Matter Matters
A Classrooms Unleashed Program for
Second Grade Students
“The hands-on aspect was great; students not only heard about science, they became part of it. ”
Throughout this unit, students become engineers and work collaboratively to apply the steps of the Engineering Design Process. Students participate in two in-class lessons where students explore different materials to learn about matter and explore the properties of matter. During the second lesson, students have the opportunity to work with a partner to design, construct, and test their paper bridges.
All of our lessons are backwards designed from Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for second grade. In addition to the Sierra Nevada Journeys-led lessons, classroom teachers will be provided with 3-4 easy-to-use learning experiences to reinforce concepts and vocabulary.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
LESSON 1: WHAT’S THE MATTER?
During this 75-minute lesson, your engineers will practice making observations and classifying different types of solid matter based on their observable characteristics or properties. Then, the engineers apply their understanding of physical properties to determine the properties that would make a good bridge.
LESSON 2: BUILDING BRIDGES
During this 75-minute lesson, students work collaboratively in groups to design paper bridges using their understanding of the physical properties of matter and building on their experiences with the strength of different shapes. Students engage in the engineering design process to plan, build, test, improve, then re-test their bridges to see what shape can hold the most weight.
LESSON 3: THE DISCOVERY MUSEUM (OPTIONAL)
Extend the Matter Matters lessons by taking your students to the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum! Students work in teams during a museum lab to build a skyscraper, journey on a scavenger hunt throughout the museum looking for properties of matter, and build more bridges out of wooden blocks in the Build-it Room. Contact The Discovery at 775-786-1000 to schedule directly with them.
TEACHER INFORMATION
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
2-PS1-1 - Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties
K-2-ETS1-1: DCI's - ETS1.A, ETS1.B, ETS1.C SEP's - Asking Questions and Defining Problems
K-2-ETS1-2: DCI's - Developing Possible Solutions SEP's - Developing and Using Models CC's: Structure and Function
K-2-ETS1-3: DCI's - Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs. SEP's - Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.
COMMON CORE
ELA: W.2.8 - Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Mathematical Practices - MP2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively; MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically.