Grade 2 · Science · Unit 9 of 9
Clear Instructions
Steps in order, exact words and repeats
What your child practises
Children build three- to four-step instructions with action words, put steps in order, and see how repeating a step can make instructions shorter. This is a first step into computational thinking, with no screen needed.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 2CS 1.1, 2CS 1.2, 2CS 1.3 · designing clear steps in order, using exact words, and repeating steps
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Planting a seed: is the step near the start or the end? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 1️⃣ start · 🏁 end
- 🌱watch it grow
- ⛏️make a small hole
- 🟤fill it with soil
- 💧water the seed
- ☀️put the pot in the sun
- 🪴get a pot
Show answer
1️⃣ start: make a small hole, fill it with soil, get a pot · 🏁 end: watch it grow, water the seed, put the pot in the sun
Hint: You get ready first. Watering and watching come after the seed is in the soil.
Question 2
Why do we use pictures or diagrams in instructions?
- They hide the steps
- They help show what to do
- They make the steps longer
Show answer
They help show what to do
Hint: Pictures can make steps easier to follow.
Question 3
Which word helps make instructions clear?
- never
- maybe, perhaps
- first, next, then
Show answer
first, next, then
Hint: Order words show what comes when.
Question 4
Put the steps for planting a seed in order.
- 💧Water it
- ⛏️Dig a small hole
- 🟤Cover it with soil
- 🌱Drop in the seed
Show answer
Dig a small hole → Drop in the seed → Cover it with soil → Water it
Hint: You have to dig before you can plant, and you plant before you water.
Question 5
You brush your teeth in the morning and at night. Brushing is an example of…
- a job we repeat
- a toy
- a job we do once
Show answer
a job we repeat
Hint: Many daily jobs are repeated.
Question 6
Put the steps for brushing teeth in order.
- 🧼Put the brush away
- 🚰Spit and rinse
- 🪥Put toothpaste on the brush
- 😁Brush your teeth
Show answer
Put toothpaste on the brush → Brush your teeth → Spit and rinse → Put the brush away
Hint: You need the toothpaste on the brush before you brush.