Year 2 science is all about wondering why things happen in the world around your child. Our programme explores animals, solids and liquids, air and water and simple machines through hands-on investigations and examples from Aotearoa, like tūī and monarch butterflies.

Key Topics Covered:

Animal growth and life cycles, properties of liquids and solids, water and air in the environment, wind and water power, simple machines, seasons and simple engineering design.

Parent Tip:

Ask why and how questions on a walk along a beach or bush track. Curiosity is the foundation of science learning.

Describe how animals grow and change and what they need to live

Sort materials into solids and liquids and describe their properties

Explain where water and air are found and how they change with the seasons

Show how pushes, pulls and simple machines make work easier

Plan a simple fair test and share what they find out

Suggest ways to look after native animals and local places

Parent and child practising Year 2 science at home in New Zealand

No.	Topic	What We Cover
01	Living and Non-Living Things	Sort things around us into living and non-living and explain how you can tell.
02	Animals Around Us	Group animals such as kiwi, tūī, weta and monarch butterflies by features like feathers, wings and legs.
03	What Animals Need	Explore what animals need to survive, such as food, water, air, shelter and space.
04	Life Cycles	Follow how animals such as monarch butterflies and ducks grow and change from egg to adult.
05	Growth of Mammals and Birds	Compare how a baby mammal and a baby bird, such as a lamb and a chick, grow and what care they get from their parents.
06	Animal Body Parts and Their Jobs	Match body parts such as beaks, wool and webbed feet to what they help an animal do.
07	Animals and the NZ Seasons	Find out how animals handle the seasons, such as monarch butterflies clustering in winter and tūī feeding on spring blossom.
08	Habitats Around Us	Compare animals in different habitats, such as the bush, a wetland and a rocky shore.
09	Caring for Animals and Habitats	Explore simple ways to look after native wildlife and green spaces in your neighbourhood, such as planting natives.
10	Term 1 Review	Revise animals, life cycles and habitats. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

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Student in a tutoring session with their tutor

Warm-up (5 min)

Quick review of the previous session and a what-do-you-notice question

Core Teaching (25 min)

New idea from the lesson eBook, with demonstrations and examples

Guided Practice (15 min)

Student explores a simple investigation with tutor support

Independent Practice (10 min)

Student completes the in-class quiz independently

Wrap-up (5 min)

Summary, 2 take-home quizzes and a preview of the next session

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Year 2 Maths

See the full Year 2 Maths programme, with 40 live sessions aligned to the NZ Curriculum.

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No.	Topic	What We Cover
11	Solids and Liquids	Sort materials into solids and liquids and explain how you can tell them apart.
12	Describing Properties	Describe materials by colour, shape, texture, hardness and how they flow.
13	Liquids Take the Shape of Their Container	Pour water and juice into different containers and see how the shape of a liquid changes.
14	Mixing Liquids and Solids	With adult guidance, mix materials such as sugar, sand and salt with water and see what happens.
15	Absorbing Liquids	Test which materials soak up water and which do not, such as paper towels, plastic and sponges.
16	Sink or Float	Predict and test whether solid objects sink or float in water.
17	Choosing Materials for a Job	Use test results to pick the best material for a purpose, such as a raincoat or gumboots.
18	Melting and Freezing	With adult guidance, watch how heating and cooling change materials such as ice, butter and chocolate.
19	Reuse and Recycling	Explore how reusing and recycling materials, including kerbside recycling, cuts down on waste at home and at school.
20	Term 2 Review	Revise solids, liquids and materials. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
21	Water Around Us	Identify oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers and groundwater, and name the water bodies nearest your home, such as Lake Taupō.
22	Water as a Solid, Liquid and Gas	Find out that water can be ice, liquid or vapour and where each is found.
23	A Simple Water Cycle	Show how water rises, forms clouds and falls again as rain or snow.
24	Rain, Snow and Ice	Observe how weather changes with the seasons, from snow in the Southern Alps to rain in Auckland.
25	Air Is All Around Us	Show that air takes up space and that moving air is wind.
26	Using Wind and Water	Explore how people use wind and moving water, such as wind turbines and hydro dams.
27	What Living Things Need from Air and Water	Link air and water to the needs of plants, animals and people.
28	Keeping Air and Water Clean	Find simple ways to keep air and water clean, such as reducing litter and saving water.
29	Planning a Fair Test	Decide what to change, what to measure and what to keep the same.
30	Term 3 Review	Revise water, air and weather. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
31	Pushes and Pulls	Show how a push or a pull makes things start, stop or change direction.
32	Simple Machines	Meet ramps, levers, wheels and axles and see how they make work easier.
33	Ramps and Wheels	Test how the slope of a ramp and the size of a wheel change how far a toy car travels.
34	Levers and Pulleys	Try a seesaw lever and a simple pulley to lift a load and compare the effort needed.
35	Machines in Daily Life	Spot simple machines at home and on the playground, such as swings, slides and door handles.
36	Engineering: Define a Problem	Ask questions and gather information about a problem people want to solve.
37	Sketch and Model a Solution	Draw or build a model to show how the shape of an object helps it do its job.
38	Compare Two Designs	Test two designs for the same problem and compare their strengths and weaknesses.
39	Mini Science Project	Choose a question, test it fairly and share the results in a short presentation.
40	Year 2 Review and Year 3 Readiness	Revise the year's science and preview Year 3 topics. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

Year 2 Science Tutoring Across New Zealand

By Term 4 of Year 2 Science, Your Child Will...

Year 2 Science Curriculum, Term by Term

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme