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.
Focus: Compare and test materials to see which ones have properties that make them best suited for a specific purpose (like staying dry, staying strong, or staying soft), and analyze data from those tests.
Grade Level: 2
Subject Area: Science (Physical Science • Science & Engineering Practices)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students act as engineer testers who try out different materials to see which ones work best for a job. Building on their knowledge of properties of materials, they design and run simple tests (for strength, flexibility, water resistance, or softness) and then analyze their data to decide which material is best suited for an intended purpose. For example, they might test which material makes the best umbrella cover, book protector, or desk mat. Students learn that choosing materials is not about guessing or looks; it’s about evidence from tests, connecting directly to 2-PS1-2.
Essential Questions
- How can we test materials to find out which one is best for a certain job?
- What does it mean for a material to be “best suited for an intended purpose”?
- How can we collect and analyze data from our tests to help us choose a material?
- Why do engineers need to know about material properties when they design everyday objects?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify and describe common material properties (hard/soft, flexible/rigid, rough/smooth, water-resistant/absorbent) relevant to a simple task.
- Help plan tests for a specific purpose (e.g., which material stays dry longest, which material holds the most weight without breaking) using simple, fair procedures.
- Conduct tests on at least two or three materials and record data in tables or charts (e.g., number of drops until soak-through, number of cubes a bridge holds).
- Compare data across materials to decide which material performed best for the chosen purpose.
- Use property words and data to explain which material is best suited and why, using simple reasoning (“because the data shows…”).
- Connect their choice of material to the intended purpose of an object (e.g., umbrella, lunch bag, book cover), addressing 2-PS1-2.
Standards Alignment — 2nd Grade (NGSS-Aligned)
- 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.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can help plan a fair test to see how different materials work for a job.
- I can record data from our material tests in a simple chart or table.
- I can compare the results and tell which material did best in our test.
- I can explain which material is best suited for our purpose and give a reason using our data.
- I can use property words (like strong, flexible, water-resistant, soft) when I share my choice.