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

Focus: Disassemble and reassemble objects made of a small set of pieces (blocks, tiles, construction sets) and use observations to explain how the same pieces can build many different objects.

Grade Level: 2

Subject Area: Science (Physical Science • Engineering Thinking • Science & Engineering Practices)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students become “maker scientists” who investigate how objects made from separate pieces can be taken apart and built into something new. Using blocks, snap cubes, interlocking tiles, or simple construction toys, they disassemble a given object, examine its pieces, and then reassemble those pieces into different shapes and designs. Students pay special attention to the idea that the same set of pieces can create many different objects, and they make observations to tell the “story” of how objects can be taken apart and rebuilt.

By the end of the week, students create evidence-based accounts (through drawings, labels, and simple writing) showing how one object made of small pieces was disassembled and turned into a new object, directly addressing 2-PS1-3.

Essential Questions

• How can an object made of small pieces be taken apart and then made into something new?
• What stays the same and what changes when we disassemble and reassemble an object?
• How can our observations (what we see and record) help us explain this process?
• Why do builders, designers, and engineers need to understand how pieces can be reused in different ways?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify objects in the classroom that are made from a small set of pieces (e.g., blocks, snap cubes, construction toys, puzzles).
2. Carefully disassemble a model object into its pieces and observe how many of each piece it has (colors, shapes, sizes).
3. Reassemble the same set of pieces into a new object or design and describe how it is similar to or different from the original.
4. Record before-and-after models using drawings, labels, and simple number counts (e.g., “6 red cubes, 4 blue cubes”).
5. Use those observations to construct an evidence-based account that explains how one object made of small pieces can be taken apart and made into a new object (2-PS1-3).
6. Share their explanations orally or in writing, using words like pieces, disassemble, reassemble, same, different, new object.

Standards Alignment — 2nd Grade (NGSS-Aligned)

• 2-PS1-3 — Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can tell which objects are made of separate pieces.
• I can take apart an object and tell how many of each piece it has.
• I can build a new object from the same set of pieces.
• I can draw or write about the before and after and explain what stayed the same and what changed.
• I can explain that my new object was made from the same pieces as the original and use my observations as evidence.