Second Grade Earth Science Lesson Plans

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Texts Used:
Janice VanCleave's Earth Science for every Kid
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNulty
The Practical Geologist by Dougal Dixon (PG)
Encyclopedia of world geography

Geology Crafts (GC)
Hill of Fire
http://www.thesolutionsite.com/lesson/1206/watsonelB1.html
http://www.amnh.org/ology/index.php?channel=earth#channel

The Earth Science Book (TESB)

Lesson 1 Formation of the earth - history and structure

• This is the class where we bring the globes and the layer book and discuss the earth and what's in side and outside it.
• Start with a brainstorm of what kids think is in the earth. Scientists can't take x-rays or samples to see what is in the earth. Show an apple as representative of the earth. SLice in quarters and explain the the skin is like the crust of the earth and it has taken many years to drill down bast the crust. The white part of the apple is like the earth's mantle. It is made of hot melted rock and is 1800 miles thick - this is lava. the outer core is melted nickle and iron. These metals are very heavy. The inner core is solid nickle and iron.


• Layers of earth snack -
• 13 marshmellows, jelly type candy, buttler, rice crispies, chocolate shell, microwaveable bowl. Put candy in center of a marshmellow, mix butter and other 12 marshmellows in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute, stir for a minute, stir in cereal, wet hands and roll mixture around core, freeze for 15 minutes, cover with chocolate sauce, wait, eat.


• Read How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World
• Investigating the Earth from Ency of World Geography pg. 19 (this talks about how geologists study the Earth's structure through earthquakes and sound waves, I didn't know this and it would make for an interesting 5-10 minute discussion)

Lesson 2 Pangaea and continents

• Pangaea puzzle activity CG pg 24

Start with a demonstration of convection.
Give each student a paper copy of the world map and have them cut them apart then see if they can fit them together. This kind of replicates the history of the pangaea theory. We can then discuss how this happened and start plate tectonics - starting with ridges where new rock is formed and rifts where boundaries spread.
First guy to have this idea was laughed at. Continents are too big to move. Continental drift proven later by submaries. Scientists still don't know why the plates move - they think it might be convection, but this hasn't been proven.

Continental Drift Theory
Nice List of evidences for pangaea

• Compare with current world map



• Name continents and oceans.

Lesson 3 Plates, earthquakes

• Plate movement experiments. Three muskateers bars (snack size). Collide two bars together. This is how mountains are formed. Show how pushing makes the mounts rise. Add some facts here about different mountain ranges and the plates below them.
• To go along with the plate movement experiment scroll down on this page http://www.amnh.org/ology/index.php?channel=earth#channel and check-out "Plates on the Move" Great map, okay animations, fabulous, relevant stories. We could go through these and then do the corresponding movement experiment then move on to the next, etc.
• Measure earthquakes
• Tsunamis

Lesson 4 Volcanoes, mountains

• Read Hill of Fire
• Make a volcanic
• Toothpaste eruption TESB pg 46
• Mountain building GC pg 38
• Soft boiled egg to show bulges
• I think most everyone will have "made" a volcano erupt with baking soda and vinegar. Check out this site http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=v Start with section 4 which talks about the different types of volcanoes (I don't know that we would have to go over this with them at the computer, just as long as we were familiar and could discuss it with them. I would like to find better pictures that we could hand out of the different types, but maybe that is asking too much. Section 5 talks about what determines how a volcano erupts, the amount of trapped gas and the viscosity. I think we could use two different soda bottles to demonstrate the trapped gas (shake one, don't shake the other open in a bucket to contain the mess) and the difference between water and honey to give them a visual on viscosity (poured into the same bucket). I like the idea that at the end they can "create" their own eruptions and volcanoes on line and experiment with the difference a bit.
  
  Lesson 5 Fossils, layers of earth
  
  


• Make sedimentary rocks. PG pg 35. Need sand, gravel or pebbles, some of the small sea shells, dry plaster of Paris, empty soda bottles, and water.
• Make metamorphic Rocks - at beginning of class, give each child a zippy bag with some diiferent colored chocolate chips. Have each child sit on the baggie during class. If someone asks, explain that they are making metamorphic rocks with heat and pressure. After they have melted, take a rolling pin and layer them, roll, and slice. Fold, roll, slice again.


• Make your own fossils. PG pg 69. Shallow trays, plaster of Paris, fern leaf. Make this in two steps one week and split it open the next week to see the imprint.


• Simulate amber. PG pg 69. Liquid resin and hardener and a bug for inside.

Lesson 6 Rock cycle, Rock Identification

• Erosion pg 50 TESB


• Rock identification - using kit

Lesson 7 Local Geology PG

• Read The Big Rock by Bruce Hiscock


• Granite what it looks like and where to find it


• Dolerite


• Basalt


• Limestone


• Chalk


• Sandstone


• Schist


• Gneiss


• Gold and silver

Lesson 8 Minerals, panning for gold

• http://mii.org/ has some great material


• Learn about key minerals in the earth and the body


• Maybe some history of alchemy


• Pan for gold

Lesson 9 Water cycle

Lesson 10 Cloud Identification

• Beginner clouds http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/P1.html


• Make Sky mirror and measuring cloud cover http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/P5.html
  
  

Lesson 11 Climates, biomes

Other experiments

Glacier movement experiment. (need the reference)A glacier experiment with flubber

• Crystal growing. Mix a hot saturated solution of soluble chemical such as alum or copper sulfate. Dangle a string in it and allow the solution to cool slowly. Crystals will form on the string and side of the container. Scrape off all but the biggest crystal and repeat. This only happens in nature as molten rock is starting to cool. PG pg 22, 23 has this experiment and guide to using crystalline structure to identify minerals.

Second Grade Monthly Planner Sample

Human Body Lesson Plan

Goals – This class will introduce the kids to the following body systems: skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory and nervous. We will over the weeks build and label a kid-sized paper body for each child. We will also perform many activities that will demonstrate the function of each body system. We’ll watch the Magic School Bus video “Inside Raphie” to discuss the immune system. We’ll Play the Some Body game before and after class and when the kids need more to do.

Special materials: We will be using a EyeClops (microscope that connects to a tv or computer to look closely at many things), but a microscope will work just as well. We’ll also use the laminated human body parts and felt body that I have somewhere in the garage.

Books: Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese (HTS) , The Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia (KHE), My Body from Teacher Created Resources

Special Considerations – this is designed for a very active group of 5-10 year old co-op kids. They love activities and experiments. They are not very fond of paperwork or paper crafts. The classes are an hour long once a week. The session is fourteen weeks long. I plan for the skeletal and circulatory systems to take two weeks. I may not be able to complete all of the activities for a given week, and sometimes I will probably run out of activities, but that is all okay. The kids will learn a lot and have fun doing it.

1. My body
   
   
   
   • Our bodies (10-13 KHE)
     
   • Draw outline of body on butcher paper
     
   • Maybe play the SomeBody game to see how well the kids do
     
   • Do the "That's Me" (98 HTS) worksheet and collate data in class. Show how to make and read a bar graph. Hand out copies of the homework worksheet.
     
   
   
2. Skin and Hair –




• Discuss skin (14-17 KHE)
  
• Do fake blister experiment (103 HTS)
  
• Look at skin under magicscope
  
• Put finger prints on body
  
• Discuss Hair (18-19 KHE)
  
• Take hair samples and look at under eyeclops and do Hair Ball experiment (104 HTS)
  
• Put hair on body
  
• Discuss skin as first layer of immune protection. Hand washing. Use lotion and glitter to demonstrate germ spreading. Then discuss hand washing – when, warm water, soap, at least 30 seconds.
  
• Key Terms – Epidermis and Dermis
  




3. Bones – two weeks
   
   • Discuss Bones (20-23 KHE)
     
     
     
     • 206 bones in body
       
     • Bones are alive
       
     • two main purposes for having a skeleton? (to give you shape and help you move)
       
     • Your ears and nose have a substance inside them that also gives them shape, but it is softer than bone. What is it? (cartilage)
       
     • Your bones need calcium. What are some foods that have calcium in them? (green & leafy vegetables, milk, and cheese)
       
     • What bones protect your heart and lungs? (the ribs)
       
     • What part of your skeleton protects your brain? (skull)
       
     • What is the place where two bones fit together? (joint)
       
     • What holds the bones together at the joints? (ligaments)
       
     • What is made up of 34 bones and allows you to twist and turn? (backbone; Point out that in the song it is called the spine.)
       
     
     
   • Make Skeleton Man (82 HTS)
     
   • Do the Bendable Bones (80 HTS) to show bones are porous – this will take a week so we will start one week then examine the results the next week
     
   • Listen to song Dry Bones (on the Wheels on the Bus Scholastic dvd) and Dry Bones book by Bob Barner
     
   • Bones and Joints (24-25 KHE)
     
   • Label 15 Bones on body drawing skull (cranium), spine (backbone), ribs, scapula (shoulder blade), humerus, radius, ulna, phalanges (finger bones), femur, tibia, fibula, patela, phalanges (toe bones), pelvis, and collarbone
     
   • Label bones with markers on the kids (swimsuits) - maybe
     
   
   
4. Circulatory System
   
   • Learn about 4 chambers of Heart (56 KHE)
     
   • Measure Pulse
     
   • Use stethescope to listen to heart
     
   • Demonstrate with a meat baster how a heart pumps blood
     
   • Learn about Blood vessels (58 KHE)
     
   • Did you know - Blood vessels in body would stretch over 100,000 miles
     
   • Make sure the kids know the four basic parts of blood and their functions – red blood cells (carry oxygen), white blood cells (fight germs), plasma (the fluid), and platelets (helps blood clot)
     
   • Fake Blood (63 HTS)
     
   • Piping the Blood (66 HTS)
     
   • Draw heart and Arteries and Veins on body (Blue and Red markers) include aorta, vena cava, lungs and heart.
     
   • Things to Know
     
     • How big is your heart? (about the size of your fist)
       
     • Your heart is actually a big muscle Emphasize that the heart is an involuntary muscles because we have no control over it.)
       
     • What is happening when the heart contracts? (It squeezes itself together and blood is pumped out of the heart.)
       
     • What are the blood vessels called that carry blood away from the heart? (arteries)
       
     • When the heart expands, blood is able to flow into the heart. What blood vessels carry blood to the heart? (veins)
       
     • Where are the arteries and veins in your body? (They travel throughout the entire body.)
       
     • Who has a faster heartbeat, a grown man or a baby? (a baby)
       
     • Does your heart ever stop pumping blood? (no)
       
     
     
   
   
5. Immune System
   
   • Infection (62-63 KHE)
     
   • Learn about White blood cells
     
   • Remind kids of hand washing
     
   • Magic School Bus video
     
   • Maybe take temperature with those disposable temperature strips
     
   • Discuss Lymph glands?
     
   
   
6. Respiratory System
   
   • Breathing (64-67 KHE)
     
   • Huff and Puff (48 HTS)
     
   • Air Chamber (52 HTS)
     
   • Can’t Keep it in (53 HTS)
     
   • Key Terms – Trachea, bronchial tubes, alveoli, diaphragm
     
   
   


7. Muscles
   
   • 
     
   • Muscle Power (26-29 KHE)
     
   • Try to locate pairs of muscles that do each task – ie. bend and straigten arms
     
   • Make sure kids know – difference between voluntary and involuntary muscles.
     
   • Bet You Can’t (72 HTS)
     
   • Stretch it out (75 HTS)
     
   • Muscle Fatigue (76 HTS)
     
   • Add a few muscles to body – bicep, tricep, Achilles tendon, choose some more but we won’t have much time for this
     


8. Digestive System
   
   • All About Teeth (72-72 KHE)
     
   • Tooth Detective (38 HTS)
   • Need Styrofoam plates and scissors
   • Enchanted Learning has some great printouts and activities for teeth
     
   • Add teeth to body
     
   • Digestion (74-76 KHE)
   • Spit (40 HTS)
   • timer
   • crackers (4 per child)
     
   • a paper plate (1 per child)
   • eye dropper
   • iodine - CAUTION keep away from KIDS ( reacts with starch in cracker)
     
   • timer
     
   • Moving On (44 HTS)
   • scissors
   • long thin balloon (1 per child)
   • cooking oil
   • slice of bread
     
   • Make Whoopie whistle (45 HTS)
     
   • straw
   • balloon
   • tape
     
   • scissors
     
   • Label digestive system on body
     


9. Nutrition and fitness
   
   • Staying Fit (90-91 KHE)
     
   • Healthy Food (92-93 KHE)
     
   • Balancing Apples and Oranges (42 HTS) Assign kids to record what they ate during the week (give as handout the week before) so that we can discuss in class
     
   • Do the Yoga Kids video or other exercise activity
     


10. Brain and Learning
    
    • Control Center (32-35 KHE)
      
    • Label parts of the brain and its functions
      
    • Relfexes, Learning and Sleep (36-40 KHE)
      
    • Do reaction time activity (32 KHE)
      
    • Reflex activity (36 KHE)
      
    • Balance Activity (18 HTS)
      
    • Homework – dream diary
      


11. Senses
    
    • Have stations for the activities and information cards at each station.
      Sensory Stations
      * Hearing: bells, drums, whistles, rice-filled containers, spoons to tap.
      * Touch: sandpaper, playdough, clay, ice, finger paint
      * Vision: microscope, magnifying glass, colored water, prism
      * Olfaction: vanilla, perfume, chocolate, spices
      * Taste: jellybeans, cookies, crackers, fruit slices, salty chips, dill pickles
      
    • Sight (42-45 KHE)
      
    • Blind spot activity (42 KHE)
      
    • Balance activity (46 KHE)
      
    • Add Eyes and ears to outline
      
    • Taste and Smell (48 KHE)
      
    • Touch (50 KHE)
      
    • Touch activity (50 KHE)
      
    • Touch Activity (34 HTS)
      
    • Add mouth and nose to outline
    • Great site for Preschool Activities for the senses.
      
    • Enchanted Learning Five Senses page
    • A free printable book on the five senses with some good activities.
      


12. Conclusion
    
    • Review Dem Bones to perform for parents
      
    • Make sure everyone has their body labled to hang at expo and then take home
      
    • Play Some Body
    • We also dissected sheep's brain, heart, eye, and kidney.
    • 
      

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