ABSTRACT
Science activities easily lead to the integration of all the learning processes, beginning with discovery and leading to organizing information, validating learnings, recognizing patterns, applying newly generated understandings, and ultimately “owning” what they have learned and how they learned it. The prototype unit for both Grade 1 and Grade 2 follows a pattern in which each activity in the sequence is integral to building a knowledge base that flows from introductory learning activities to ownership in the sense of application. The standards identifying “grade band end points” as content learning targets by the end of Grade 2 are taken from the Science Education Standards. Using books and children’s literature throughout the unit is one of the choices to pursue to build on concepts and introduce new ideas. Children will need to be supported through mini-lessons about using informational literature to find answers to their questions.
