Level 1A – Science – Year 2

TERM 1: What Is Matter

Key Texts:
Solids and Liquids
Mater Amabilis Fairy-Land of Science Reader (pdf)
*What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? (Wells of Knowledge Science Series) (Wells)
*Air Is All Around You (Branley)

Highly Recommended:
What Is the World Made Of?: All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Zoehfeld)
Matter: See It, Touch It, Taste It, Smell It (Stille)
What Makes a Magnet? (Branley)
Oxygen Keeps You Alive (Branley)

Week 1: 

1. Solids and Liquids “What’s It Made Of?”
   OR What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids and Liquids
   • Study Jams video: ?Properties of Matter?
2. Solids and Liquids “What’s It Made Of?”
   – Do it yourself
   
   OR Do the third activity found on p. 32 of What Is the World Made Of?
   
   More Ideas for Introducing the States of Matter
   
   BFSU A-2 – Solids, Liquids, and Gases
   • Part 1 “Identification of Solids, Liquids, Gases”

Week 2: 

1. Solids and Liquids “Melting and Mixing” 
   – Do it yourself (1st experiment only)
   OR Exploring States of Matter with Water, Ice, and Steam
   
   BFSU A-2 – Solids, Liquids, and Gases
   • Part 2 “Changes Between Solid, Liquid, and Gas”
2. Solids and Liquids “Materials All Around”
   OR Matter: See It, Touch It, Taste It, Smell It
   
   BFSU A-5 – Distinguishing Materials
   Part 1 “Categories of Materials”

BFSU C-4 – Concepts of Energy III: Distinguishing Between Matter and Energy
Part 1 “Attributes of Matter”

Week 3: 

1. Air Is All Around You by Franklin M. Branley
   
   BFSU A-3 – Air Is a Substance
   • Part 1 “Introductory Discussion”
2. Air Is All Around You
   Activity pp. 10-15
   Activities pp. 32-33
   
   BFSU A-3 – Air Is a Substance
   • Part 2 “Does Air Occupy Space”
   • Part 3 “Does Air Have Weight?”

Week 4: 

1. What Is Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?
   
   BFSU A-4 – Matter I: It’s Particulate Nature
   • Part 1 “All Matter Is Made of Particles”
2. Activities
   Smelly Balloons
   Water Droplets on Pennies
   
   BFSU A-4 – Matter I: It’s Particulate Nature
   • Part 2 “The Difference Between Solids, Liquids, and Gases”
     If you have enough students or family members, the game described in this section is a lot of fun!

Week 5: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader  1 “The Air Around Us”
2. Solids and Liquids “Materials All Around”
   -Do it yourself (glass and candle experiment)
   OR Glass and Candle Experiment
   After finishing the experiment, read Fairy-Land of Science Reader 2 “What Is Air?” aloud or you can use it as a guide for leading discussion about the experiment

BFSU A-7 – Air: A Mixture of Gases

1. • Part 1 “Defining a Mixture”
   • Part 2 “Burning Requires Oxygen”
     (Includes glass and candle experiment described in “The Air Around Us”)

Solids and Liquids “Melting and Mixtures”
-Do it yourself (2nd Experiment)
OR Mixing and Unmixing and What Dissolves in Water?

• • Study Jams video: Mixtures

BFSU A-9 – Matter IV: Dissolving, Solutions, and Crystallization

• • Part 1 “Some Things Dissolve”
  • Part 2 “Soluble and Insoluble”

Week 6: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 3 “Atmosphere”
2. Solids and Liquids “Mixing Things Together”
   -Do It Yourself
   OR Flame Out Carbon Dioxide Experiment
   
   BFSU A-7 – Air: A Mixture of Gases
   • Part 3 “Burning Releases Carbon Dioxide”
   • Part 4 “Mixtures and Chemical Reactions”

Week 7: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 4 “How Big Is the Atmosphere”
2. In and Out
   
   BFSU A-6 – Matter II: Air Pressure, Vacuums, and the Earth’s Atmosphere
   • Part 1 “Compressing Air and Air Pressure”

Week 8: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 5 “Air Pressure”
2. Stuck Like Glue
   Sippy Straw Experiment
   Video: How Does a Vacuum Cleaner Work?
   
   BFSU A-6 – Matter II: Air Pressure, Vacuums, and the Earth’s Atmosphere
   • Part 2 “Air Pressure Inside and Outside”
   • Part 3 “Vacuums”

Week 9: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 6 “How We Weigh Air”
2. Balloon in a Bottle
   Study Jams video: Air Pressure & Wind
   
   BFSU A6 – Matter II: Air Pressure, Vacuums, and the Earth’s Atmosphere
   • Part 4 “The Earth’s Atmosphere”
   • Part 5 “Wind”

Week 10: 

• Solids and Liquids “Stone, Wood, and Clay” and “Making Tools”
  OR a book of your choice from the booklists in BFSU

1. Video: Properties of Materials
   Activity described on page 22 of Matter: See It, Touch It, Taste It, Smell It
   OR Testing Materials to Learn About Their Properties
   Note: The last 8 chapters of Solids and Liquids can be read through to think about the characteristics of various materials: springy, flexible, strong, brittle, etc…
   
   BFSU A-5 – Distinguishing Materials

• • Part 2 “Characteristics of Different Materials”

BFSU C-4 – Concepts of Energy III: Distinguishing Between Matter and Energy 

1. • Part 1  “Attributes of Matter”
     

Week 11: 

1. Solids and Liquids “Metal Magic”
   OR What Makes a Magnet?
   
   BFSU A5-A – Magnets and Magnetic Fields
   • Part 1 “Properties of Magnets”
2. Solids and Liquids “Metal Magic”
   -Do it yourself
   OR Hands on Activities in What Makes a Magnet
   Study Jams slideshow: Magnetism
   
   BFSU A5-A – Magnets and Magnetic Fields
   • Part 2 “Magnetic Fields”
   • Part 3 “The Earth’s Magnetic Field”

Week 12: Catch-up/Exams

Optional Extras:

• Pasteur’s Fight Against Microbes (Birch)
• Marie Curie’s Search for Radium (Birch)
• Adventures With Atoms and Molecules (Mebane/Rybolt)

TERM 2: Looking Up!

Key Texts and Resources:

Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey
One Small Square: the Night Sky by Donald M.Silver
Home Science Adventures: The Astronomy Adventure

Note: Lessons 1 to 11 and 16 of The Astronomy Adventure to be used during class time. Lessons 12 to 15 are observations of the night sky, one for each season.

Throughout the term: Complete The Astronomy Adventure (Lessons 12-15) The Night Sky – Use the binoculars to explore the night sky. See wonders such as star clusters, double stars, nebulas, constellations, red giants. There are four lessons here, one for each season: Orion & Taurus, The Dippers, The Summer Triangle, Sagittarius & Scorpio.

Week 13: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp. 3-9 , 54-55
   Introduction; “Big Dipper, Great Bear, Herdsman, Lion” AND “Stargazing Outdoors”
   • Science notebook ideas: draw each of the constellations covered. As you begin to stargaze at night, you can also draw or write what you see on what date and time.
2. The Astronomy Adventure: Tracking the Moon – Chart the phases of the moon for a month. 

Week 14: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp. 10-15
   “Bright Stars and Faint Stars, Stars have names, The Twins, Orion, Light-Years”
   • Science notebook ideas: diagram of bright and faint stars, draw all constellations.
2. Exploring the Moon – Use a pair of binoculars to see and draw craters on the moon.

Week 15: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp. 16-23. 
   • Science notebook ideas: draw each of the covered constellations.
2. Phases of the Moon – Construct a 3D model that will show what causes the moon’s phases.

Week 16: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 56-59
   “The Planets, The Solar System, The Sun and The Planets”
   • Science notebook ideas:  List and draw planets
2. Welcome to the Solar System – Create a map of the solar system using planet stickers.

Week 17: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 24-29
   “The Sky Views, Winter Stars”
   • Science notebook ideas:  Draw a winter sky view.
2. Modeling Planet Sizes – Use balloons and clay balls to make scale models of all the planet.
   

Week 18: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 30-35 
   “Polaris, The North Star, The Zodiac Constellations”
   • Science notebook ideas: Write about and draw Polaris, draw constellations around the Pole Star, and Zodiac constellations
2. An Interplanetary Hike – Create a giant scale model of the solar system. (see this activity)
   

Week 19: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 36-41 
   “Spring Stars, The Andromeda Story”
   • Science notebook ideas: Draw a Spring star view, draw Andromeda, Pegasus, The Whale.
2. Artificial Gravity – Use the power of centrifugal force to create artificial gravity.
   
   BFSU D-7 – Rate of Fall, Weightlessness in Space, and Distinction Between Mass and Weight
   • Part 1 “Things Fall at the Same Rate”
   • Part 2 “Weightlessness in Freefall and in Space”

Week 20: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 42-47 
   “The Orion Story, Summer Stars”
   • Science notebook ideas: Draw a Summer star view, and The Serpent Holder and The Hare.
2. Gravity on Other Planets – Use the artificial gravity machine to simulate gravity on other planets.
   
   BFSU D-7 – Rate of Fall, Weightlessness in Space, and Distinction Between Mass and Weight
   • Part 3 “Distinction Between Weight and Mass”

Week 21: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 48-53 
   “Four Minutes a Day, Autumn Stars”
   • Science notebook ideas: Draw an Autumn star view.
2. Mercury and Venus – Perform a greenhouse experiment to find out why Venus is, on average, hotter than Mercury.
   

Week 22: 

1. Find the Constellations, pp, 60-64
   “Into Space by the Stars, ”
   • Science notebook ideas: draw view of Earth from the Moon
2. Invent Your Own Constellation – Find images in a starry sky. 

Week 23: 

1. 1. Is It a Star? – Learn to recognize shooting stars, satellites, planets and comets.
   2. Curved Space – Explore how the curvature of space could explain gravity using a simple balloon and BB.
      
      BFSU C-6 – Friction
      • Part 2 “Wheels and Friction”
      • Part 3 “Friction, Heat, and Energy”

Week 24: Catch-up/Exams

Optional Extras:

Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations by Jaqueline Mitton
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations  by Jaquline Mitton
The Stars: a New Way to See Them by H.A.Rey (for parent background, used as a text in Level 3, Year 1)
The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System (Joanna Cole)

TERM 3: matter and microscopes

Key Texts:

*Greg’s Microscope  (Selsam)
Mater Amabilis Fairy-Land of Science Reader (pdf)
Home Science Adventures: Microscopic Explorations (14 lessons)
*Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes

Week 25: 

1. 1. Greg’s Microscope
   2. Microscopic Explorations 1 “Surprises in Your Microscope”
      Activities from Greg’s Microscope
      
      BFSU2 B-13 – Cells I: Microscopes, Observations of Tissues, and the Cell Theory

• • • Focus on using a microscope and observation.

Week 26: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 7 “Sun, Air, and Water”
2. Microscopic Explorations 2 “The Art of Observation”

Week 27: 

1. Evaporation Activities
   
   BFSU A-8 – Matter III: Evaporation and Condensation
   • Part 1 “Evaporation”
2. Microscopic Explorations 3 “Magnification”

Week 28: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 8 “Rain I”
2. Microscopic Explorations 4 “The Fabric of Reality”

Week 29: 

1. A Condensation Sensation!
   Study Jams video: The Water Cycle
   
   BFSU A-8 – Matter III: Evaporation and Condensation
   • Part 2 “Condensation”
2. Microscopic Explorations 7 “Scavenger Hunt in the Plant Kingdom”
   
   BFSU2 B-16 – Fungi and Bacteria I: What They are and Their Role as Decomposers in Nature
   

Week 30: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 9 “Rain II”
2. Microscopic Explorations 8 “Cells in an Onion Membrane
   
   BFSU2 B-13 – Cells I: Microscopes, Observations of Tissues, and the Cell Theory

• • Focus on cell theory.

BFSU2 B-14 – Cells II: Microscopes, Observations of Tissues, and the Cell Theory

• • Part 1 “Cells and Their Differences”

Week 31: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 10 “Screen of Vapor”
2. Microscopic Explorations 5 “Up Close with Crystals”
   This lesson ties in directly with the activity described for this week in Earth Studies and observing both crystals and pumice. You may want to combine.

Week 32: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 11 “What Are Crystals?”
2. Microscopic Explorations 6 “The Amazing Crystallization Experiment”
   This lesson is followed conceptually by the lesson suggested for this week in Earth Studies. You will want to do this lesson first followed by the suggested activities discussing and demonstrating diffusion and the effects of heat. They relate to the concepts explored while discussing geysers in the following Earth Studies lessons.
   
   BFSU A-9 – Matter IV: Dissolving, Solutions, and Crystallization
   • Part 1 “Some Things Dissolve”
   • Part 2 “Soluble and Insoluble”
   • Part 3 “Crystallization”

Week 33: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 12 “Why Do Crystals Form”
   (BFSU A-9 Part 3 “Crystallization”)
2. Microscopic Explorations 12 “Fungus Forest – Explore a microscopic forest of bread mold.”
   
   BFSU2 B-16 – Fungi and Bacteria I: What They are and Their Role as Decomposers in Nature

Week 34: 

1. Tiny Creatures – The World of Microbes
2. Microscopic Explorations 9 “Fantastic Voyage in a Pond: Part 1 – The Expedition” and 10 “Fantastic Voyage in a Pond: Part 2 – The Exploration”
   
   BFSU2 B-19 – Microscopic Organisms I: Their Multitude and Diversity
   • Part 1 “Finding and Observing Microscopic Organisms”
   • Part 2 “History and Discovery of Microscopic Organisms

Week 35: 

1. Fairy-Land of Science Reader 13 “Snowflakes
   Recommended Supplemental Read: Snowflake Bentley
2. Microscopic Explorations 11 “Fantastic Voyage in a Pond: Part 3 – Even Smaller”
   
   BFSU2 B-19 – Microscopic Organisms II: Single-Celled Organisms; Kingdom Protista
   • Part 1 “Observations of Single Celled Organisms and Their Modes of Movement”
   • Part 2 “How Do We Classify Such Organisms as Paramecia, Eglena, and Amoeba?”

Week 36: 

1. Microscopic Explorations 13 “Making a Slide Trap – Study live insects through a microscope”
2. Catch-up/Exams

Optional Extras

Usborne Internet-Linked Complete Book of the Microscope
OR
The World of the Microscope – A Practical Introduction with Projects and Activities