Samoa Year 2 Science Curriculum

Strand 1: The Nature of Science

This strand focuses on developing fundamental scientific inquiry skills. While the document doesn't list specific learning outcomes for Year 2 separate from Year 1, it emphasizes the continuity of these skills across the early years. Students are encouraged to ask questions, explore their surroundings, and communicate their observations. They begin to use simple tools and create designs with available materials. The curriculum also encourages linking science learning to daily life, such as discussing the impact of plastic bags in the ocean.

Strand 2: The World of Life

• Survival Needs: Students identify the requirements for plants and animals to survive, including food, water, light, shelter, and air. They connect these needs to life processes like growth, reproduction, and movement.
• Grouping Living and Non-Living Things: Using observable characteristics, students sort living and non-living things into groups.
• Meeting Needs in the Environment: Students learn how familiar plants and animals meet their needs in their specific environment.

Strand 3: The World and Beyond

• Natural Features: Students recognize the variety of natural features in their local environment using words, pictures, and diagrams.
• Environmental Change: They recognize that the local environment changes over time, exploring possible causes for these changes.
• Landform Use: Students learn how different landforms are used by people in different ways.

Strand 4: The World of Materials

• Properties of Materials: Students expand their vocabulary to describe the observable properties of everyday materials and sort them based on these properties.
• Changing Shapes: They recognize that some materials change shape easily while others do not, exploring the actions needed to cause these changes.
• Materials and Their Uses: Students select appropriate materials for making everyday objects, explaining their choices based on the materials' properties.

Strand 5: The World of Physical Phenomena

• Pushes and Pulls: Students classify actions as pushes or pulls and describe how objects change when these forces are applied. They also predict the effects of pushes and pulls and give real-world examples.
• Forces at a Distance: They learn about magnetism and its effects on objects, sorting objects based on their magnetic attraction.
• Light and Sight: Students learn that light is necessary for sight, comes from various sources, and travels in straight lines. They explore methods for improving visibility.