Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 26 (Grade 2 Science): Engineering Landform Solutions

Grade 2 engineering unit where students design, build, and test erosion barriers, compare designs, analyze data, and improve solutions to protect landforms.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 2 Science): Natural Processes & Human Solutions

Grade 2 unit explores wind and water erosion, then engineers test and compare solutions like plants, walls, and drains to protect land.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 2 Science): Slow vs. Rapid Changes Review

Grade 2 unit compares slow Earth changes like weathering and erosion with rapid floods and landslides, using models to revisit land-protecting solutions.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 2 Science): Wind & Water Erosion

Second graders explore erosion by testing how wind and water change land and comparing simple solutions like rocks, walls, and plants that slow erosion.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 2 Science): Water on Earth—Where Is It?

Second graders explore where water is found on Earth and identify whether it is solid or liquid in oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, and snow.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 2 Science): Maps of Land & Water

Second graders draw and label simple maps using symbols and a map key to model land and water features from a bird’s-eye view.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 2 Science): Landforms & Bodies of Water

Second graders build maps and 3-D models to show landforms and bodies of water, exploring shapes of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 2 Science): Earth Events — Fast & Slow

Second graders use books, pictures, and videos to compare fast Earth events like earthquakes with slow changes like erosion and weathering.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 2 Science): Life Science — Quarter Synthesis

Second graders connect plant needs, animal helpers, and habitat diversity, explaining how sunlight, water, seed movement, and biodiversity support life.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 2 Science): Engineering Seed or Pollination Devices

Second graders design and test tools that mimic animals dispersing seeds or pollinating plants, using simple data to compare designs and improve models.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 2 Science): Diversity Helps Survival

Second graders explore how habitats with greater plant and animal diversity support more organisms, provide food and shelter, and stay healthier over time.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 2 Science): Habitats Around Us

Second graders compare plant and animal diversity across ponds, forests, grasslands, deserts, and oceans using visuals, data charts, and simple texts.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 2 Science): Local Plant & Animal Life

Second graders explore schoolyard habitats, observe plants and animals, collect data, and compare the diversity of life in different local environments.

Blog

Hybrid Classroom Hacks: Ensuring Equity in Tech-Enhanced Learning

Close the digital divide in hybrid learning with low-cost tech access strategies, device rotations, offline resources, and blended lesson templates that promote equity.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 2 Science): Pollination Models

Second graders create and test simple models showing how animals like bees and butterflies pollinate plants by moving pollen between flowers, helping plants make seeds and fruit.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 2 Science): Seed Dispersal Models

Second graders build and test simple models showing how animals disperse seeds, helping plants spread and grow in new places.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 2 Science): Plant Structures & Growth

Second graders observe roots, stems, leaves, and flowers, explaining how plant structures help plants grow and survive using sunlight and water.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 2 Science): What Plants Need

Students plan and conduct investigations to show plants need sunlight and water, using observations and evidence to explain healthy plant growth.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 2 Science): Matter — Quarter Synthesis

Students synthesize learning about material properties, uses, and changes, using data, evidence, and engineering design to solve a simple matter problem.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 2 Science): Engineering with Materials

Students use material properties to design, test, compare, and improve simple tools, applying data and engineering thinking to solve real classroom problems.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 2 Science): Making New Objects

Students disassemble and reassemble objects made of small pieces, using observations to explain how the same parts can create many different designs.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 2 Science): Reversible vs. Irreversible Changes

Students investigate melting, freezing, dissolving, cooking, and burning, using evidence to decide which material changes are reversible and which are irreversible.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 2 Science): Changing Matter with Temperature

Students observe heating and cooling changes, classify reversible and nonreversible examples, and use evidence to argue which material changes can go back.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 2 Science): Solids, Liquids & Shape

Students investigate solids and liquids, observing how shape changes in containers and exploring water on Earth as both solid ice and liquid water.

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Grade 2 Science Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 2 Science): Testing Material Properties

Students test and compare materials, analyze data, and decide which properties make materials best suited for specific purposes like strength or water resistance.