Science - 2nd Grade

Inquiry is the heart of science learning and students use the scientific method to conduct experiments and investigations. We use a variety of resources, including the UCSF lending library and the California Academy of Sciences. Our teachers have been trained through the academy’s Teacher Institute of Science and Sustainability program. In our combination classrooms of 1^st and 2^nd graders (Rainbow Room) and 2^nd and 3^rd graders (Sun Room), curriculum is on a two-year rotation of alternating units.

Rainbow Room Units of Study

• Simple Machines
• States of Matter
• The Human Body
• Water and Watersheds
• Animals and Skulls
• Life Cycles
• Habitats

Approaches To Learning

• Research
• Experiments
• Observation
• Science notebooks
• Building models
• STEM
• Field Trips (Excelsior Science Workshop)
• Academy of Science (Science kits)
• UCSF (Human organ specimens)
• Portfolios

Sun Room Units of Study

• Plant life and pollination
• Garden Snails
• Crayfish
• The Solar System
• Gravity
• Forces and motion
• Rocks and crystals
• Volcanoes
• Fossils and dinosaurs

Approaches to Learning

• Research
• Experiments
• Observation
• Science notebooks
• Graphing
• Sketching
• Building models
• STEM
• Field Trips (UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, Museum of African Diaspora, Conservatory of Flowers)