Whole national Year 2 Science reference

Selected core content descriptions, full level description/standard and optional illustrative elaborations are retained from the exact national workbook. Whole reference is not full coverage. First Nations elaborations are national suggestions, not permission to invent/adapt community-held knowledge; none are fabricated in this pack.

© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2010 to present, unless otherwise indicated. Material downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website (pinned 29 September 2026, current native source checked 8 October 2026); modified through selection, plain-text display and original mapping. Core words are unchanged. CC BY 4.0 with additional terms and exclusions. Version history. ACARA does not endorse SubjectNest or represent its quality; SubjectNest is not affiliated with, sponsored or approved by ACARA. Alignment concerns content descriptions and achievement standards, not optional elaborations. Check the edition and degree of alignment. No automatic update/device-sync service is claimed.

level_description · SCISCIY2

In Year 2 students build on their experiences of the natural and physical world to identify the components of simple systems. They appreciate that Earth is a planet in space and identify other celestial objects. They explore the ways components in a system interact, such as by using their bodies or combining and manipulating objects to make sounds. They build on their understanding of properties of materials to recognise that those properties stay the same when the material is changed physically. They continue to build their understanding of patterns by observing that some patterns, such as the changing positions of the sun, moon and stars, can only be observed over certain timescales. As they explore patterns and relationships, they use counting and informal measurements to make and compare observations and recognise that organising these observations in tables makes it easier to identify and represent patterns. They appreciate that science involves making and organising observations to identify patterns and relationships, and that these patterns and relationships are the basis of scientific predictions. Inquiry questions can help excite students’ curiosity and challenge their thinking. Following are examples of inquiry questions that could be used to prompt discussion and exploration: Who does science? How do we know Earth is round? How can we make and sense music? What’s the best material? Why? How does the sky change over time?

content_description · AC9S2U01

recognise Earth is a planet in the solar system and identify patterns in the changing position of the sun, moon, planets and stars in the sky

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E1

identifying celestial objects that can be observed in space such as the sun, moon, stars and planets

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E2

viewing images or video of Earth from space, describing the shape of Earth and discussing how the images or video were taken

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E3

exploring representations of the solar system and identifying Earth and other planets

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E4

observing that some phenomena in the sky are only visible during the day and others during the night

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E5

investigating how shadow length changes with the changing position of the sun, identifying patterns and making predictions

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E6

creating a class moon diary across a month, identifying patterns in the changing shape of the moon and making predictions

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E7

viewing a time lapse video of the sun, moon, stars or a satellite’s movement across the sky

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E8

observing and describing short-term and longer-term patterns of events that occur in the sky, such as the appearance of the moon and stars at different times of the month or year

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E9

distinguishing between regular events that occur in the sky, such as the appearance of a full moon, and irregular events such as ‘blue’, ‘blood’ or ‘super’ moons

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U01_E10

exploring how cultural stories of First Nations Peoples of Australia describe the patterns in the changing positions of the sun, moon and stars

content_description · AC9S2U02

explore different actions to make sounds and how to make a variety of sounds, and recognise that sound energy causes objects to vibrate

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E1

building vocabulary for describing sound, such as loudness and pitch, and comparing sounds made by musical instruments

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E2

exploring different ways to produce sound using familiar objects and actions such as striking, blowing, scraping, plucking and shaking

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E3

exploring how traditional musical instruments used by First Nations Australians produce their characteristic sounds

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E4

exploring how voices have a unique sound by playing games such as guess the speaker

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E5

observing vibrations produced by a twanged ruler held on a desk and experimenting with different ways of holding or positioning the ruler to produce observably different vibrations and sounds

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E6

investigating how sound energy makes things vibrate such as when speaking, using tuning forks or observing music speakers

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E7

investigating which materials best muffle sound

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E8

designing and making instruments that produce different sounds, such as drums, rain makers, thongophones or box guitars

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U02_E9

discussing situations in which they have heard echoes and exploring how humans with vision impairment and other animals such as dolphins and bats use echolocation to locate objects in their environments

content_description · AC9S2U03

recognise that materials can be changed physically without changing their material composition and explore the effect of different actions on materials including bending, twisting, stretching and breaking into smaller pieces

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U03_E1

exploring how materials can be physically changed to suit a particular purpose, such as twisting strands of cotton or wool together to make the thread stronger, or folding paper to make it fly

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U03_E2

manipulating materials such as paper or fabric, and determining ways they can be physically changed by scrunching, twisting or bending, or broken into smaller pieces by cutting, tearing or crushing

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U03_E3

crushing a stick of chalk into a powder, comparing the properties of the stick and the powder, and discussing whether it is still the same material

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U03_E4

exploring how First Nations Australians make physical changes to natural materials to produce objects such as bowls, baskets and various fibre crafts

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2U03_E5

creating an ‘odd one out’ game by providing samples of the same material that has been physically changed in different ways, and one sample of a different material, and challenging other students to identify the odd one out

content_description · AC9S2H01

describe how people use science in their daily lives, including using patterns to make scientific predictions

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E1

learning how First Nations Australians use observations of the night sky to assist with navigation

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E2

recognising that astronomers use patterns of movement of celestial bodies in the sky, such as stars and comets, to make predictions about future appearances

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E3

listening to music and learning from musicians about how music can be understood as patterns of sounds and how they use their body or instruments to create music

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E4

discussing how we manage sound at home to ensure that we do not disturb each other or our neighbours, such as quietly closing doors, turning down the volume, taking off shoes on wooden floors or using headphones

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E5

investigating toys and digital tools that are voice activated, and engaging in guided discussion about how some devices use voice patterns to recognise the unique features of an individual’s voice

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E6

exploring how sound-activated and voice-activated tools help people manage daily activities such as turning on lights and communicating with others

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E7

learning from people who work with materials, such as woodworkers, product designers or artists such as fibre artists or sculptors, about how they learn about properties of materials and how they use creativity when manipulating materials

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E8

exploring how physically changing materials helps us to re-use them in a variety of ways, and decrease waste

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2H01_E9

considering how First Nations Australians use scientific practices such as sorting, classification and estimation to make predictions

content_description · AC9S2I01

pose questions to explore observed simple patterns and relationships and make predictions based on experiences

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I01_E1

posing questions about how to make sounds with different instruments, such as: ‘If I do this, will it always produce a higher pitched sound?’

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I01_E2

posing questions about the appearance or position of celestial objects in space across time, such as: ‘I wonder if the moon will look the same tomorrow or next week, as it does today?’

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I01_E3

making predictions about what might occur when materials such as playdough or tissue paper are pulled with different strengths

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I01_E4

making predictions about the relationship between vibration and sound, such as: ‘I think that if a ruler is twanged harder, it will make a louder sound’

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I01_E5

making predictions about future appearances of phenomena in the sky at certain times of the week, month or year, such as the moon or satellites

content_description · AC9S2I02

suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I02_E1

showing appropriate use of materials and equipment to others such as teachers, students or trusted adults and making suggestions about how to make an investigation safe or safer

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I02_E2

discussing ways they could conduct observations of the sun in a safe way

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I02_E3

following visual or verbal steps to construct a musical instrument or manipulate a material

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I02_E4

suggesting ways they could manipulate materials and tools they could use

content_description · AC9S2I03

make and record observations, including informal measurements, using digital tools as appropriate

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I03_E1

recording observations through text, drawing, counts, digital photography or video

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I03_E2

engaging in a guided discussion about how to measure something in a fair way

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I03_E3

using familiar units of measurement such as cups, handspans, walking paces, blocks or pencil lengths

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I03_E4

representing informal measurements with concrete objects, such as drawing chalk lines and using lengths of string to measure shadows

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I03_E5

exploring how digital tools can be used to make observations, such as simple clap-o-meter apps that measure sound volume, time lapse digital photography for observing apparent movement of celestial objects or slow-motion videos for observing a vibrating ruler

content_description · AC9S2I04

sort and order data and information and represent patterns, including with provided tables and visual or physical models

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I04_E1

adding labels to a drawing or digital photograph to indicate key features, such as properties of materials that stay the same when changed physically, or to indicate how sound is produced by an instrument

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I04_E2

ordering images of the changing appearance of the moon to show a monthly cycle

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I04_E3

using a graphic organiser to sort images of musical instruments and the actions used to produce their sound

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I04_E4

constructing simple column graphs and picture graphs with guidance to represent class investigations, such as recording objects that produce or do not produce sound

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I04_E5

completing a table to record the number of ways different materials can be changed physically

content_description · AC9S2I05

compare observations with predictions and others’ observations, consider if investigations are fair and identify further questions with guidance

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I05_E1

comparing their observations of changing shadow length across the day with their predictions and the patterns observed by others

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I05_E2

comparing observations of sounds with those of others and considering if we all sense sound in the same way

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I05_E3

proposing ways to ensure that the same sound is produced in an investigation in order to keep the investigation fair

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I05_E4

comparing findings from investigations about physically changing a material, such as cutting and folding, and exploring questions that investigate similar changes to different materials

content_description · AC9S2I06

write and create texts to communicate observations, findings and ideas, using everyday and scientific vocabulary

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E1

using learnt scientific vocabulary and structuring texts to sequence events, processes or ideas

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E2

creating and narrating a short animation to show the changing position of the sun across the day and using terms such as ‘sunrise’, ‘sunset’ and ‘horizon’

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E3

creating a class model of the solar system and naming the sun and planets

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E4

making a collage to represent and display all the ways a material can be physically changed

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E5

presenting and sharing musical instruments, through dance and song, to show what is vibrating to make the sound

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E6

presenting findings of investigations using charts, read-alouds, slideshows or displays using everyday and scientific vocabulary

illustrative_elaboration · AC9S2I06_E7

acknowledging and learning about First Nations Australians’ ways of sharing astronomical knowledge across generations through oral traditions that include cultural accounts, stories, song and dance

achievement_standard · Year 2 achievement standard

By the end of Year 2 students identify celestial objects and describe patterns they observe in the sky. They demonstrate how different sounds can be produced and describe the effect of sound energy on objects. They identify ways to change materials without changing their material composition. They describe how people use science in their daily lives and how people use patterns to make scientific predictions. Students pose questions to explore observed patterns or relationships and make predictions based on experience. They suggest steps to be followed in an investigation and follow safe procedures to make and record observations. They use provided tables and organisers to sort and order data and represent patterns in data. With guidance, they compare their observations with those of others, identify whether their investigation was fair and identify further questions. They use everyday and scientific vocabulary to communicate observations, findings and ideas.

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