Unit 1: Plants and AnimalsScience
In Second Grade we study 2 Science Kits and 6 Science Units. We will combine the kits and units.
Science Units
Unit 1: Plants and Animals
Plants Are Living Things; Parts of Plants; Plants Make New Plants; Everyone Needs Plants; All Kinds of Animals; Animals Meet their Needs; Animals Grow and Change.
Vocabulary for Unit 1:
1. minerals- bits of rock and soil that break down
2. flower- the part of a plant that makes seeds
3. fruit- the plant part that grows around seeds
4. seeds- the plant part that can grow into new plant
5. pollen- the powder inside a flower that can make seeds grow
6. life cycle- shows how a living thing grows, lives, and dies
7. oxygen- a gas made by plants that is found in the air we breathe
8. mammals- animals with hair or fur that breathe with body parts called lungs
9. reptiles- animals with dry, scaly skin
10. amphibians- animals that start their lives in the water
11. prey- an animal that is being hunted
12. food chain- the order in which living things need each other for food
13. shelter- a place where an animal can live and be safe
14. larva- the stage in the life cycle of a butterfly when the insect is a caterpillar
15. pupa- the stage in the life cycle of a butterfly when a caterpillar spins a cocoon around itself
Unit 2: Homes for Plants and Animals
Where Plants and Animals Live; Life in a Woodland Forest; Life in a Rain Forest; Life in a Desert; Life in the Arctic; Life in a Fresh Water Habitat; Life in a Salt Water Habitat; Caring for Earth's Habitats
Vocabulary:
1. habitat- a place where plants and animals can meet their needs
2. woodland forest- a habitat that gets enough rain and sunlight for trees to grow well
3. migrate- to move to another place
4. rain forest- a habitat that gets rain almost every day
5. desert- a dry habitat that gets very little rainfall
6. Arctic- a very cold place near the north pole
7. pond- a fresh water habitat in which the water stays in one place
8. stream- a fresh water habitat with moving water
9. ocean- a large, deep body of salt water
10. food web- a group of several food chains that are connected
11. pollution- waste that harms land, water, or air
12. recycle- use waste to make new things that can be used again
Unit 3: Changes on
Earth
Water and Our Weather; Earth Can Change Slowly; Earth Can Change Quickly; Clues in Rocks; Putting the Clues together; Life on Earth Changes
Vocabulary:
1. evaporate- to change into a gas
2. water vapor- water that goes into the air
3. condense- to change into a liquid
4. water cycle- the movement of water between the ground and the sky
5. precipitation- water falling from the sky as rain, snow, or hail
6. erosion- when worn down rocks are carried away
7. earthquake- the shaking of the ground caused by shifting of Earth's crust
8. landslide- a sudden movement of soil down a hill
9. volcano- a mountain formed when hot, melted rock bursts through the surface and builds up
10. fossil- remains of something that lived long ago
11. paleontologist- a scientist who studies things that lived long ago
12. skeleton- a full set of bones
13. extinct- when a living thing dies out so that there are no more of its kind living on Earth
14. endangered- in danger of becoming extinct
Unit 4: The Sun and Its
Family
Day and Night; Seasons; The Moon; The Moon Changes; Stars; Planets
Vocabulary:
1. rotates- spins
2. axis- a line through the center of a spinning object
3. Sun- the closest star to Earth
4. orbit- the path an object takes as it moves around another object
5. equator- an imaginary line across the middle of Earth that separates the northern part from the southern part
6. Moon- a ball of rock that travels around Earth
7. craters- large holes on the surface of the Moon
8. phases- a change in the Moon's shape as we see it from Earth
9. star- a hot ball in the sky that makes its own light
10. constellation- a star pattern that makes a picture
11. solar system- the Sun, nine planers, and all of their moons
12. planet- a huge object that travels around the sun
Unit 5: Matter and
Energy
Matter All Around; Three States of Matter; Changing Matter; Hear; Light; Sound
Vocabulary:
1. matter- anything that takes up space and has mass
2. mass- the amount of matter in an object
3. property- tells you something about an object
4. temperature- measures how warm something is
5. solid- a state of matter that has a shape of its own
6. liquid- a state of matter that takes the shape of its container
7. volume- the amount of space that something takes up
8. gas- a state of matter that spreads out to fill its container
9. physical change- a change in the size or shape of matter
10. chemical change- a change in matter that makes new matter
11. energy- the power to make matter move or change
12. heat- a kind of energy that can make something melt or boil
13. fuel- something that gives off heat when it burns
14. light- a kind of energy that lets us see
15. reflect- when light bounces off an object
16. refraction- when something bends light
17. sound- a kind of energy that you hear
18. pitch- how high or how low a sound it
19. vibrate- the way a musical instrument makes its sounds
Unit 6: Watch It Move
Pushes and Pulls; Forces and Change; Levers; Ramps; All About Magnets; Everyday Magnets
1. force- a push or a pull that makes something move or change direction
2. gravity- a force that pulls things toward Earth
3. friction- a force that slows down moving things
4. simple machine- something that uses force to make work easier
5. lever- a simple machine made of a bar that rests on a fixed point
6. fulcrum- the fixed point on which a lever rests
7. ramp- a simple machine with a slanted surface
8. attract- to pull
9. poles- the ends of a magnet where the pull is strongest
10. magnetic field- the area around a magnet where its force pulls
11. compass- a tool with a magnetic needle that always points to Earth's North Pole
12. repel- the same poles of two different magnets push away from each other
Science Kits
There are several links associated with each Science kit.
Soil:
"Children are delighted and amazed by soil. Some can while away hours making sand castles at the beach or scooping up sand by the bucketful at the neighborhood sandbox. Others turn ordinary spoons into instruments of adventure as they dig holes as big as craters in their own backyard. Many children inspect the soil for the treasures it yields--worms, insects, fossils, rocks. They might grow flowers in rich garden soil or squeeze wet clay into fanciful shapes. And, after a pouring rain, they enjoy the simple pleasure of splashing through mud puddles."
So begins the introduction to our unit on Soils. Check out the links below to learn more about our current Science unit - a most interesting topic!
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/index.html
http://www.can-do.com/uci/ssi2001/soilandworms.html
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/pg000102.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geology/soil/index.shtml
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/soil/
http://www.paccd.cc.ca.us/instadmn/physcidv/geol_dp/dndougla/SAND/SANDHP.htm
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/index.htm
Butterflies: 
The Life Cycle of the
Butterfly is our second grade Life Science unit.
The children watch a complete metamorphosis from caterpillar to chrysalis
to beautiful painted lady butterfly.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/
http://www.billybear4kids.com/butterfly/flutter-fun.html
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm
http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools/beal/curriculum/butterfly/mothorbutterfly.html
http://primarygames.com/science/butterflies/facts.htm
http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~gridge/buterfly/prothrea.html
http://www.projectwildlife.org/gardens_butterflyhabitat.htm
http://www.dcboces.org/sufsd/nassau/vitek/butterfly/live.html
Balancing and Weighing:
Welcome to the World of Balancing and Weighing! This is one of our second grade Science units. Many second-graders remember the challenge of balancing on two wheels when they began to ride a bicycle. Some may have gained an appreciation of the importance of balance as they watched a younger brother or sister learn to walk. Children experience balance in many other ways: riding a skateboard, participating in gymnastics, practicing ballet, or even walking on the curb on the way to school. Many children also show an interest in stacking blocks and in seeing how high they can build a tower before it topples over. All of these experiences lay the foundation for an understanding of how weight affects balance.
Use the links below to learn lots more about this interesting concept!
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/b/balance/balance.html
http://www.topscience.org/balancing2.htm
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/Summer_Training/NathanHaleMS/weight.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/
http://www.quia.com/cc/354.html
http://www.quia.com/jfc/354.html
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/catalog/home.asp
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/invent/marblemachines/sections/inspired.html
http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/elementary/balquiz.htm
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/pattern/pattern.html
http://www.successlink.org/great/g704.html
http://www.successlink.org/great/g1004.html