Each year the Matter Unit is a big hit with 2nd graders. They worked on their understanding Matter and the scientific process with the Wheel of Science as they went back and forth between questioning, investigating, observing, creating meaning, and sharing their information. Students created hypothesis to questions such as, “Do physical properties remain the same when a material changes size?” and then conducted experiments to find out. Students also checked out weights of liquids by observing what happens when they mixed oil, water, and an ice cube.
Work as a scientist continued as students worked in pairs to test whether or not stickiness is a property of water. After all, we’ve all seen water drops on the windshield run together and form larger drops. That had us wondering why. Does water have an unexpected property? Carefully using eye droppers to drop water on a penny. Partners counted, observed, and measured as they saw the droplets form a larger drop on their penny. At the end, they determined that water might be a little sticky and wondered if using other sized coins would change the number of drops that fit on a coin.
After reading Miss Maggie, by Cynthia Rylant, in Jr. Great Books, two reading groups in Mrs. Frisbee and Mrs. DiSilvestro’s classes spent a few weeks on a Cynthia Rylant author study. Students used their knowledge of Cynthia Rylant from Miss Maggie and a short biography I read aloud to predict what elements they might find in her books. Taking the role of an editor, these readers used the criteria to judge how closely the other Rylant books matched their predictions. They enjoyed selecting their own books, reading at their own pace, and sharing why they rated the books as they did.
Work as a scientist continued as students worked in pairs to test whether or not stickiness is a property of water. After all, we’ve all seen water drops on the windshield run together and form larger drops. That had us wondering why. Does water have an unexpected property? Carefully using eye droppers to drop water on a penny. Partners counted, observed, and measured as they saw the droplets form a larger drop on their penny. At the end, they determined that water might be a little sticky and wondered if using other sized coins would change the number of drops that fit on a coin.
After reading Miss Maggie, by Cynthia Rylant, in Jr. Great Books, two reading groups in Mrs. Frisbee and Mrs. DiSilvestro’s classes spent a few weeks on a Cynthia Rylant author study. Students used their knowledge of Cynthia Rylant from Miss Maggie and a short biography I read aloud to predict what elements they might find in her books. Taking the role of an editor, these readers used the criteria to judge how closely the other Rylant books matched their predictions. They enjoyed selecting their own books, reading at their own pace, and sharing why they rated the books as they did.