2nd Grade PLTW Modules
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Animal Adaptations
This is the first of three modules second grade will complete this year. Students will be integrating science with technology, engineering, math, and language arts. They will also be using the Innovator Skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving throughout this module.
In this module, students are presented with the problem of preparing an ideal traveler for a visit to an extreme environment and designing the ideal shoe for this traveler to wear in this environment. Students look to plant and animal adaptations to guide them as they make choices about how to prepare their traveler. Students learn what it means for an organism to be adapted to its environment and how different adaptations can be categorized. Through various investigations, students explore an example of adaptations for protection, camouflage, food, and locomotion. They investigate organisms that live in an extreme environment and document the variety of adaptations that each of these organisms display. Students combine all of their knowledge of plant and animal adaptations with their understanding of the extreme environment to prepare their traveler and design their shoe.
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In this module, students explore animal adaptations for protection, camouflage, food obtainment, and locomotion. Students learn what it means for an organism to be adapted to its environment and how different adaptations can be categorized. Students are introduced to the design challenge when the character in the story, Suzi announces she is visiting the Sahara and needs to get prepared for her trip. Students are challenged to design the ideal shoe for travelers to wear in extreme environments, applying what they have learned and looking to plant and animal adaptations to guide their designs. Throughout this module, we will be interweaving the Virginia Standards of Learning for science, language arts, math, and social studies.