Tucson Unified School District Science
Solids & Liquids Unit Grade 2
2nd Grade Solids and Liquids Curriculum Map
Enduring Understandings:


Everything in the universe (that we know of) is either matter or energy.
Matter exists in different states and can be changed.
Essential Questions &
Crosscutting Concepts
Reading & Writing Opportunities in Science
Assessment Opportunities
Essential Question(s)
 How can solids and liquids
be described and compared?
 How can the properties of
solids and liquids be used?
 How can mixtures of solid
particles be separated?
 What happens when solid
materials are mixed with
liquids?
 What happens when two
liquids are mixed?
 How can some materials be
like a solid and a liquid?
When reading scientific texts, students need to be able to gain content knowledge from
challenging texts that often make extensive use of elaborate diagrams and data to convey
information and illustrate concepts. Students read purposefully and listen attentively to gain
scientific expertise. The interdisciplinary approach to literacy is backed by extensive research
establishing the need students to be proficient in reading complex informational text
independently in a variety of content areas. Examples:
 Read “Everything Matters” in the FOSS Science Stories book and explain how
different solids have different purposes.
 After reading Solids and Liquids in the FOSS Science Stories book, use other texts to
identify and describe solids and liquids and their properties.
 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text – use the glossary as well as the stories.
 Use the illustrations and details in the science text to describe its key ideas. (e.g.
Read Solids and Liquids in the Solid and Liquids Science Stories. Reflect on the text
by making a T-chart. Using information from the text and other resources list the
properties of solids on one side of he chart and the proprieties of liquids on the other.
Compare and contrast the properties.)
 With prompting and support, read functional texts including history/social studies,
science, and technical texts, appropriately complex for grade 2 (e.g., describe how to
know if something is a mixture and experiments to conduct to find out)
Writing is a key means for students to express what they know about a subject. Science
notebooks are critical and essential components of science learning whereby students record
observations, data, visual representations, and thinking about their learning. They are
excellent tools for formative assessment purposes. Examples:
 Write an informative/explanatory booklet titled “How Engineers Design and Make
Useful Objects”
 Explain through writing and scientific illustrations how evaporation helps separate a
mixture
 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. gather information on how
ice cream is made and how the changes in matter happen )
 Using pictures and captions show how you separated your mixture of solid objects
and compare it to how you separated your mixture of liquids
Pre/Post Unit Assessment:
http://intranet/science/Kit_Asmts.html
Crosscutting Concepts
 Patterns
 Cause and effect: Mechanism
and explanation
 Scale, proportion, and quantity
 Systems and system models
 Energy and matter: flows, cycles,
and conservation
 Structure and function
 Stability and change
TUSD Science Solids & Liquids Unit 2014
Concept Map - pre and post with
linking phrases to indicate
relationships of concepts and
processes
Formative/Performance
Assessment Examples
Quick writes and drawings in
notebooks (e.g. observations of the
mixtures and how they behave)
Use scientific vocabulary, explain
what happens when materials are
mixed and how they can be separated
Compare and contrast mixtures of
solids and mixtures of liquids
Design and conduct an experiment
and report the results (e.g., what tools
and procedures will help separate
mixtures of solids? Of liquids?)
With pictures and words, describe
how to investigate whether an object
is a solid or liquid
Construct an explanation using
evidence and reasoning of how a solid
might behave like a liquid
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Tucson Unified School District Science
Solids & Liquids Unit Grade 2

Texts and Resources
Primary:
FOSS “Solids & Liquids” materials
kit
Teacher’s manual for “Solids and
Liquids”
8 copies of Solids and Liquids (FOSS
Science Stories)
TUSD Science Resource Center
Website
Supplemental resources:
See Resource Section of Teacher
Manual
See Science Stories section of
Teacher manual
Compose a letter to a design engineer, explaining how you created your tower from
solid objects. Explain what objects you used to create the structure, how you kept it
all together, how tall it was, and how sturdy it was.
English Language Arts Standards
Reading Standards
Constant Standards RI 2, 5, and 10
Target Standards
(2.RI.1) Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a
text.
(2.RI.3) Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a
text.
(2.RI.4) Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
(2.RI.6) Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
(2.RI.7) Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
(2.RI.8) Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
(2.RI.9) Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
Writing Standards
Constant Standards W 5, 6, and 8
Target Standards
(2.W.1) Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that
support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or
section.
(2.W.2) Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a
concluding statement or section.
(2.W.3) Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions,
thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
(AZ.2.W.4) With guidance and support from adults, produce functional writing (e.g., friendly letters, recipes experiments,
notes/messages, labels, graphs/tables, directions, posters) in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and
purpose.
(2.W.7) Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record
science observations).
Listening and Speaking standards are also well applied in science instruction.
Science and Engineering Practices
 Asking questions and defining problems
 Using mathematics and computational thinking
 Developing and using models
 Constructing explanations
 Planning and carrying out investigations
 Engaging in argument from evidence
 Analyzing and interpreting data
 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
TUSD Science Solids & Liquids Unit 2014
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