Grade 02: Science

In this unit, 'Plants and how they grow', you learn to describe a plant life cycle and what seeds need. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Plants and how they grow' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: describe a plant life cycle and what seeds need. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Soak 6 bean seeds in water overnight. Next day, put 3 on damp cotton wool in a clear cup near a window and 3 on dry cotton wool. Label the cups Wet and Dry and write the start date.
2. Step 2, Check every day and record. Day 2, wet cup: seed swells. Day 4: a small white root comes out. Day 6: a shoot with two small leaves appears, about 3 cm tall. Dry cup: no change on any day.
3. Step 3, Conclusion from the test: a seed needs water to germinate. It also needs air and a suitable warmth. Light is not needed until the leaves grow, so many seeds sprout under the soil.
4. Step 4, Put the life cycle in order with numbers. 1 seed, 2 germination with root and shoot, 3 seedling, 4 grown plant with flowers, 5 fruit with new seeds. Draw arrows in a circle to show it repeats.
5. Step 5, Measure growth. A seedling is 3 cm on day 6 and 9 cm on day 14. It grew 9 - 3 = 6 cm in 8 days. Plot a simple bar chart with the two heights.
6. Step 6, Your turn: if a seed is planted in dry soil in a cold fridge, will it sprout, and why? Answer: no, because it has no water and not enough warmth.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe a plant life cycle and what seeds need: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Animals and their homes', you learn to match animals to habitats and young to parents. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Animals and their homes' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: match animals to habitats and young to parents. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Match each animal to its habitat. Camel to desert, polar bear to snowy ice, fish to pond, monkey to forest tree, and cow to farm. Draw a line from each animal to a picture of its home.
2. Step 2, Explain one match using body clues. A camel has wide padded feet for sand and stores fat in its hump, so it can live in the hot dry desert. A polar bear has thick fur and fat to keep warm on ice.
3. Step 3, Match young to parents. A kitten belongs to a cat, a puppy to a dog, a calf to a cow, a chick to a hen, and a cub to a lion. Write each pair in a two-column table.
4. Step 4, Sort by how young are born. Hen, duck and frog lay eggs. Cat, dog and cow give birth to live babies and feed them milk. Count: of hen, cat, duck, cow, frog, 3 lay eggs and 2 give birth.
5. Step 5, Conclusion: animals live in habitats that give them food, water and shelter, and every young animal has a name that matches its parent. A fish out of water cannot breathe because it has gills.
6. Step 6, Your turn: match a duckling, a foal and a goat's kid to parents and say which hatches from an egg. Answer: duckling to duck, foal to horse, kid to goat; only the duckling hatches from an egg.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Match animals to habitats and young to parents: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Water and the water cycle', you learn to name sources of water and the stages of the water cycle. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Water and the water cycle' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: name sources of water and the stages of the water cycle. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Name sources of water: rain, rivers, lakes, ponds, wells, hand pumps, the sea and ice on high mountains. About 97 out of every 100 litres on Earth are in the salty sea, which we cannot drink. We use fresh water from rain, rivers, lakes and underground wells.
2. Step 2, Name stage one of the water cycle, evaporation. The sun warms water in seas, rivers and puddles, and some becomes water vapour, a gas we cannot see. It rises into the air. Proof: a wet cloth dries in the sun and a puddle gets smaller.
3. Step 3, Name stage two, condensation. High in the air it is cold, so water vapour cools and turns into tiny drops that gather as clouds. You can see it at home: a cold glass of water gets drops on the outside because water in the air cools there.
4. Step 4, Name stage three, precipitation: drops in clouds join and get heavy, so they fall as rain, or as hail or snow when very cold. Stage four, collection: water runs into rivers and the sea or soaks into the ground. Then the sun starts the cycle again.
5. Step 5, Model the cycle safely. With an adult, put a cup of water in a clear zip bag, seal it and tape it to a sunny window. After a day, look for drops on the inside of the bag. Use no heater or flame, keep it over a tray, and wash hands afterwards.
6. Step 6, Your turn: put in order: rain falls, the sun warms a puddle, clouds form, water flows to a river. Answer: the sun warms the puddle (evaporation), clouds form (condensation), rain falls (precipitation), water flows to a river (collection).

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Name sources of water and the stages of the water cycle: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Air and weather', you learn to show that air is all around and read a simple weather chart. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Air and weather' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: show that air is all around and read a simple weather chart. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Show that air is all around. We cannot see air but we can feel it: wind blows on your face, flags flutter and leaves move. Air is found in the classroom, in the playground and inside an empty-looking bottle. Say three places you feel moving air.
2. Step 2, Show that air takes up space. Crumple a paper towel into the bottom of a plastic cup. Push the cup upside down and straight into a bowl of water. The cup's air keeps most of the water out, so the paper stays dry. Use a plastic cup, dry hands, and wipe spills.
3. Step 3, Show that moving air pushes. Hold a strip of paper near your mouth and blow across it, and it lifts. A paper pinwheel turns in the wind, and a balloon blown up with air gets bigger. Moving air is called wind, and strong wind can push things over.
4. Step 4, Read a simple weather chart. Mon 30 degrees Celsius sunny, Tue 28 cloudy, Wed 24 rainy, Thu 26 cloudy, Fri 31 sunny. Hottest day: Friday, 31. Coolest: Wednesday, 24. Difference: 31 - 24 = 7 degrees. Only one day was rainy.
5. Step 5, Read the symbols. A sun means sunny, a cloud means cloudy, raindrops mean rain and lines mean wind. A bigger number on a thermometer means hotter. A rain gauge showing 12 mm means a thin layer of rain. Use the chart to say what to wear.
6. Step 6, Your turn: Sat 29 sunny, Sun 27 cloudy, Mon 23 rainy, Tue 25 cloudy. Find the hottest day, the coolest day and the difference. Answer: hottest Saturday 29, coolest Monday 23, difference 29 - 23 = 6 degrees.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Show that air is all around and read a simple weather chart: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Materials and their uses', you learn to say why a material is chosen for an object. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Materials and their uses' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: say why a material is chosen for an object. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Say why a material is chosen by its properties: strong, bendy, hard, soft, waterproof, see-through or good at soaking up water. A property tells what a material is like. Look at a school bag and say one property of its cloth.
2. Step 2, Match property to use. A window is glass because glass is see-through. Boots are rubber because rubber is waterproof. A towel is cotton because cotton soaks up water. A saucepan is metal because metal does not melt on a cooker, and its handle is wood or plastic so it stays cool.
3. Step 3, Use a sentence frame: 'A ___ is made of ___ because it is ___.' For example, a chair leg is made of wood because it is strong. A raincoat is made of plastic because it is waterproof. Write three of your own about things in the classroom.
4. Step 4, Do a fair test for an umbrella. Cover three cups with cloth, plastic sheet and paper. Pour three spoonfuls of water on each. Plastic keeps the cup dry, cloth gets wet and paper goes soft. Work over a tray, wipe spills, and keep water away from sockets.
5. Step 5, Spot a poor choice and say why. A paper spoon in hot soup goes soft, and a glass ball could break when thrown. Choose better: a metal or wooden spoon. Reusing a plastic bottle as a plant pot also saves a material from being thrown away.
6. Step 6, Your turn: say why a window is made of glass and not wood. Answer: a window is made of glass because glass is see-through and lets light in, but wood is not see-through, so we could not see outside.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Say why a material is chosen for an object: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Light and shadows', you learn to say what makes a shadow and test which things let light through. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Light and shadows' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: say what makes a shadow and test which things let light through. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Say what a shadow is. Hold a book between a torch and a wall. Light travels in straight lines from the torch, but the book is in the way, so a dark shape appears on the wall behind it. Say: 'The book blocks the light, so it makes a shadow.'
2. Step 2, Set up a safe test. Darken the room a little and shine a torch on a wall from 30 cm away. Safety: never look straight at the sun and never shine a torch into anyone's eyes. Collect six things: clear plastic cup, tracing paper, cardboard, foil, a book and a thin white tissue.
3. Step 3, Hold each object between the torch and the wall and look at the shadow. The clear cup lets almost all light through, so there is hardly any shadow. Tracing paper and tissue let some light through, so the shadow is pale. Cardboard, foil and the book let none through, so the shadow is dark.
4. Step 4, Name three groups and sort your six things. Transparent: lets light through (clear cup). Translucent: lets some light through (tracing paper, tissue). Opaque: lets no light through (cardboard, foil, book). Draw three boxes and write each object in the right box.
5. Step 5, Find where the shadow falls. Stand a small toy 20 cm in front of the torch. The shadow lands on the far side of the toy, away from the light. Move the toy closer to the torch and the shadow grows bigger; move it away and the shadow gets smaller.
6. Step 6, Your turn: you want the darkest possible shadow. Choose between a clear glass, a sheet of tracing paper and a piece of thick card, then say why. Answer: choose the thick card, because it is opaque and lets no light through, so its shadow is darkest.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Say what makes a shadow and test which things let light through: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Keeping healthy', you learn to plan a day of healthy food, sleep and play. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Keeping healthy' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: plan a day of healthy food, sleep and play. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Plan breakfast. A healthy start has something from each group: bread or oats for energy, milk or egg to help you grow, and a piece of fruit such as a banana to keep you well. Write: 'Breakfast, 7:00, egg, bread, fruit and a glass of water.'
2. Step 2, Plan lunch and snacks. Lunch at 12:30 could be rice, chicken or beans, and vegetables such as carrot and cucumber. A snack at 10:00 could be an apple or yoghurt. Keep sweets and fizzy drinks for rare treats, and drink water through the day, about six to eight cups.
3. Step 3, Plan play and exercise. Children need about 60 minutes of active play every day. Write times for it: running at break, riding a bike at 4:00, and a game in the garden. Play makes your heart, bones and muscles strong, and it helps you feel happy.
4. Step 4, Plan sleep and cleanliness. Children aged six to eight usually need around 9 to 11 hours of sleep, though bodies vary. If you wake at 6:30, bedtime should be about 8:30. Wash your hands before meals and after the toilet, and brush your teeth in the morning and at night.
5. Step 5, Put the day in a table with four columns: Time, What I do, Healthy part, Why it helps. Example row: 'Bedtime 8:30, read then sleep, sleep, my body rests and grows'. Fill in at least six rows from morning to night.
6. Step 6, Your turn: plan a healthy afternoon from 3:00 to bedtime with one snack, one kind of play and a bedtime. Model answer: 3:00 apple and water, 4:00 football outside for one hour, 6:00 dinner with vegetables, 8:00 wash and brush teeth, 8:30 sleep.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Plan a day of healthy food, sleep and play: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Using my five senses

Notes: Name the five senses and use them to describe a safe object. Notes: place a leaf, a smooth stone and a soft cloth in a bag; learners touch and describe each. Never taste or smell unknown things; teach children to ask first. Grades 1 and 2.

This course: Grade 02 Science is at this level. Its units include Plants and how they grow; Animals and their homes; Water and the water cycle; Air and weather and more.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Fair tests

Notes: Describe a fair test by naming what is changed, what is measured and what stays the same. Notes: plant two seed pots, one in light and one in the dark, with equal water and soil. Learners say the one changed factor, and draw both pots after a week. Grades 3 and 4.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Measuring and recording

Notes: Measure length, mass, time and temperature and record them in a table. Notes: a plant grows 2 cm in 4 days, which is 0.5 cm a day. Learners take three readings of 12, 14 and 13 mm, find the mean of 13, and say why repeats help. Grades 5 and 6.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Variables, graphs and density

Notes: Apply a formula and draw a graph from a fair test. Notes: density equals mass over volume; a metal block of 54 g and 20 cm3 has density 2.7 g/cm3. Learners plot mass against volume for three blocks and read the gradient. Dry the benchtop before using water. Grades 7 and 8.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Evidence, anomalies and models

Notes: Analyse data, spot an anomaly and judge how well a model fits the evidence. Notes: readings of 5.1, 5.3, 5.2 and 7.9 hold one anomaly at 7.9, so the mean of the rest is 5.2. Learners suggest a cause, repeat the trial and write a conclusion that cites the numbers. Grades 9 and 10.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Modelling and curve fitting

Notes: Apply least-squares fitting and error reasoning to link data to a model. Notes: the points (1,2.1), (2,3.9), (3,6.2), (4,7.8), (5,10.1) give slope 1.99 and intercept 0.05, with R squared 0.997. Learners explain what the intercept means and whether a straight line is right.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Study design and sample size

Notes: Evaluate and create a study with a clear hypothesis, controls, sample size and ethics approval. Notes: to detect a 5-unit difference with spread 10 at 5 per cent significance and 80 per cent power needs about 63 per group. Learners write a pre-registered plan and list the risks and consent steps.