In the last unit, students observed butterflies moving through their life cycle, explored how butterflies are pollinators, and then designed a hand pollinator. In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of how shelters help animals survive in their environment and then design a prototype burrow-like structure to keep a burrowing owl cool in hot temperatures.
In this unit, students stimulate the movement of tectonic plates and analyze maps to observe how plate boundaries create patterns in Earth’s features. In this lesson, they build on that knowledge to observe the science phenomenon of how water erodes sediment. This page highlights key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students continue to explore science phenomena related to energy, focusing on how energy is transferred in circuits and can do work, such as spinning a motor. Students begin with this lesson on exploring the basic phenomena of direct current energy flowing through parts of a simple and series circuit.
In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of how energy is transferred in a circuit to do work. In this lesson, students figure out the phenomena affecting the left and right movement of an electric car. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students are introduced to science and engineering by exploring several phenomena that relate to cooking. Students begin with an investigation into the structure of matter and how energy determines state of matter. This page is a high level look at key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on interactions between matter and energy. In this lesson, students figure out the endothermic and exothermic phenomenon of chemical hot and cold packs to analyze matter and energy in different kinds of chemical reactions. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore several phenomena that relate to cooking. In this lesson, students evaluate chemical reactions, and use that knowledge to engineer a prototype that transfers energy by chemical processes. This page showcases key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore phenomena of natural processes that cause Earth’s surface to change over time, analyzing how energy causes Earth’s matter to transform and cycle from one form to another. In this lesson, students investigate how Earth materials are continually being reshaped and reformed by multiple processes that are powered by energy from Earth’s hot interior and the sun. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students use the phenomenon of why certain materials (such as the materials that make up a baseball) are useful for a particular function to explore the relationship between matter and energy phenomena. In this lesson students manipulate the properties of a polymer bouncy ball by changing the amounts of reactants in a chemical reaction. This page highlights parts of this lesson.
In this unit, students build on what they know about the science phenomena of energy transfer to focus on information transfer and how different technologies use patterns of sound, light, or numbers to transmit information. This page showcases key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students investigate what makes an object float or sink, exploring the science phenomena of properties of objects that float and sink. This page is a high-level extract of the last lesson in 2nd grade that has students applying their knowledge about the relationship between an object’s properties and its ability to float.
In this unit, students study the processes that shape Earth’s surface, focusing on the formation of minerals (such as diamonds) and rocks. In this lesson, they explore the phenomena exhibited in the properties of rocks and minerals to figure out how the properties of different minerals are a tool to identify them. This page is a high-level overview of this lesson.
In this unit, students continue to explore forces and energy, focusing on the science phenomenon of how electrical energy can be transferred from one place to another to do work. In this lesson, students build series and parallel circuits, measuring the amount of current that moves through each circuit with one and two light bulbs. This page highlights some components of that lesson.
In this unit, students explore the science phenomenon of electric currents and electrical energy. In this lesson, students figure out energy transfers, electricity, and circuits in the context of an electromagnetic motor system. This page showcases each key section of this lesson.
In this unit, students build on their exploration of how energy and matter interact with a focus on science phenomena related to sound. In this lesson, students investigate how some materials absorb sound while others reflect it. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
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.