We are currently using the Scott Foresman California Science Program. This adoption covers the California standards for second grade, as well as targeting standardized reading and math skills with science concepts. It has an extensive technology component which will greatly enrich student learning.

Methods of instruction involve uses of linguistic, visual/spatial, logical/mathematical, kinesthetic, auditory, and social/cooperative learning styles to reach all students.

A major focus of this curriculum is the Scientific Method of Inquiry. These are the steps: Ask A Question, Make A Hypothesis, Plan A Fair Test (change only one thing), Do The Test (more than once), Collect And Record The Data, Tell Your Conclusion (is the hypothesis right or wrong), Go Further (new questions or better ways to do the test).

1. The benchmarks for Science Literacy prepared by Project 2061
2. The National Science Education Standards
3. The Science Content Standards for the State of California

• Forces and Motion
• Sound
• Plants and Animals in Their Environment
• Animal Life Cycles
• All About Plants
• Rocks and Soil
• Fossils and Dinosaurs

FORCES AND MOTION :

* What is motion?

* What is friction?

* How can tools and machines make things move?

* What is gravity?

* What are magnets?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- Can a magnet move an object without touching the object?

SOUND :

* What is sound?

* What is volume?

* What is pitch?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- How can you change sound?

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT :

* How are plants and animals like their parents?

* How does the environment affect plants and animals?

* How are plants different?

* How are animals different?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- Some ways shells can vary.

ANIMAL LIFE CYCLES :

* What is a life cycle?

* What is the life cycle of a frog?

* What is the life cycle of a mouse?

* What is the life cycle of a butterfly?

* What is the life cycle of a grasshopper?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- The life cycle of a grain beetle

ALL ABOUT PLANTS :

* What do plants need to grow?

* How can the environment change the way plants grow?

* How do flowers, seeds, and fruits help plants grow?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- How can gravity affect the growth of roots?

ROCKS AND SOIL :

* What are rocks and minerals?

* What is weathering?

* What are natural resources?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- How can you compare and sort minerals and rocks?

FOSSILS AND DINOSAURS :

* What is a fossil?

* How do we learn about life long ago?

* What were dinosaurs like?

* How are plants and animals of long ago like those today?

* Guided Inquiry: Investigate- How can you make a model of a fossil?