present their findings to their classmates. They discover
that humans have learned much about processes in nature but much more remains
to be understood. They learn that our knowledge of science is constantly growing
and will never be complete.
Teaching science as inquiry
provides teachers the opportunity to develop students' abilities and to enrich
student understanding of how things change. As students focus on the study of
life cycles, changes in weather, changes in properties, and changing sounds,
they develop the ability to ask scientific questions, investigate aspects of
the world around them, and use their findings to construct reasonable explanations
for the questions posed. Inquiry involves asking a simple question, conducting
an investigation, recording and analyzing results, answering the question, and
communicating the results to others. By engaging in such activities, students
begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry.
Students develop the ability
to explain a problem in their own words, identify a specific task, and conduct
an appropriate investigation. Students develop abilities to work individually
and collaboratively to use suitable tools and measurements as appropriate. Tools
help students make better observations and measurements in their investigations.
They help students see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise
observe, measure, and do. Student abilities gained include oral, written, and
pictorial communication of designs, processes, and products. The science/technology
connection is one way of answering questions and explaining changes in the natural
world.
Second grade
students have a variety of experiences that provide initial understandings of
personal safety and which enable them to take responsibility for their own safety.
They identify and follow simple safety rules while in school and at home. Students'
understandings should include the idea that some environmental changes occur
slowly and others occur rapidly. Students should discover the different consequences
of environments changing in small increments over long periods as compared with
environments changing in large increments over short periods.
The focus for second grade
students is on analyzing collected data over a period of time to make predictions
and understand changes. Changes vary in rate, scale, and pattern, including trends
and cycles. Changes in systems can be measured. Guide student learning to continue
to emphasize the unifying concepts previously introduced, including evidence,
explanation, measurement, order, and organization as well as the introduction
at grade two of change. The strands provide a context for teaching the content
goals.
Strands: Nature of Science, Science as Inquiry, Science and
Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
| Competency Goal 1: The learner
will conduct investigations and build an understanding of animal life cycles. |
| Objectives 1.01 Describe the life cycle of animals
including:
- Birth.
- Developing into an adult.
- Reproducing.
-
Aging and death.
1.02 Observe that insects need food, air and space to grow.
1.03 Observe the different stages of an insect life cycle.
1.04 Compare and contrast life cycles of other animals such as mealworms,
ladybugs, crickets, guppies or frogs. |
| Competency Goal 2: The learner
will conduct investigations and use appropriate tools to build an understanding
of the changes in weather. |
| Objectives 2.01 Investigate and describe how moving
air interacts with objects.
2.02 Observe the force of air pressure pushing on objects.
2.03 Describe weather using quantitative measures of:
- Temperature.
- Wind direction.
- Wind speed.
-
Precipitation.
2.04 Identify and use common tools to measure weather:
- Wind vane and anemometer.
- Thermometer.
- Rain gauge.
2.05 Discuss and determine how energy from the sun warms the land, air
and water.
2.06 Observe and record weather changes over time and relate to time
of day and time of year. |
| Competency Goal 3: The learner
will observe and conduct investigations to build an understanding of changes
in properties. |
| Objectives 3.01 Identify three states of matter:
3.02 Observe changes in state due to heating and cooling of common materials.
3.03 Explain how heat is produced and can move from one material or object
to another.
3.04 Show that solids, liquids and gases can be characterized by their
properties.
3.05 Investigate and observe how mixtures can be made by combining solids,
liquids or gases and how they can be separated again.
3.06 Observe that a new material is made by combining two or more materials
with properties different from the original material.
|
| Competency Goal 4: The learner
will conduct investigations and use appropriate technology to build an understanding
of the concepts of sound. |
| Objectives 4.01 Demonstrate how sound is produced
by vibrating objects and vibrating columns of air.
4.02 Show how the frequency can be changed by altering the rate of the
vibration
4.03 Show how the frequency can be changed by altering the size and shape
of a variety of instruments.
4.04 Show how the human ear detects sound by having a membrane that vibrates
when sound reaches it.
4.05 Observe and describe how sounds are made by using a variety of instruments
and other "sound makers" including the human vocal cords. |
