Nature of Science: Scientific World View

• When a science investigation is done the way it was done before, we expect to get a very similar result.
• Science investigations generally work the same way in different places.

The Nature of Science: Scientific Inquiry

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• People can often learn about things around them by just observing those things carefully, but sometimes they can learn more by doing something to the things and noting what happens.
• Tools such as thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, or balances often give more information about things than can be obtained by just observing things without their help.
• Describing things as accurately as possible is important in science because it enables people to compare their observations with those of others.
• When people give different descriptions of the same thing, it is usually a good idea to make some fresh observations instead of just arguing about who is right.

The Nature of Science: Scientific Enterprise

By the end of 2nd grade, students should know that

• Everybody can do science and invent things and ideas.
• In doing science, it is often helpful to work with a team and to share findings with others. All team members should reach their own individual conclusions, however, about what the findings mean.

The Nature of Mathematics: Mathematical inquiry

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Numbers and shapes can be used to tell about things.

The Nature of Technology: Technology and Science

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Tools are used to do things better or more easily and to do some things that could not otherwise be done at all. In technology, tools are used to observe, measure, and make things.
• When trying to build something or to get something to work better, it usually helps to follow directions if there are any or to ask someone who has done it before for suggestions.

The Nature of Technology: Design and systems

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• People can use objects and ways of doing things to solve problems.

The Nature of Technology: Issues in technology

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• People, alone or in groups, are always inventing new ways to solve problems and get work done. The tools and ways of doing things that people have invented affect all aspects of life.

The Physical Setting: Energy Transformations

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• The sun warms the land, air, and water.

The Human Organism: Learning

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• People use their senses to find out about their surroundings and themselves. Different senses give different information. Sometimes a person can get different information about the same thing by moving closer to it or further away from it.
• Some of the things people do, like playing soccer, reading, and writing, must be deliberately learned. Practicing helps people to improve. How well one learns sometimes depends on how one does it and how often and how hard one tries to learn.
• People can learn from each other by telling and listening, showing and watching, and imitating what others do.

The Designed World: Energy Sources and Use

By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that

• Moving air and water can be used to run machines.
• The sun is the main source of energy for people and they use it in various ways. The energy in fossil fuels such as oil and coal comes from the sun indirectly, because the fuels come from plants that grew long ago.

The Mathematical World: Uncertainty

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Some things are more likely to happen than others. Some events can be predicted well and some cannot.

Common Themes: Models

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Many of the toys children play with are like real things only in some ways. They are not the same size, are missing many details, or are not able to do all of the same things.
• A model of something is different from the real thing but can be used to learn something about the real thing.
• One way to describe something is to say how it is like something else.

Common Themes: Constancy and Change

By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Many of the toys children play with are like real things only in some ways. They are not the same size, are missing many details, or are not able to do all of the same things.
• A model of something is different from the real thing but can be used to learn something about the real thing.
• One way to describe something is to say how it is like something else.