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Overview of the 2nd/3rd Grade Units.
See also, 3rd/4th Grade Units and 4th/5th Grade Units
The four Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® 2nd/3rd grade units are Soil Habitats, Shoreline Science, Designing Mixtures, and Gravity and Magnetism. Soil Habitats and Shoreline Science are each 40 sessions long while Designing Mixtures and Gravity and Magnetism are each 20 sessions in length. Below you will find detailed descriptions of each unit. Note the highlighted text in the first paragraph of each description, which gives an idea of the key concepts taught in that unit.
Soil Habitats
Soil Habitats immerses students in learning about soil, decomposition, habitats, adaptations, and other key earth and life science concepts. The unit includes a major emphasis on science inquiry. There are four investigations—each with 10 sessions. Nine student books engage students in doing, talking, reading, and writing about the science concepts. About half of the sessions have a literacy focus. Students learn comprehension strategies for reading science text, use text features to locate information, acquire scientific language, participate in scientific discourse, and write informational text.
Investigation 1—Soil and Decomposition. Students read Into the Soil, introducing soil’s importance. They compare the properties of two different soils and conduct tests on water retention. They set up an earthworm bin to investigate decomposition and learn more about the process from Walk in the Woods, in which an earth scientist finds evidence of decomposition. Students write an informational page about soil and start recording observations, evidence, and explanations in Investigation Notebooks. They begin glossaries in their notebooks and the class starts a Science/Everyday Word chart. Students order steps in the decomposition process and learn about the nutrient cycle.
Investigation 2—Building a Habitat. Students seek to identify two mystery plants by observing and comparing their roots. They make diagrams of taproots and fibrous roots, pose questions about roots, and read What Are Roots? about plant structures and roots as adaptations. Students revisit the earthworm bin to search for evidence of decomposition and take part in a discourse circle, debating whether soil is being made in the bin. They write an informational page about decomposition. They learn about the concept of a habitat, then build desktop terrarium habitats. They read Talking with a Habitat Scientist, then identify the elements of a habitat in a Habitat Scenes activity.
Investigation 3—Animals and Adaptations. Students observe, make diagrams of, and pose questions about earthworms and isopods. They learn about the structures and behaviors
of these soil organisms. They also seek evidence of differences between two kinds of isopods. They use an index to find out more from the Handbook of Forest Floor Animals, then predict what will happen when the organisms are added to terrariums. Students read Earthworms Underground, take notes about adaptations, then write an informational page. They read My Nature Notebook, modeling observation and note-taking. In discourse circles, students debate whether earthworms or isopods are better suited to escape predators.
Investigation 4—Conducting Investigations. Students read Snail Investigations, which models the investigation process. They review questions posed during the unit and categorize them by topic, then by which are “lookup” or “investigation” questions. With the teacher, they turn some “investigation” questions into “investigable” ones. Groups choose and refine a question, make a plan, create tables to record observations, and conduct an investigation. They work together to make explanations based on evidence, and create a poster. They plan, practice, and make presentations. Students read Without Soil, construct a dependence diagram, and discuss the interdependence of plants, animals, humans, and soil.
Shoreline Science
Shoreline Science immerses students in learning about the shoreline ecosystem with a focus on both earth science and life science concepts. The unit has four investigations—each with 10 sessions. Nine student books engage students in doing, talking, reading, and writing about the science of the shoreline. About half of the sessions in the unit have a literacy focus. As students read the books, they work to master the reading comprehension skill of making inferences, they write reports and informational
text, and they learn to use nonfiction text features, such as a table of contents, index, and glossary.
Investigation 1—Beach Investigations. Students investigate whether there is more land or water on Earth, learn and read about beaches and shorelines, observe and sort objects found on a model beach, read about marine litter, and model how sand is made. They write about key topics as they develop a class book on what they’ve learned about beaches and shorelines.
Investigation 2—Sand Investigations. Students use magnifiers to observe and compare the color, size, and shape of sand grains from different samples and make inferences about
their origins. They read about a shoreline scientist’s sand collection and about the impact of erosion. Students practice writing paragraphs, and the class works together to write a report on sand. They start a class glossary to keep track of and define new science words.
Investigation 3—Shoreline Organisms. Students learn that sandy ocean beaches and the seaweed that washes ashore on them are home to many kinds of organisms. Through the first of two reference books, they take a “virtual field trip” to a sandy beach and explore the organisms that live there. They read My Sea Otter Report, a book that models the process of writing a report. Each student researches a shoreline organism and uses both reference books to write a report on the organism.
Investigation 4—How Humans Impact the Shoreline. Students learn where oil comes from, the ways people use it, and how and why we should conserve it. They read The Black Tide, an account of a huge oil spill, then model an oil spill and cleanup. They go on to read a biography of a shoreline scientist and learn about other ways, besides oil spills, that humans impact the shoreline. The last session of the unit features activity stations that summarize the experiences and key concepts of the unit as students reflect on how they acted like scientists in the unit.
Designing Mixtures
Designing Mixtures immerses students in learning about properties of substances, dissolving, the design process, mixtures, and other key physical science concepts. The unit has two investigations—each with 10 sessions. Five student books engage students in doing, talking, reading, and writing about the science concepts. About half of the sessions in the unit have a literacy focus. As students read the books, they work to master the reading comprehension skill of accessing and applying prior knowledge, they write procedural text, and learn to use nonfiction text features, such as illustrations, captions, and labels.
Investigation 1—Investigating Ingredients. Students read What If Rain Boots Were Made of Paper? and discuss what materials different objects are made of. They conduct tests to determine which ingredient makes mixtures the most sticky, and use that evidence to make their own glue mixtures. The class records new scientific terms on a Science/Everyday Word chart, explore and discuss procedural text, and play a giving instructions game. Students notice text features as they read Solving Dissolving, a book that introduces students to the concept of solubility, and then test four possible soda ingredients to find those that are soluble in water and taste good. They discuss the role of cause and effect in making mixtures and then search through the Handbook of Interesting Ingredients reference book to compare their ideas about the effects of sugar and flour on mixtures to what other scientists have found.
Investigation 2—Making Mixtures. Students read Jelly Bean Scientist, a book about a food scientist who designs new jelly bean flavors. They collect more information about possible flavors for their sodas and use this information and their test results to create their soda recipes. Students create their first sodas and consider how their sodas compare to the properties of good soda. Then they refine and write their soda recipes. By following their partners’ soda recipes to create a second, improved soda, students experience firsthand the value of clear procedural text. Students go on to read Jess Makes Hair Gel, a book about a boy who uses a design process to make hair
gel. They use this to guide their next design challenge—creating a strong glue. They search for evidence of ingredients that will help make a strong glue, in the Handbook of Interesting Ingredients, and through firsthand investigations. They evaluate the evidence and use it to make and refine glue mixtures. The unit ends when students write a recipe for strong glue based on all of the evidence they have gathered.
Gravity and Magnetism
In Gravity and Magnetism students learn about forces, particularly magnetic force, gravity, and electrostatic force. Students develop strategies for reading and writing nonfiction text. They also learn about the nature and practices of science and develop inquiry skills. Four accessible books support students’ learning in these areas. About half of the sessions in this unit are devoted to literacy and half are devoted to science.
Investigation 1—Magnetic Force. Students are introduced to the concept of forces and use simple materials to make forces. The importance of evidence is introduced as a major unit focus.
Students learn that good readers set goals, and practice this as they read Forces. They are introduced to the idea that some forces act at a distance and learn to use headings in text to find
information. They investigate magnetic force, sorting objects that are and are not attracted to magnets. The class constructs a scientific explanation about forces using evidence from both text and experience. Students then investigate the resting position of a magnet hung from a string, and discover that magnets have north and south poles. By inventing and sharing “magnet tricks,” they learn that like poles repel and opposite poles attract. They read What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets and learn to use a table of contents and to interpret data tables. Groups choose a goal for a brief investigation and learn that both poles of a magnet can attract iron, that magnets
cannot repel iron, and that magnetic force can act through materials. The class deepens their understanding of the importance of evidence in science by writing a scientific explanation about magnets.
Investigation 2—Gravity and Other Forces. Students make observations about evidence of the force of gravity and measure its force on hanging water bottles. They learn that weight is a
measure of the force of gravity on an object. They read Gravity Is Everywhere and practice using its headings, table of contents, and data tables. They lift bottles that represent what a full water
bottle would weigh on Earth, on Jupiter, and on the Moon. Students revise ideas about an object’s weight, making predictions, taking a measurement, then adjusting to reflect the fact that an object would have a different weight on a different planet. They write an explanation to support the idea that gravity is a pull between all things, then compare gravity and magnetic force. They construct “anti-gravity devices” in which a magnet holds up a paper clip, learn that more than one force can act on an object, and learn that magnetic force weakens as the objects involved move farther apart. They revisit Gravity Is Everywhere and learn that the same is true for gravity. Students then investigate the electrostatic force between a charged balloon and other objects, and between two charged pieces of tape. They read Mystery Forces and use evidence to determine which of the three forces is at work in various scenarios. They write a scientific explanation supporting the idea that there is ample evidence that forces can act at a distance. They add electrostatic force to the “antigravity device” and learn that electrostatic force also gets weaker as the objects involved move farther apart. Students sort statements about and compare all three forces—magnetism, gravity, and electrostatic force.
Go to: 3rd/4th Grade Units or 4th/5th Grade Units
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