Learning science thinking skills
Science is not just a body of knowledge. It is also a way of acquiring knowledge. From the earliest years, elementary science should involve children in investigating the material and living world around them. While children learn concepts and vocabulary from investigations, they also develop the thinking skills involved in finding out these concepts, such as the ability to ask a scientific question, plan experiments to try to answer the question, and develop reasonable explanations based on their observations.

The topics children investigate at a particular grade level differ widely across the country, but the science thinking skills are universal. While a student will study sound, electricity, plants, animals, and solids, liquids and gasses during their elementary years, each state has its own particular sequence of topics for each grade level. The National Science Education Standards — the jumping-off point states used to develop their standards — lists important topics and thinking skills for grades K-4 without determining which topic aligns with a particular grade.

The lists of topics below are examples from typical states, and you should not be alarmed if your child's grade does not include them. It's more important that topics are used to develop science thinking skills. To find out topics your state does include at each grade level, look for your state's science education standards at this Education World link.

What science concepts will my second-grader learn?
Your second-grader will learn about the world around him both by observation and experimentation. He will learn to make more detailed observations and conclusions, and use data to help validate information. Some or all of the following concepts will be explored in second grade:

• The cycle of life: Learns that plants and animals have predictable life cycles.
• Seasons: Learns that there are four seasons and the characteristics of each.
• Matter: Learns that materials come in different forms solid, liquid and gas, and that matter can change states.
• The human body: Learns about the skeletal, muscular, digestive and nervous systems, and how to take care of the body.
• Insects: Learns the parts of the insect the abdomen, thorax and head, and their life cycles.
• Electricity and magnetism: Learns about electric currents and circuits, how batteries work, and the push and pull of magnets.
• Earth and space: Learns about the suns, moons, planets and stars properties, locations, and movements.

What types of science instruction will my second-grader get?
Second-grade teachers typically teach students to perform experiments and record observations both orally and in writing. Along with experimentation, book learning is also incorporated to encourage coherence and order to a child’s scientific learning. A second-grade teacher might conduct an experiment that demonstrates how light travels in a straight line, by holding a string in a straight line between a flashlight, an object and its shadow. A teacher might use magnets to illustrate magnetic fields and poles, and show how they are used in compasses to tell direction.

Getting acquainted with the physical world
Science at the second-grade level is primarily about exploring and investigating the natural world. A second-grader might learn that air is matter (and so has weight) by comparing the weights of a full and an empty balloon on a balance. Likewise, a teacher might introduce life cycles by setting up an area where students watch caterpillars spin cocoons and later become butterflies.

Emphasizing skills over facts
More important than the scientific facts at this stage is the ability of children to develop skills such as observing, asking questions, planning and doing investigations, and recording/communicating what they experience. For example, the teacher might encourage students to investigate the circulatory system by asking them to put their hands on their chests to feel their heartbeats, and compare their heartbeat rates before and after exercise. Or a second-grader might identify metamorphosis and various stages of life by observing tadpoles/frogs or caterpillars/butterflies over a period of time. Fred Stein our science consultant notes: "In second grade, students tend to be more socially adept, and can be expected to work cooperatively in groups on planning, doing, and reporting their science investigations."

October 2006