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    Second Grade
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    Scoring guide · Weeks 7–12 · 25–30 min · 32 points

    Science Unit 2 Test: Plants, Animals & Habitats

    Directions for the grown-up

    You may read every question, choice, table and passage aloud to your child. This test checks science thinking, not reading. Do not explain science words or hint at answers. Have crayons or colored pencils ready for the drawing questions. Drawings do not need to be neat; labels and arrows are what count.

    Part 1: Plant Structures & Needs (8 points)

    Standards: 2-LS2-1

    1. Which plant part carries water up to the leaves?Answer: stem · 2 points
    2. Which cups did not sprout? What were they missing?Answer: Cups C and D. They had no water. · 2 points
    3. Cup B sprouted in the dark, but it is pale. What does a plant need to grow green and strong?Answer: light · 2 points
    4. Jay wants to test only light. Which two cups should he compare?Answer: A and B (both got water; only light is different) · 2 points

    Scoring: Items 1 and 4: 2 points each. Item 2: 1 point for C and D, 1 point for water. Item 3: 2 points for light (or sunlight).

    Reteach: Week 7, Week 8, Week 12

    Part 2: Animal Adaptations (8 points)

    Standards: 2-LS4-1

    1. A bird has a short, thick, strong beak. Which food is it best for?Answer: hard seeds · 2 points
    2. Look at the table. Which tool picked up the most seeds? How many more seeds did it get than the tweezers?Answer: the spoon; 16 more (25 - 9 = 16) · 2 points
    3. A woodpecker has a strong, pointed beak. How does it help the woodpecker get food?Answer: It can peck holes in tree bark to reach insects. · 2 points
    4. A frog has a long, sticky tongue. How does it help the frog?Answer: It helps the frog catch insects (bugs) to eat. · 2 points

    Scoring: Item 1: 2 points. Item 2: 1 point for the spoon, 1 point for 16. Items 3 and 4: 2 points for naming the food and how the part gets it; 1 point for a partly correct answer.

    Reteach: Week 8

    Part 3: Habitats & Food Chains (8 points)

    Standards: 2-LS4-1, 2-LS2-2

    1. Which animal is best suited to live in a hot, dry desert?Answer: camel · 2 points
    2. A squirrel buries an acorn and forgets it. Later a little oak tree grows there. How did the squirrel help the oak tree?Answer: It carried the seed (acorn) to a new place and planted it. · 2 points
    3. Draw a food chain for a squirrel. Start with the sun, then an oak tree, then the squirrel. Draw arrows.Answer: sun -> oak tree (acorns) -> squirrel, with arrows pointing from the food to the eater · 2 points
    4. A garden has many flowers, but no bees or other pollinators visited this year. What will the flowers have trouble making?Answer: seeds (and fruit) · 2 points

    Scoring: Items 1 and 4: 2 points each. Item 2: 2 points for carrying or planting the seed in a new place; 1 point for "it helped it grow". Item 3: 1 point for the three parts in order, 1 point for arrows pointing toward the eater.

    Reteach: Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12

    Part 4: Investigation Design (8 points)

    Standards: 2-LS2-1

    1. Pat wants to find out if a bean plant needs water to grow. Plan a test for Pat. Draw two cups. Then write: What is different: ____ What stays the same: ____ What I will look for: ____Answer: Answers vary. Look for: two cups with bean seeds, one watered and one not; only water is different; kept the same: light, soil or paper towel, kind of seed, cup size; look for which one sprouts, how tall it grows or how many leaves it has. · 8 points

    Scoring: 2 points: two cups, one with water and one without. 2 points: says water is the only thing that is different. 2 points: names two things kept the same (1 point for one). 2 points: names what to observe or measure (sprouting, height, leaves). Spelling does not count.

    Reteach: Week 7, Week 12

    D/A/P/E point bands (out of 32)
    LevelPoints
    D · Developing0–15
    A · Approaching16–22
    P · Proficient23–28
    E · Exemplary29–32