In 2nd grade, students conduct investigations, carry out experiments, and apply their scientific knowledge to engineer prototype solutions. In this unit, students investigate the science phenomenon of properties of different kinds of matter, connecting a material’s properties with the functions for which it is used.
In the last unit, students explored the properties of different kinds of matter, connecting a material’s properties with the functions for which it is used. In this unit, students focus on Earth materials and the science phenomena of processes that change them (specifically weathering and erosion).
In this unit, students explore the phenomena of Earth landforms and the water cycle. Once students have modeled landforms and created maps showing the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water, students analyze how water moves over the land as it flows downhill because of gravity and cycles between solid and liquid depending on the amount of heat present.
In kindergarten students learn to ask questions, make observations, and collect data as they explore weather patterns on Earth and investigate how different Earth materials are heated by the sun. This lesson is part of a kindergarten series that students learn the practices that scientists and engineers use to help them answer questions and solve problems.
In kindergarten, students explore how scientists use all of their senses to ask questions and develop hypotheses about the world around them. In this unit, students have been analyzing weather patterns and seasons as well as considering the role of the sun in heating the Earth. This page is an overview of lesson 8 in which students investigate different Earth materials often found in their school’s playground or schoolyard to observe temperature variation among different surface materials when light hits them.
Kindergarten students start to develop the practices that scientists use to gather data, make and test hypotheses, and share their findings. During this unit, students will ask questions and make observations as they explore weather patterns and investigate how the sun heats different Earth materials. This page is an extract from lesson 9 where students conduct an experiment to analyze how materials are warmed differently in the sunlight than they are in the shade.
In Kindergarten, students begin to develop practices that scientists and engineers use to gather data, make and test hypotheses, and design prototypes based on evidence to solve problems. During this lesson students will ask questions, engage in Socratic dialogue, gather evidence through experimentation, and solve problems as they explore how the sun heats different Earth materials. This page is a high-level extract from lesson 10 where students build on their understanding of the sun’s energy to heat objects by conducting an experiment to investigate how color affects heat absorption.
In this first unit, students learn to differentiate between the practices of a scientist and those of an engineer. Students ask questions, make observations, and collect data as they explore weather patterns on Earth and investigate how different Earth materials are heated by the sun. During this final lesson of the unit, students act as engineers by designing a prototype that can reduce the warming effects of the sun.
In this unit, students explore science phenomena related to patterns that result from Earth’s rotation and the moon’s orbit around the sun. This page provides a brief overview of lesson two of this unit, in which students conduct two investigations and use the patterns they discover to make predictions about the future positions of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. In the first investigation, students observe the sun’s position in the sky at different times of day, drawing a diagram (model) of the sun’s position above the horizon. In the second investigation, students use a sundial model to explore the relationship between the sun’s position and the length of shadows.
In this unit, students investigate the science phenomena of seasonal patterns and water cycles. Once students have analyzed how seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset can be observed and predicted, they focus on seasonal temperature and rainfall patterns. They investigate temperature patterns of a specific location throughout the year.
Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.