California Science — Grade 2
Comprehensive Course Syllabus
Course Overview
Our California Grade 2 Science course is designed according to the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS). The curriculum encourages students to investigate the natural world through observations, experiments, data collection, models, evidence-based explanations, and simple engineering activities.
Students explore how plants depend on sunlight and water, how animals interact with plants, the properties and uses of different materials, how Earth’s surface changes over time, and how engineers design solutions to everyday problems.
Plants & Their Needs
What Plants Need to Grow
Students investigate whether plants need sunlight and water to grow and learn how these resources support healthy plant growth.
Investigating Plant Growth
Students conduct simple investigations by observing plants under different conditions and recording changes over time.
Observing Plant Growth Patterns
Students observe and describe patterns in plant growth and use drawings, measurements, charts, and other simple records to communicate their findings.
Plants and Their Environment
Students explore how plants depend on resources in their surroundings and how environmental conditions can affect their growth.
Plants, Animals & Ecosystems
Animals and Plants
Students explore how animals interact with plants and how these relationships can help plants reproduce and spread.
Pollination
Students learn how animals such as bees, butterflies, birds, and other organisms can help pollinate flowering plants.
Seed Dispersal
Students investigate how animals can help move seeds from one place to another, allowing plants to grow in new locations.
Modeling Plant-Animal Relationships
Students create simple models to demonstrate how an animal can help a plant through pollination or seed dispersal.
Animal and Plant Diversity
Different Habitats
Students observe and compare plants and animals living in different environments and identify how organisms are suited to their surroundings.
Similarities and Differences
Students compare plants and animals by observing their structures, behaviors, needs, and ways of interacting with their environments.
Biodiversity Around Us
Students explore the variety of plants and animals found in different environments and understand that living things can be diverse.
Grouping Living Things
Students classify plants and animals using observable characteristics and develop simple ways to organize information about living things.
Matter & Material Properties
What Is Matter?
Students explore common materials and recognize that objects are made from different kinds of matter with observable properties.
Properties of Materials
Students describe and classify materials using properties such as color, texture, hardness, flexibility, and absorbency.
Comparing Materials
Students investigate different materials and compare their properties to determine how they are alike or different.
Materials for Different Purposes
Students learn that different properties make materials suitable for different purposes, such as building, protecting, carrying, or absorbing.
Testing Materials
Students conduct simple tests, collect observations, and use evidence to determine which material is best suited for a particular purpose.
Changes in Materials
Heating and Cooling Materials
Students observe how heating and cooling can change some materials and compare materials before and after changes occur.
Solid and Liquid Materials
Students investigate common solids and liquids and observe how materials can behave differently under different conditions.
Reversible and Observable Changes
Students explore simple changes to materials and identify changes that can be observed through classroom investigations.
Using Evidence to Describe Changes
Students record observations before and after an investigation and use evidence to describe what happened to a material.
Earth Processes & Changing Landscapes
Earth’s Surface
Students explore different features of Earth’s surface, including rocks, soil, mountains, valleys, and other natural landforms.
Fast Changes to Earth’s Surface
Students learn that some Earth events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, can cause noticeable changes very quickly.
Slow Changes to Earth’s Surface
Students explore how processes such as erosion can gradually change rocks and landforms over long periods of time.
Comparing Fast and Slow Earth Events
Students compare natural events that happen quickly with processes that occur slowly and use observations and information from different sources to describe them.
Engineering & Problem Solving
Identifying Problems
Students learn how to identify simple problems that can be solved by designing or improving an object, tool, or process.
Designing Possible Solutions
Students develop simple ideas for solving problems and represent their designs using drawings, diagrams, models, or physical materials.
Building and Testing Solutions
Students build simple models or prototypes and test them to determine how well they solve the intended problem.
Comparing Solutions
Students compare different solutions using evidence from testing and identify which solution works best for a particular purpose.
Improving Designs
Students use observations and test results to make changes that improve the performance of a design.
Teaching Methodology
Our science classes focus on hands-on investigation, observation, evidence, modeling, and engineering problem-solving.
Students learn through:
Learning Outcomes
By the end of Grade 2, students will be able to:
Assessment & Progress Tracking
Student progress is evaluated through: