Grade 2 Project Challenges

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Theme Option #1: Food & Nutrition
Theme Option #2: Your Choice
Rules

 

OPTION #1 Theme: Food & Nutrition

Project Challenge: Finding Healthier Food Options

  • Under the direction of the classroom teacher, students will develop a healthy snack that would replace a less healthy one.
  • As a classroom project, develop a recipe book in which students explain the process they used to create the healthier snack--and include the recipe.
    Examples of the types of snack swaps that students may want to choose from:
    • French Fries
    • Milk Shakes
    • Potato Chips
    • Candy with artificial ingredients
    • Soda

Key Steps:

  • Conduct background research on the USDA Food Plate: http://www.choosemyplate.gov
  • Construct a plan/procedure for how to make your new snack
  • Observe and gather information on how the healthy option is better for the body than the less healthy option
  • Analyze your data
  • Interpret your data
  • Using words and original student drawings/artwork, tell the story of your project in one of the two following format options:
    • a handwritten/hand-drawn storyboard presentation (which can be scanned or photographed for submitting on the online entry form)
    • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Suggested Presentation Elements:
    • Beginning Section: Cover & Introduction to project challenge questions/topic
    • Second Section: Introduction to project challenge questions/topic and description of your plan
    • Third Section: What did you observe?
    • Final Section: Draw a conclusion of what you have learned. Why is it important?

NGSS correlation:
Matter and Its Interactions
  • Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
  • Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

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OPTION #2 Theme: Your Choice

Project Challenge: Choose a community-oriented science challenge for your class to study.

  • Conduct background research
  • Construct a plan/procedure for how to test or explore your challenge
  • Observe and gather information
  • Analyze your data
  • Interpret your data
  • Using words and original student drawings/artwork, tell the story of your project in one of the two following format options:
    • a handwritten/hand-drawn storyboard presentation (which can be scanned or photographed for submitting on the online entry form)
    • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Suggested Presentation Elements:
    • Beginning Section: Cover & Introduction to project challenge questions/topic
    • Second Section: Introduction to project challenge questions/topic and description of your plan
    • Third Section: What did you observe?
    • Final Section: Draw a conclusion of what you have learned. Why is it important?

Examples of the types of concepts you might want your students to address:

  • Life cycles
  • Seasons
  • Matter
  • The human body
  • Insects
  • Electricity and magnetism
  • Earth and space

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Rules for Grade 2

Project submission consists of the creation of a storyboard or PowerPoint presentation. Each storyboard is comprised of visuals and text used to showcase the students' original work in The DuPont Challenge.

Submission Format Options
Besides text, acceptable materials for storyboard projects are the following: visual aids (e.g. photos, images, student drawings, etc.) highlighted on one of the following format options:

  • Storyboard: Handwritten and hand-drawn in book form, then scanned or photographed and uploaded as a JPG or PDF file on the official online entry form
  • Microsoft PowerPoint: uploaded as a PPT, PPTX, JPG, or PDF file on the official online entry form

Guidelines for Using Microsoft PowerPoint Submission Format
The PowerPoint is used as a tool to highlight the team's original work and should be comprised of the following: hand-drawn images, pictures, or drawings compiled to organize the team's information. Teachers are strongly encouraged to allow the students to contribute to the file as needed and use of text within slides should be minimal. Diagrams and labels should be included in the team's images.

Page requirement for project submissions: Up to 8 pages + cover title slide

Team Composition: The entry must be from a team comprised of the students from the same classroom. Only one entry is allowed per classroom and should be a representation of the classroom's ability to address the project challenge.

Submissions in formats other than storyboard or PowerPoint will result in competition disqualification. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

SPECIAL NOTE: Every team must be comprised of students from the same class and in the same grade level. Multi-grade teams--even within the same classroom--are not eligible.

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