Habitat (Biomes Project) STEM Unit for 2nd Grade With STEM NGSS Activities

Habitats: NGSS: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems includes a complete STEM unit of study on habitats (ecosystems), plants and animals and how they interact, as well as how humans impact the Earth. This 5E unit also includes science lesson plans, learning investigations, STEM challenges, and complete curriculum to teach FIVE weeks of STEM habitats to your second graders. Each day focuses on the 5E model and provides you with the exact tools to illustrate the concepts. All of the guesswork has been removed and hours of time will be saved.

After completing this unit, your students will be able to:
• 2-LS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.

• 2-LS2-2: Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

• 2-LS4-1: Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

• K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
• K-2-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Included in the fourth 5E unit of study:

•Big Picture Broken Down- Second Grade Quarterly STEM Topics

•Unit Four Overview

•Unit 4: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems {complete with performance expectations, disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, essential questions, vocabulary, and materials needed)

•Lesson Plans for Each Unit

•Student Activities

•Science and Engineering Ecosystem Student Notebook (with options for less paper)

•STEM Challenges
• Learning Investigations

•Vocabulary

•Original Informational Text Readers on Where Do Plants and Animals Live?, What Are Different Types of Habitats? What Do Plants and Animals Need to Survive? How Do Plants and Animals Depend on Each Other, and How Plants Grow

•Trade book Suggestions with Literacy Connections

•Nonfiction Text with questions and integration of ELA standards

•Background Information {inducing purpose for the shift from science to STEM, science and engineering practices overview, science and engineering practices broken down by grade level K-5, and science topics K-5}

•Assessment- questions to nonfiction text, science and engineering Ecosystem notebook responses, project designs, and final summative assessment

★Weekly Breakdown
Week One:
Engage: KWL What is an Ecosystem and What is Biodiversity? {Tech integration- Dr. Binocs Show}
Explore: Exploring Living and Nonliving Things and Land and Water Sort {Investigation}

Explore/Explain: Where Do Plants and Animals Live? {Literature Connection/Information Text- Included}
Explain: What are Different Types of Habitats? {Literature Connection/ Information Text- Included}
Elaborate/Evaluate: What Do Plants and Animals Need to Survive? and How Do Plants and Animals Depend on Each Other? {Literacy Connection/ Information Text- Included}

Week Two:
Engage: Introduce Plant Locations {Literacy Connection/ Information Text- Included}

Explore: What Do Plants Need to Grow {Investigation: Science and Math Integration}
Explain/Elaborate/Evaluate: How Do Plants Grow? {Research and Share- Tech and literacy integration}

Explore/Evaluate: Investigating 5 Plants {Science and Math Integration}

Week Three:
Engage: How Do Plants Grow? {Literacy Connection}
Explore: What Do We See?- {Investigation/Experiment}
Explain: What is Pollination? {Literacy Connection}

Elaborate/Explore: Pollinator Design Challenge {STEM Challenge/Science and Engineering}
Evaluate: Design Challenge

Week Four:
Engage: Diversity in Habitats {YouTube- Tech Integration}
Explore/Explain: Research Habitat Diversity {Literacy Connection/Tech Integration}
Elaborate: From Caterpillar to Butterfly {Lit connection}
Elaborate/Evaluate: Caterpillar Habitat {Engineering Design Model Challenge}

Week Five:
Engage: The Garbage Pile and How Much Trash {Tech Integraion}

Explore/Explain: What's In the Trash? {Investigation and Literacy Connection}

Elaborate: Why Should We Recycle? {Literacy Connection}

Elaborate: Review for Summative

Evaluate: Summative Assessment

Informational Text Standards Covered:
RI.1 Asking and Answering Questions

RI. 2 Main Idea
RI. 3 Connections to Scientific Concepts

RI. 4 Vocabulary

RI. 5 Text Features

RI. 6 Author's Purpose