Matter Makers Unit Outline
NGSS 2-PS1-3 Grade 2 Physical Science 4 Mini-Lessons • 40–45 Min Each
Curriculum Blueprint
Matter Makers Unit Outline
From Bricks & Paper to Animal Dens & Indigenous Homes: Rearranging Pieces
Target Standard: 2-PS1-3
Anchoring Phenomenon Same Pieces, Infinite Creations
Whether playing with plastic bricks, rolling sheets of paper, observing how birds and river animals use twigs, or seeing how Native American tribes engineered portable tipis and longhouses, the exact same small set of pieces can be disassembled and rebuilt into completely new structures.
Disciplinary Core Idea
PS1.A: Structure of Matter
A great variety of objects can be built up from a small set of pieces.
Science Practice
Constructing Explanations
Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how objects change.
Crosscutting Concept
Energy & Matter
Objects can break into smaller pieces and be put together into new larger pieces.
Essential Questions
- How can identical pieces create totally different objects?
- How do humans and animals disassemble and rebuild their environments?
Tier-2 & Tier-3 Vocabulary
Assemble Disassemble Tetromino / Shape Card Structure Evidence
Unit Instructional Arc (At-a-Glance)
4 Cohesive Mini-Lessons
LESSON 1
Foundations
Lego Common Grounds & Tetris Shape Cards
Hook through familiar Legos; students use fixed block sets to match and form varied Tetris shape cards.
Standard Anchor: Fixed sets → varied shapes
LESSON 2
Engineering
The Great Paper Tower Challenge
Given the exact same materials (paper & tape), teams build, test, disassemble, and reconfigure towers for height.
Standard Anchor: Same units → new structures
LESSON 3
Nature Builders
Animal Architects: Twigs for Nests & Lodges
Observing how birds weave stick nests while otters/beavers build dens from the same forest sticks and mud.
Standard Anchor: Natural pieces in nature
LESSON 4
Culture & CER
Indigenous Shelters & Evidence Accounts
Exploring Native American homes (Tipis assembled & disassembled for travel vs. Longhouses/Pueblos); final CER account.
Standard Anchor: Evidence-based accounts
Curriculum Framework • Matter Makers Unit (2-PS1-3) Page 1 of 2
Mini-Lesson Instructional Flow & Guidance
Step-by-step facilitation prompts, hands-on tasks, and formative checkpoints
Page 2: Lesson Deep Dives
MINI-LESSON 1 Day 1 • 45m
Lego Hook & Tetris Shape Cards
Hook & Inquiry:
Prompt: “Have you ever built a Lego car, smashed it apart, and built a spaceship?” Establish that pieces don't vanish.
Hands-on Investigation:
Students receive exactly 4 or 5 linking cubes (tetromino set) and target “Tetris Shape Cards” (L-shape, T-shape, square, line). Students construct shape 1, disassemble, and reassemble into shape 2.
Key Takeaway:
The piece count stays identical (e.g., 4 blocks), but rearranging them yields multiple distinct figures.
Formative Check: Tetris Card Completion Checklist
MINI-LESSON 2 Day 2 • 45m
The Great Paper Tower Challenge
Engineering Prompt:
Every group gets the exact same materials kit: 4 sheets of paper and 12 inches of masking tape. Goal: Build the tallest tower.
Disassembly & Redesign:
Round 1: Initial build and height check. Round 2: Carefully untape/disassemble rolled tubes and reconfigure them into a new, sturdier or taller structural design.
Key Takeaway:
Different teams made wildly different towers from the exact same materials kit, and reconfiguring paper tubes changes tower strength.
Formative Check: Tower Height & Rebuild Comparison
MINI-LESSON 3 Day 3 • 40m
Animal Architects: Nests & Lodges
Nature Focus:
Compare how a robin uses twigs to weave a bowl nest in a tree, while a river otter or beaver uses similar sticks and mud to assemble a protective river lodge/den.
Hands-on Investigation:
Student pairs receive a tray of 15 craft sticks and string. First, they assemble a round bird nest. Next, they dismantle it and rearrange the exact same sticks into an otter shelter.
Key Takeaway:
In nature, organisms use identical raw pieces to assemble diverse homes that serve different shelter needs.
Formative Check: Stick-Sort & Shelter Drawing Log
MINI-LESSON 4 Day 4 • 45m
Indigenous Shelters & Evidence Account
Cultural Science Connection:
Examine how Great Plains tribes (e.g., Lakota) engineered tipis: wooden poles and bison hides designed to be rapidly assembled, disassembled for travel, and re-erected.
Comparative Study:
Contrast with Eastern Woodlands wigwams/longhouses (bent sapling poles & bark) and Southwest Pueblo homes (modular sun-dried adobe bricks).
Culminating CER Task:
Students construct their final evidence-based account demonstrating how small parts form cultural architecture.
Formative Check: Unit Evidence-Based CER Account
Summative Performance Task
Final Evidence Account: Students complete the claim-evidence sentence stem:
“An object made of small pieces (like Lego blocks, paper, sticks, or tipi poles) can be disassembled and remade into a new object because the pieces can be rearranged without disappearing.”
Universal Scaffolding & Supports
Visual Support 1:1 scale shape mats for Tetris cards and photo cards of animal/indigenous shelters.
Language Frame “First, my pieces made a ____. Then I took them apart and made a ____ using ____ pieces.”
Cultural Respect Highlight indigenous engineering ingenuity and seasonal harmony with natural resources.
Curriculum Framework • Matter Makers Unit (2-PS1-3) Page 2 of 2
