Intersection of Science and Math in Grade Two

Part of a second grade science unit on plants integrates work the boys do in science with graphing work in math class. Our boys were challenged to test the effect of different variables on the "flight" of paper and paper clip "helicopter seeds" that the boys made last week.

On the first day of this project, boys dropped the paper clip "seeds" near a fan, and watched how they floated down to the floor, making measuring marks on a floor mat.

The boys measured how many cm the seeds traveled from their "drop point," collected data in tables, and then used this data in their math classes to create graphs (shown at right).

Based on these experiments with flying seeds, the boys next designed, built and tested a variety of different types and styles of flying seeds to see whether they could improve on mother nature’s designs.

The unit will conclude with the boys making generalizations about shapes that make efficient flying seeds, and comparing them to different examples of flying seeds in nature.

STEAM strands like this in our curriculum provide a wonderful opportunity to integrate disciplines in support of problem solving activities.

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