Science
Our second graders are lucky enough to have not one but two science teachers this year! We have our resident science expert Miss.Young teaching them science twice a week and myself teaching them science for the rest of the week!
Hot and Cold Temperatures
Students learn that materials are sometimes changed by heating or cooling and that by observing such changes, they can infer how hot or cold an object is. They learn that thermometers provide a helpful way to measure and describe the hotness or coldness of things—a more reliable way than provided by their own senses. Students observe that temperatures can go up and down, including the temperature of their surroundings and the temperatures of particular objects within it. They also learn about methods that are used to
control temperature in buildings and how insulation is used to keep things hot or cold.
Exploring Liquids
Miss.Young is currently covering Exploring Liquids! Here are some of the things you can expect your child to be doing throughout this unit!
Students learn about the nature of liquids and the interactions of liquids with other materials. They explore liquids by examining droplets, by watching liquids trickle down slopes, by investigating flow rates and by observing liquid interactions with a variety of materials. They learn that some materials are impervious to liquids, while others are absorbent, and that some liquids mix readily while others do not. They observe that liquid water can be changed to ice or to steam, and back again, if heated and cooled, and that wet materials dry out when left open to the air. Through this topic, students learn that water is our most important liquid, that we use water in many ways, and that water is essential to life.
Magnetism
During their classes with me we are going to be covering Magnetism! Here are some of the things you can expect your child to be doing throughout this unit!
Students explore the interaction of magnets with a variety of materials found within their own environment. By testing the effects of one magnet on another, they learn that magnets show polarity and that the strength of magnetic effects diminishes with distance. They learn to distinguish materials that are affected by magnets from those that are not and learn how magnets can be used in sorting objects, moving things and holding things together.