Virginia State Standards for Science: Grade 2

VA.2.1. Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic: The student will conduct investigations in which a) observation is differentiated from personal interpretation, and conclusions are drawn based on observations; b) observations are repeated to ensure accuracy; c) two or more attributes are used to classify items; d) conditions that influence a change are defined; e) length, volume, mass, and temperature measurements are made in metric (centimeters, meters, liters, degrees Celsius, grams, kilograms) and standard English units (inches, feet, yards, cups, pints, quarts, gallons, degrees Fahrenheit, ounces, pounds); f) pictures and bar graphs are constructed using numbered axes; g) unexpected or unusual quantitative data are recognized; and h) simple physical models are constructed.

2.1.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to conduct simple experiments, make predictions, gather data from those experiments, repeat observations to improve accuracy, and draw conclusions. 21
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.1.

2.1.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to classify items, using two or more attributes such as size, shape, color, texture, and weight. 3
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.2.

2.1.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to differentiate among simple observations and personal interpretations. This requires students to comprehend what an observation is and apply the term in novel situations related to second grade SOL concepts. 21
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.3.

2.1.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret simple models (for example, weathering and erosion of land surfaces - 2.7). 14
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.4.

2.1.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to analyze sets of objects, numerical data, or pictures, and create basic categories to organize the data (descriptive or numerical). 7
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.5.

2.1.6. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret picture and bar graphs with numbered axes depicting the distribution of data. 14
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.6.

2.1.7. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to use centimeters, meters, liters, degrees Celsius, grams, and kilograms in measurement. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.7.

2.1.8. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to use inches, feet, yards, quarts, gallons, degrees Fahrenheit, ounces, and pounds in measurement. 46
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.8.

2.1.9. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to judge which, if any, collected data in a small set appear to be unexpected or unusual. 17
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.1.9.

VA.2.2. Force, Motion, and Energy: The student will investigate and understand that natural and artificial magnets have certain characteristics and attract specific types of metals. Key concepts include a) magnetism, iron, magnetic/nonmagnetic, poles, attract/repel; and b) important applications including the magnetic compass.

2.2.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to predict which materials will be attracted to magnets, test the predictions, and create a chart that shows the results, classifying materials as to whether they are attracted to magnets or not. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.1.

2.2.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to compare natural magnets (lodestone or magnetite) and artificial magnets. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.2.

2.2.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify the north and south magnetic poles of magnets. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.3.

2.2.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to conduct an investigation to determine how the different poles of magnets react to the poles of other magnets. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.4.

2.2.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to use magnetic compasses to determine the directions of north and south poles. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.5.

2.2.6. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify important applications of magnets in everyday life: refrigerator magnets and chalkboard letters; toys; door latches; paper clip holders. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.6.

2.2.7. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to create a new application for using a magnet. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.2.7.

VA.2.3. Matter: The student will investigate and understand basic properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Key concepts include a) mass and volume; and b) processes involved with changes in matter from one state to another (condensation, evaporation, melting, and freezing).

2.3.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to classify materials as to whether they are liquids, solids, or gases. 8
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.1.

2.3.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to measure the mass of solids and the volume of liquids in metric and standard English units. 9
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.2.

2.3.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to design an investigation to determine basic factors that affect the evaporation of water. 4
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.3.

2.3.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to examine and describe the transformation of matter from one state to another, i.e., solid water (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (steam). 8
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.4.

2.3.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to conduct an investigation to observe the condensation of water. 5
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.5.

2.3.6. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe and identify examples of condensation, evaporation, melting, and freezing of water. 15
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.6.

2.3.7. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify the uses of water in the home and at school. 2
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.3.7.

VA.2.4. Life Processes: The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes in their life cycles. Key concepts include a) some animals (frogs and butterflies) undergo distinct stages during their lives while others generally resemble their parents; and b) flowering plants undergo many changes from the formation of the flower to the development of the fruit.

2.4.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe changes in the life cycle of a frog and a butterfly. 16
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.4.1.

2.4.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify and describe changes in a plant from flower (blossom) to fruit. 14
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.4.2.

2.4.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to compare and contrast life cycles of a frog and a butterfly. 16
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.4.3.

2.4.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret models/diagrams of animal and plant life cycles. 131
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.4.4.

VA.2.5. Living Systems: The student will investigate and understand that living things are part of a system. Key concepts include a) living organisms are interdependent with their living and nonliving surroundings; and b) habitats change over time due to many influences.

2.5.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to classify objects as to whether they are living or nonliving. 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.5.1.

2.5.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe the nonliving components of an organism's surroundings, including water, space, and shelter. (Shelter may be living or nonliving.) 6
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.5.2.

2.5.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret simple models of different kinds of habitats, including a forest and a stream. 46
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.5.3.

2.5.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to predict and describe seasonal changes in habitat and their effects on plants and animals, for example, how trees change through the seasons and how animals respond to changes in the seasons. 53
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.5.4.

2.5.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe how animals are dependent on their surroundings, for example, how squirrels and other animals are affected by the loss of forest habitat. 46
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.5.5.

VA.2.6. Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems: The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns of weather. Key concepts include a) temperature, wind, precipitation, drought, flood, and storms; and b) the uses and importance of measuring and recording weather data.

2.6.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to observe and describe types of precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice (sleet and hail). 13
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.1.

2.6.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to observe and describe precipitation in terms of evaporation and condensation of water. 7
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.2.

2.6.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to observe and record daily weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or snowy. 9
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.3.

2.6.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe weather in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation. 20
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.4.

2.6.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to measure and record weather data, using weather instruments, including a thermometer, rain gauge, and weather vane (standard English and metric measures). 27
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.5.

2.6.6. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to record and interpret daily temperature, using a graph with numbered axes. 12
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.6.

2.6.7. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to observe and describe seasonal weather patterns and local variations. 3
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.7.

2.6.8. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify common types of storms. Examples include hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and thunderstorms. 15
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.8.

2.6.9. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to compare and contrast droughts and floods. 1
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.9.

2.6.10. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to evaluate the influence of daily weather conditions on personal activities and dress. 1
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.6.10.

VA.2.7. Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change: The student will investigate and understand that weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their surroundings. Key concepts include a) effects on growth and behavior of living things (migration, hibernation, camouflage, adaptation, dormancy); and b) weathering and erosion of the land surface.

2.7.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify growth and behavioral responses of plants and animals to weather and seasonal changes. Examples of responses that are adaptive include migration, hibernation, and dormancy. 32
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.7.1.

2.7.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to identify animals that migrate, hibernate, or show other changes throughout the seasons or in the presence of adverse environmental conditions. 27
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.7.2.

2.7.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to evaluate the usefulness of camouflage in an animal's habitat (for example, coloration patterns in frogs). 12
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.7.3.

2.7.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to compare and contrast the responses of plants and animals to weather and seasonal changes. 7
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.7.4.

2.7.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to model the effects of weathering and erosion on the land surface.

VA.2.8. Resources: The student will investigate and understand that plants produce oxygen and food, are a source of useful products, and provide benefits in nature. Key concepts include a) important plant products (fiber, cotton, oil, spices, lumber, rubber, medicines, and paper); b) the availability of plant products affects the development of a geographic area; and c) plants provide homes and food for many animals and prevent soil from washing away.

2.8.1. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to comprehend that plants produce oxygen and food. 19
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.8.1.

2.8.2. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to classify and identify the sources and uses of plant products, such as fiber, cotton, oil, spices, lumber, rubber, medicines, and paper. 5
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.8.2.

2.8.3. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to describe plant products grown in Virginia that are useful to people, including wood, fruits, and vegetables. List and classify plant products. 1
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.8.3.

2.8.4. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to compare and contrast different ways animals use plants as homes and shelters. 40
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.8.4.

2.8.5. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret a chart illustrating the plant foods consumed by different animals. 18
Suggested Titles for Virginia Science State Standard 2.8.5.

2.8.6. Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Processes: Students should be able to construct and interpret a model that demonstrates how plants prevent soil erosion.