Maine Grade 2 Science

Build a land-and-water model that another reader can use

Represent a fictional pond, hill, and stream with a labeled model, explain what it leaves out, and check Maine Grade 2 science references.

The Maine science standards directory identifies the standards adopted in 2019 as current. It states that the proposed later revision was not authorized. The linked PDF used here presents that 2019 Learning Results framework; its 2026 file date does not establish a new adoption. Use the Maine Science, Technology, and Engineering Standards (2019 Learning Results) for the selected performance expectation and its complete supporting information. This activity selects a Grade 2 expectation. It is one part of a science course, not a complete curriculum.

Which features belong in the model?

Students receive a description of an imaginary area: a rounded hill stands beside a pond, and a narrow stream connects the pond to a larger body of water. They make a small clay model and a drawing of it. A blue oval represents the pond, a thin blue line represents the stream, and raised clay represents the hill. The first drawing has no labels or key. A partner mistakes the blue line for a road. Decide how to revise the drawing so someone who has not read the description can identify the land and water features.

Explain the evidence or model

The model needs to represent both kind and shape. Label the oval pond, identify the narrow connected line as a stream, and explain in the key that blue marks water. The raised rounded clay helps show a hill’s shape; a flat drawing can add a hill symbol and label, but it does not reproduce the height by itself. The connected stream should remain attached to the pond in the drawing because the description specifies that relationship. A partner can then point to each feature and explain how the model represents it. That check is stronger than asking only whether the model looks attractive.

What to check in the explanation

A model selects information rather than copying an entire place. This one contains no measured distances, so it is not a scale map and cannot establish how long a real walk would take. The clay color does not prove what the land is made of; it is a representation choice. The description also does not establish which way water moves along the stream. Do not add a flow arrow and present it as an observed fact. Distinguish something missing from the model from something missing from the source description. Students can use pointing, drawing, and spoken explanation before writing a short account.

Plan the next activity

1. Match each source feature to a part of the model.
2. Add names and a key to resolve the partner’s confusion.
3. Name one useful feature the model shows and one detail it does not establish.

Have a new partner identify the pond, stream, and hill without hearing the original description. Revise any symbol that creates confusion. For transfer, use a teacher-selected photograph or a safe observation of the school grounds and represent the kinds and shapes of land and water actually visible. Compare the new model with its source rather than assuming every area includes this imaginary pond. Additional lessons can introduce other features, while the selected task remains practice in developing and explaining a model.