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Second Grade Lesson Plans (22 results)

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Investigate the Properties of Liquids
Lesson Plan Grade: 2nd
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7 reviews
When discussing material properties, most of us usually think of solid materials and material properties such as hardness, flexibility, or strength. However, liquids are characterized by distinct properties, too. Some of these properties overlap with those of solids, like density or transparency, but others are more specific to liquids. Viscosity—the resistance of a fluid to flow—and surface tension, are two examples of properties that are specifically used to characterize liquids.… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
Mapping Landforms
Lesson Plan Grade: 2nd
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4 reviews
In this lesson, students will build three-dimensional play dough models from pictures that show various landforms and bodies of water. As they analyze and compare their different models, students will realize that there are many different types of landforms and bodies of water on Earth. Based on their play dough models, students will discuss how various landforms and bodies of water can be represented on a map. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 2-ESS2-2. Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.
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Wind Maze
Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-12th
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2 reviews
Students will explore the elements by designing a wind maze, a device that can direct the wind along a specific path. Learning Objectives Students will: Design and test a wind maze. Consider how to direct the wind down an intended path by creating bends in the maze. Use observations from their tests to compare solutions and iterate on their designs. NGSS Alignment This lesson helps students prepare for these Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations: … Read more
Modeling Water Bodies
Lesson Plan Grade: 2nd
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10 reviews
In this lesson plan, students investigate different types of water bodies on Earth by making models of lakes, oceans, and rivers inside an aluminum pan using various materials and real water. By describing each water body and sharing their observations about their differences and similarities, students will be able to identify the typical characteristics of each water body. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 2-ESS2-2. Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.
  • 2-ESS2-3. Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.
Rocket Catcher Challenge for Grades K-5
Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-5th
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3 reviews
In this fun engineering lesson plan, your students will build a rocket-catching device to help a falling rocket land vertically without crashing, using simple and readily-available materials. Middle school and high school versions of this lesson plan are also available. This lesson was part of the 2025 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Testing Material Properties
Lesson Plan Grade: 1st-2nd
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7 reviews
Plastic, metal, wood, and stone. We encounter many different materials every day. Each object around us is made of a specific material. Why are they not all made from the same material? The answer is that every material has different properties; some are hard and others are soft, some are transparent and others are opaque. For each product that is produced, the material from which it is made determines many of its properties. This is why material testing is so important. These tests allow… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
Two Eyes Are Better Than One
Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-8th
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"Eye in You" © 2015 Mike Cofrancesco Why do humans have two eyes? In this simple activity students will discover the concept of parallax and start discussing depth perception. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. [Clarification Statement: Examples of structures could include thorns, stems, roots, colored petals, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and skin.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to macroscopic structures within plant and animal systems.]
  • 4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on systems of information transfer.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the mechanisms by which the brain stores and recalls information or the mechanisms of how sensory receptors function.]
Wild Wind! Making Weather Vanes to Find Prevailing Winds
Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-5th
Students learn the difference between global, prevailing, and local winds. They make wind vanes out of paper, straws, and soda bottles and use them to measure wind direction over time. They analyze their data to draw conclusions about the local prevailing winds.Engineering Connection Understanding the patterns and behavior of global and localized winds enables engineers to design technologies that protect us from wind and exploit the energy of wind. Engineers design… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
How High Can a Super Ball Bounce?
Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-5th
Students determine the coefficient of restitution (or the elasticity) for super balls. Working in pairs, they drop balls from a meter height and determine how high they bounce. They measure, record and repeat the process to gather data to calculate average bounce heights and coefficients of elasticity. Then they extrapolate to determine the height the ball would bounce if dropped from much higher heights.Engineering Connection Mechanical engineers select materials that meet… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance
Lesson Plan Grade: 2nd-8th
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"The Plane of the Ecliptic" © 2017 NASA Because of the different amounts of time it take for Mars and the Earth to each orbit the sun, it sometimes may look like Mars is traveling backwards. In this interactive lesson, students will learn what "retrograde" and "opposition" means in astronomy while modeling this phenomenon. Read more
Material Properties: Which Material Makes the Strongest Bridge?
Video Lesson Grade: 2nd
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Bridges are made of many different materials: steel, stone, wood and even rope. How do engineers decide which materials to use? In this activity, your students will learn about material properties, test the strength and flexibility of several materials, and use their test information to predict which material will result in the strongest bridge. They will test their hypotheses by buiding simple bridges from each material and determining which bridge can hold the most weight. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
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