GLE-Sci2
COLORADO MODEL CONTENT
STANDARDS FOR SCIENCE
2nd Grade Level Expectations
STANDARD 1:
Students understand the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to:
1a. Ask questions and state predictions that can be addressed through scientific investigation
●talk about the question they are going to answer
●answer questions that begin with “What do you think will happen if . . .?”
1b. Select and use simple devices to gather data related to an
investigation
●use tools (for example, hand lens, assorted common objects) to do things
1c. Use data based on observations
●describe things using appropriate senses
●use more than one sense when making observations
●draw, color, and label pictures showing the main characteristics
●record observations (using pictures, words, or numbers) on charts with existing column headings
●plot data on a bar graph using their data
1d. Communicate about investigations and explanations
●use their graph to answer questions
●find patterns by answering questions about similarities and differences
●tell what they saw and did during an activity
STANDARD 2:
Physical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy.
MAKING SOUNDS
In second grade, students learn that sound is a form of energy that
can be described and studied even though it cannot be held or touched.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to
2.2a. Recognize that energy can affect common objects to make sounds
●describe how common objects can be used to make sounds (for example, comb, clothes pin, pot, string)
●use an object to produce a sound in at least two ways
●realize that an object produces sound only if something is done to it
2.2b. Make observations associated with sound energy
●describe sounds using appropriate terms (for example, loud, high)
●describe what something looks like when it vibrates
●demonstrate ways to start a vibration (for example, strike, shake, pluck, rub)
●tell what was done to cause something to vibrate
●demonstrate things that can affect the pitch of a sound (for example, the length of a string, the level of water in a glass)
●describe how changing something (for example, the length of a string) affects the pitch of a sound
●demonstrate things that can affect the volume of a sound
STANDARD 3:
Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with each other and their environment.
PLANTS AND THEIR NEEDS
In second grade, students learn that plants grow from seeds
and have similar parts and needs.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to:
3.1c. Describe the basic needs of a plant
●name the basic needs of all plants (light, water, air)
●identify the parts a plant uses to get light (leaves) and water (roots)
3.2a. Recognize that green plants need energy from sunlight and various raw materials to live
●identify the Sun as the source of light for outdoor plants and light bulbs and sunlight as the sources of light for indoor plants
●use evidence from classroom investigations to show that plants need water and light to grow and survive
3.3b. Describe basic foods that come from plants
●identify plant parts that people eat (for example, lettuce is a leaf, carrot is a root, celery is a stem, sunflower seeds are seeds)
●realize that many of the foods we eat come from plants
3.3c. Describe life cycles of selected plants
●sequence pictures that show stages in the growth of a plant from a seed
●observe and draw several types of seeds *
●describe several changes that take place as a plant grows
●explain what is meant by the term life cycle (a plant starts from a seed and produces seeds to start new plants)
3.4a. Identify characteristics that are common to all individuals of a species
●observe and draw a plant, labeling specific parts (roots, leaves, stem)
●compare the parts of indoor plants with those of plants found outdoors *
●describe ways that plants are the same
3.4b. Recognize differences in appearance among individuals of the same group
●compare plants of the same type and explain ways that they differ (for example, one bean plant has three leaves, the other has six)
●name plants that are found around the school or in the neighborhood (for example, pine, aspen, bush, grass, dandelion) *
3.4d. Describe examples of extinct organisms based on fossil evidence
(See “Soils, Rocks, and Fossils,” Standard 4.)
STANDARD 4:
Earth and Space Science: Students know and understand the processes and interactions of Earth’s systems and the structure and dynamics of Earth and other objects in space.
SOILS, ROCKS, AND FOSSILS
Students learn about properties of earth materials and learn that fossils provide a record of past life on Earth.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to:
4.1a. Describe different types and uses of Earth materials
●name three kinds of earth materials (rocks, soil, water)
●name places where each of the three types of earth materials are found (for example, rocks are found on playgrounds, mountains, gardens . . . just about everywhere)
●identify examples of rocks no matter what the size (for example, small pebbles or huge boulders)
●tell ways we use earth materials (for example, small rocks are spread on playgrounds to make a playing surface)
●describe each type of Earth material using at least two properties (for example, soil could be described based on color, size of particles, presence of leaves)
●compare the appearance of soil and sand with and without a hand lens
●sort rock samples into two groups based on one property (for example, white or not-white)
●tell ways that all rocks are the same and ways individual rocks differ *
●sort soil samples into groups based on one property
●tell ways that all soils are the same and ways soils can differ
4.1b. Recognize that fossils are evidence of past life
●explain that fossils are evidence that plants and animals lived on Earth long ago
●sort fossils into groups—plant or animal
3.4d. Describe examples of extinct organisms based on fossil evidence
●identify a type of animal that no longer lives on Earth
●use dinosaurs and dragons as examples to explain the difference between extinct and imaginary
STANDARD 5:
Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they can affect the world.
Note: This standard is not addressed as a separate unit; rather, it is integrated into many of the units at each grade level.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to:
5a. Recognize the diversity of resources provided by the Earth
(See “Soils, Rocks, and Fossils,” Benchmark 4.1a.)
5b. Invent a device and communicate the task, design, and solution
●invent a device using an everyday object to produce a particular type of sound
5d. Identify careers that use science and technology
●realize that farmers and people who work in greenhouses must know the needs of each type of plant in their care
●realize that people who work with Earth materials (landscape designers, geologists) understand a lot about the properties of rocks and soils
●realize that some people (paleontologists) spend their lives studying fossils and what the fossils tell us about life on Earth long ago
STANDARD 6:
Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and understand common connections among scientific disciplines.
Note: This standard is not addressed as a separate unit; rather, it should be integrated where appropriate into the units at each grade level.
By the end of second grade, students will be able to:
6a. Recognize that when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same way
●realize that the same object, when used in the same way, produces the same sound
6b. Compare knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge gained indirectly
●compare what happened to seeds they sprouted with sprouting seeds that are pictured in a book
6c. Identify observable patterns and predict future events based on those patterns
●describe the patterns they saw when seeds sprouted and grew and use these patterns to predict what would happen to other seeds when they sprout and grow
6d. Describe the components of a simple system
describe the parts of a device that makes sounds (a simple sound-producing system)
* Students may benefit from using the outdoors as a classroom when they are working on these expectations.
