Working with a Level 2 Focus
VELS Level 2 Learning focus statement
The Sample Science units below have been designed to assist teachers in planning learning experiences for students working towards Level 3. They specifically reflect the VELS Level 2 learning focus statement:
As students work towards the achievement of Level 3 standards in Science, they observe and describe phenomena; for example, properties of natural and manufactured materials, insect life cycles, phases of the moon, magnets in action, mirrors and seeing around corners, and light and sound from batteries. Students expand their simple scientific vocabulary by using words and terms for concepts such as temperature, life cycles, light and reflection, sound, magnetism and fair testing.
Students begin to generate questions about situations and phenomena, and suggest forms of observations and measurements that are appropriate for the investigation of their questions; for example, 'Which keeps food fresher, paper or plastic?’ and 'What makes sounds change?’ They continue to practise basic procedures and processes, including those involving safety. They investigate ways of reducing waste in their classroom; for example, recycling and composting.
They repeat observations over time to make predictions; for example, collecting data about the weather. They begin to recognise simple patterns in data and describe them in terms that represent conclusions drawn from the data. Suitable questions may include: 'Does the size of seeds affect the time taken for them to germinate?’, 'Does all chocolate melt at the same temperature?’ and 'Are shadows the same size?’
To view all information on the Victorian Essential Learning Standards go to the VCAA site (http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au).
Level 2 Unit Overviews
What’s living in the garden?
Students identify living and non-living things in the school grounds and gardens. They observe features of animals, fungi and plants and investigate how living things depend on plants for their survival.
What changes do we make to food?
Students carry out simple investigations into the properties of foods before and after cooking. They sort foods according to their characteristics, for example, taste, appearance, texture and origin. They record observable changes that take place during cooking and use representations such as drawings, cartoon strips, images and written text.
Sounds
Students investigate the phenomenon of sound: how sounds are produced and how sound travels through different media. They investigate questions they have about how a variety of instruments make sounds and apply their understandings to the construction of their own musical instruments.
Keeping animals at the zoo
Students investigate places where animals live and what they require to survive. They develop their understanding of the principles of sorting by using the characteristics of animals to put them into groups according to various criteria.
Light
Students observe and describe behaviours of light. They investigate the pathway light takes and how they can change its direction using lenses and mirrors. They explore the composition of white light and describe what they see when they spin coloured whizzers and look for colours in bubbles.
The sky above us
Students describe observable phenomena relating to day and night, the apparent movement of the sun across the sky and the changing position of shadows throughout the day. They observe and record phases of the moon. Students look for simple patterns in their observations and relate them to the rotation of the Earth.
Magnets in action
Students investigate the properties of magnets by experimenting with how magnets affect each other and which materials are affected by them. They look for patterns and explain their observations.
When planning units, it may be useful to incorporate ideas and strategies from The Science Continuum P-10 critical teaching ideas for students working with a Level 1 or 2 focus.