SCIENCE 🦋
GRADE 2 STEELS curriculum framework

PLANT GROWTH & INTERACTIONS

STANDARD 3.1.2.A

• Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow. 

STANDARD 3.1.2.B

• Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. 

BIG IDEA

• Organisms grow, reproduce, and perpetuate their species by obtaining necessary resources through interdependent relationships with other organisms and the physical environment.   

CORE IDEAS

• Plants depend on water and light to grow. 

• Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around. 

CAUSE & EFFECT

• Events have causes that generate observable patterns. 

STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

• The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s)

ANIMAL BIODIVERSITY & HABITATS

STANDARD 3.1.2.C

• Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

BIG IDEA

• Biodiversity—the multiplicity of genes, species, and ecosystems—provides humans with renewable resources, such as food, medicines, and clean water.

CORE IDEAS

• There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.

PATTERNS

• Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence. 

matter properties

STANDARD 3.2.2.A

• Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

STANDARD 3.2.2.B

•  Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose. 

STANDARD 3.2.2.C

• 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. 

BIG IDEA

• All forms of matter exist as a result of the combination or rearrangement of atoms.

CORE IDEAS

• Different kinds of matter exist and many of them can be either solid or liquid, depending on temperature. Matter can be described and classified by its observable properties. 

• Different properties are suited to different purposes. 

• A great variety of objects can be built up from a small set of pieces. 

PATTERNS

• Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed. 

CAUSE & EFFECT

• Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes. 

ENERGY & MATTER

• Objects may break into smaller pieces and be put together into larger pieces or change shapes. 

STATES of matter

STANDARD 3.2.2.D

• Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot. 

BIG IDEA

• The atoms of some substances combine or rearrange to form new substances that have different properties.

CORE IDEAS

• Heating or cooling a substance may cause changes that can be observed. Sometimes these changes are reversible, and sometimes they are not. 

CAUSE & EFFECT

• Events have causes that generate observable patterns. 

EARTH'S SURFACE & EROSION

STANDARD 3.2.3.A

• Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

BIG IDEA

• Earth scientists use the structure, sequence, and properties of rocks, sediments, and fossils, as well as the locations of current and past ocean basins, lakes, and rivers, to reconstruct events in Earth’s planetary history. 

CORE IDEAS

• Some events happen very quickly; others occur very slowly, over a time period much longer than one can observe. 

STABILITY & CHANGE

• Things may change slowly or rapidly

EARTH'S SURFACE & EROSION

STANDARD 3.2.3.B

• Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land. 

BIG IDEA

• Earth is a complex system of interacting subsystems: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

CORE IDEAS

• Wind and water can change the shape of the land. 

STABILITY & CHANGE

• Things may change slowly or rapidly

EARTH'S SURFACE & EROSION

STANDARD 3.2.3.C

• Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area. 

BIG IDEA

• Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocks at Earth’s surface and provides a coherent account of its geological history.  

CORE IDEAS

• Maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and kinds of land and water in any area.

PATTERNS

• Patterns in the natural world can be observed.

EARTH'S SURFACE & EROSION

STANDARD 3.2.3.D

• Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid. 

BIG IDEA

• Earth is often called the water planet because of the abundance of liquid water on its surface and because water’s unique combination of physical and chemical properties is central to Earth’s dynamics. 

CORE IDEAS

• Water is found in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and ponds. Water exists as solid ice and in liquid form. 

PATTERNS

• Patterns in the natural world can be observed.