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2nd grade · Science · Unit 7 of 7

Build, Test & Rebuild

Plan it, build it, test it, take it apart and build again.

What your child practices

Practices engineering steps: asking questions to define a problem, sketching how a shape helps an object work, comparing two designs from test data, and seeing how an object made of small pieces can be taken apart and built into something new.

Alaska content standards learning standard: K-2-ETS1-1; K-2-ETS1-2; K-2-ETS1-3; 2-PS1-3 · defining a problem, how shape helps an object work, comparing test data, and building new objects from the same pieces

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Ask questions to find the problem.
  2. The shape of a thing helps it work, like bumpy tires that grip.
  3. A fair test gives both designs the same test.

Example: Why do bike tires have bumps? Bumps help the tire hold on to the road. Answer: to grip the ground

Build, Test & Rebuild in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 7 of 7 in 2nd grade Science, after Fast & Slow Earth Changes.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Why does a boat have a pointed front?

    • To look sleepy
    • To hold more rain
    • To sink faster
    • To move through water easily

  2. Question 2

    A house made of blocks is taken apart. The blocks can build a…

    • new object, like a car
    • only the same house
    • bigger blocks
    • nothing ever again

  3. Question 3

    Why does a chair have four legs?

    • So it can run
    • So it is soft
    • So it can float
    • So it stands steady

  4. Question 4

    What should you do after a test shows a weak spot?

    • Paint it
    • Give up
    • Hide it
    • Make that part stronger

  5. Question 5

    A sketch of your idea helps you…

    • skip testing
    • lose the parts
    • plan before you build
    • make it heavier

  6. Question 6

    You build a ship from building bricks, then take it apart. Can you build a house with them?

    • Only if you buy new ones
    • Yes, from the same bricks
    • Only a ship
    • No, the bricks are gone

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