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Grades K–2 · Semester 1 · 43 readings

Start with familiar ideas

Begin with pictures and words. Follow the connected explanations through plants and animals, keeping each small group together and taking time to understand its illustrations.

Start reading →

One possible pace is 2–3 explanations a week over 16 weeks. Keep each small unit together, revisit its pictures and allow more time whenever an idea needs it.

Unit 1Pictures and words4 readings ⌄

Lines make pictures, while describing words and punctuation help express their meaning.

  1. How do lines differ in a drawing?Arts & Music
  2. How can simple shapes make a picture?Arts & Music
  3. How do describing words help us find a picture?Language
  4. How do periods and question marks help readers?Language
Unit 2Small quantities4 readings ⌄

Whole groups can be split, shared, bundled and measured without losing track of their parts.

  1. How can different parts make the same whole?Mathematics
  2. How can we share a small set equally?Mathematics
  3. How can ten counters become one bundle?Mathematics
  4. How do equal units measure a length?Mathematics
Unit 3Small pieces, big possibilities2 readings ⌄

Discover how toy pieces grip, fit and become something larger.

  1. How do toy building bricks hold together?Everyday Life
  2. How do jigsaw pieces fit into one picture?Everyday Life
Unit 4Stories and instructions4 readings ⌄

An order of events makes a story understandable. Exact instructions can also repeat or choose a route.

  1. How do pictures help us follow a story?Language
  2. How do exact instructions guide a character?Computing
  3. How does a loop repeat a step and then stop?Computing
  4. How does a yes-or-no condition choose an instruction route?Computing
Unit 5Materials behave differently4 readings ⌄

Familiar samples let water or light through in different ways and respond differently to bending.

  1. Which material helps keep a toy dry?Materials & Matter
  2. What happens to these samples after release?Materials & Matter
  3. How can a paper towel soak up water?Materials & Matter
  4. How do materials change the view through them?Materials & Matter
Unit 6Moving parts4 readings ⌄

Wheels, ramps, hinges and a zipper each guide movement through a different arrangement of parts.

  1. How do wheels help a wagon roll?Machines
  2. How can a ramp help move a load up?Machines
  3. How does a door swing on a hinge?Machines
  4. How does a zipper join its two sides?Machines
Unit 7The pushes hidden in play3 readings ⌄

Follow a ball, a pin, and a shoe to see how objects push one another.

  1. Why does a basketball bounce back up?Everyday Life
  2. How can one bowling ball knock down many pins?Everyday Life
  3. How do sports shoes help our feet push us forward?Everyday Life
Unit 8Trucks with an extra job2 readings ⌄

See how a truck can lift, tip and squeeze as well as travel.

  1. How does a dump truck tip out a mountain of gravel?Machines
  2. How does a garbage truck swallow so many bins?Machines
Unit 9Tools that carry information and effort2 readings ⌄

Explore familiar objects whose designs help people move, make and understand their surroundings.

  1. How can a white cane tell someone about the ground ahead?Everyday Life
  2. How does a washboard help clean a muddy cloth?Everyday Life
Unit 10Small shapes, useful changes4 readings ⌄

See how cloth, contact and a larger footprint change what familiar objects can do.

  1. How can one string close a whole bag?Everyday Life
  2. Why can snowshoes help someone sink less into snow?Everyday Life
  3. Why does a tiny thimble help someone sew?Everyday Life
  4. Why can damp sand hold a castle’s shape?Materials & Matter
Unit 11Paths and connections4 readings ⌄

Joined paths guide a toy, carry water and pass a push from one object to the next.

  1. How do track pieces make a route?Systems
  2. Where does water go in an open channel?Systems
  3. How does a gutter gather rain from a roof?Systems
  4. How can one falling domino start a row?Systems
Unit 12Hidden water nearby2 readings ⌄

Follow rain below the ground and discover the water that keeps a stream moving.

  1. How can rain disappear into the ground?Earth & Space
  2. Why can a stream keep flowing when rain has stopped?Earth & Space
Unit 13Plants and animals4 readings ⌄

Plants grow and stay anchored. Animals change as they grow, and their body parts help them handle food.

  1. How does a seed become a young plant?Organisms
  2. How do roots help hold a plant in place?Organisms
  3. How does a butterfly change as it grows?Organisms
  4. How can a bird’s beak shape help it handle food?Organisms