Grade 2

Instructional Focus Statements

Below are the Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI) Aligned Instructional Focus Statements (IFSs) published by the SC Department of Education in the appendix of the Performance Target Document for 2nd Grade.

Key Notes:

2nd-Grade Scope: While the original appendix includes prior and future learning, only 2nd-grade IFSs are listed below. Teachers are encouraged to view the IFSs in the doc to see the progression of a DCI across grade levels.
Repetitions: IFSs that apply to multiple Performance Expectations (PEs) will appear under each relevant section. (In these cases, the related PE will be noted in parentheses.)
Instructional context: Use these statements alongside the associated Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) to guide your instruction.

Select a Performance Expectation below to read the statements.

Matter and Its Interactions

2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

Classify materials based on observable properties such as color, hardness, texture, or flexibility. (2-PS1-2)
Compare how observable properties of the same material change when warmed or cooled, including changes between solid and liquid states. (2-PS1-2)

2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from tests to determine which materials have the best properties for an intended purpose.

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

Classify materials based on observable properties such as color, hardness, texture, or flexibility. (2-PS1-1)
Compare how observable properties of the same material change when warmed or cooled, including changes between solid and liquid states. (2-PS1-1)
Explain how observable properties of materials make them suitable for specific familiar purposes.

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.

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

Demonstrate how objects made from a small set of pieces can be taken apart and reassembled into new objects with different characteristics.

2-PS1-4. Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

PS1.B: Chemical Reactions

Compare how heating and cooling change the observable properties of different familiar materials.
Differentiate between reversible and nonreversible changes by determining whether materials return to their original form under ordinary conditions.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize some changes form new substances with different properties.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

2-LS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine what plants need to grow.

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Identify that plants need air, water, minerals in soil, and light to grow.
Explain that different plants grow better in different conditions because they have different needs for light and water.
Recognize that changes in light or water availability can affect how well a plant grows.

2-LS2-2. Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Recognize that plants depend on animals for pollination or seed movement.
Describe how certain animal structures or behaviors help plants reproduce by pollinating flowers or moving seeds.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize additional pollination types (for example, self pollination, cross pollination, wind, water).

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions

Create a labeled representation that shows the parts of a possible solution and describe what each part does. (2-ESS3-1)
Compare two design ideas by matching visible features to the stated need. (2-ESS3-1)
Explain why one specific feature better fits the stated need. (2-ESS3-1)
Decide which single feature to adjust first to better meet the need without adding new parts and give one simple reason. (2-ESS3-1)

Extended Knowledge

Recognize a simple trade‑off between two features (for example bigger catches more seeds but weighs more) and name which priority should guide the choice. (2-ESS3-1)
Identify a feature from a peer’s design that would make your design clearer or more effective and state why. (2-ESS3-1)

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare patterns of diversity within different habitats.

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans

Describe that living things are found in different places on land and in water.
Compare where different plants and animals live within the same environment.
Use local examples to show that an area can support many kinds of organisms.

Extended Knowledge

Identify that different places can have different kinds of living things.

Earth’s Place in the Universe

2-ESS1-1. Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur rapidly or slowly.

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth

Describe that some Earth events occur very quickly, while others occur slowly over long periods of time.
Compare Earth events that can be observed directly to events that occur too slowly to observe within a human lifetime.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize that slow Earth changes may not be noticeable from day to day but can result in significant changes over long periods of time.

Earth’s Systems

2-ESS2-1. Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems

Describe how wind and water can change the shape of land.
Compare different ways land changes caused by wind or water can be slowed or prevented.
Explain how some actions reduce changes to land caused by wind or water more effectively than others.

Extended Knowledge

Understand that land shapes can continue to change even when changes are not observed from day to day

ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution

Recognize that more than one design can meet the need to reduce changes to the shape of land.
Explain which design better fits the need under the same simple conditions.
Select the most important feature to change to improve land stability without adding new parts.

Extended Knowledge

Name a basic trade‑off (for example taller barrier resists better but uses more material).
Identify which feature matters most for a new but similar problem and explain why.

ETS2.B: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World

Identify a technology that changes a local natural place. (2-ESS3-1)
Sort solutions as increasing benefits or reducing harm for the same local need. (2-ESS3-1)
Explain how a stated technology affects natural materials or features qualitatively. (2-ESS3-1)

Extended Knowledge

Appraise which option better fits the local goal while naming one trade-off. (2-ESS3-1)

2-ESS2-2. Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

Identify different kinds of landforms and bodies of water found in an area.
Describe the shapes and locations of land and water features in a familiar place.
Use drawings, maps, or models to represent the shapes and kinds of land and water in an area.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize that representations can show real places from a top‑down or simplified view.
Understand that drawings, maps, or models can represent land and water features without showing exact size or distance.

2-ESS2-3. Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

Identify places on Earth where water is found, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Describe different kinds of bodies of water based on observable features.
Describe that water exists in different forms, including liquid water and solid ice.
Identify places where ice can be found on Earth.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize that frozen water (ice) and liquid water can behave differently.

Earth and Human Activity

2-ESS3-1. Design solutions to address human impacts on natural resources in the local environment.

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

Identify examples of human activities that cause quick changes and those that cause slow changes to the environment.
Describe how making different choices can change how quickly or slowly people affect their surroundings.

Extended Knowledge

Recognize that repeating the same action many times can lead to big changes over time.
Understand that people share Earth’s environments with plants and animals.

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions

Create a labeled representation that shows the parts of a possible solution and describe what each part does. (2-LS2-2)
Compare two design ideas by matching visible features to the stated need. (2-LS2-2)
Explain why one specific feature better fits the stated need. (2-LS2-2)
Decide which single feature to adjust first to better meet the need without adding new parts and give one simple reason. (2-LS2-2)

Extended Knowledge

Recognize a simple trade‑off between two features (for example bigger catches more seeds but weighs more) and name which priority should guide the choice. (2-LS2-2)
Identify a feature from a peer’s design that would make your design clearer or more effective and state why. (2-LS2-2)

ETS2.B: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World

Identify a technology that changes a local natural place. (2-ESS2-1)
Sort solutions as increasing benefits or reducing harm for the same local need. (2-ESS2-1)
Explain how a stated technology affects natural materials or features qualitatively. (2-ESS2-1)

Extended Knowledge

Appraise which option better fits the local goal while naming one trade-off. (2-ESS2-1)
Name which natural resource a technology uses most for this task and explain why that matters.

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