CoRe (Content Representation Tool)

1. What concepts/big ideas do you intend students to learn

about matter and its interactions?

(Katie Diven, Abbie Kent, Kelly Lamp)

5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to
determine whether the mixing of two or more
substances results in new substances.
Students will engage in a 5E lesson about
whether mixing two or more substances will result
in a new substance.

2. What does your group know about matter and its

interactions?

-Matter can change from one state to

another, which we call a "physical change."
Physical changes usually occur when heat
(energy) is either added or taken away. A
good example of a physical change is when
an ice cube melts. It starts as a solid but
when you add heat, it turns into a liquid.
The cool thing about a physical change is
that it can be reversed. If you take the liquid
water from the melted ice and cool it down
again (remove the heat), it turns back into a
solid!
-Matter has many definitions, but the most
common is that it is any substance which
has mass and occupies space. All physical
objects are composed of matter, in the
form of atoms, which are in turn composed
of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
-Matter can exist in various phases: solid,
liquid, gas, or plasma. Most substances can
transition between these phases based on
the amount of heat the material absorbs (or
loses).
-a chemical change (or chemical reaction)
occurs when two substances are mixed
together and transform into a third
substance. Not all substances react
chemically when mixed together, however.
For example, some substances, when mixed
together, remain simply a mixture of those
two substances.
-When two or more substances are mixed

together but not chemically joined they are

called as mixtures.
-Matter undergoes changes. Changes in
matter, in which no new substances are
formed are called as physical changes.
Changes in temperature can make matter
look different. Cooling makes liquid water
change to ice.
-Look around the classroom. Everything,
from the clothes you are wearing to the air
you breathe is matter. Matter is very
important. Matter makes up everything
including living things like plants and
people. It also makes non-living things such
as tables and chairs. Things as big as an
elephant or as tiny as a grain of sand on a
beach are matter.
-Everything is matter and matter comes in
three different states: solid, liquid and gas.
-One property of all matter, whether it's a
solid, liquid, or gas, is that it takes up space
and has mass.

Works Cited
"Mixing Substances." Reference
Library. Kidport Reference
Library, 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 16
Nov. 2014.
"Substances and Chemical
Reactions." Substances and
Chemical Reactions. PBS
Learning Media, 16 Nov. 2014.
Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

3. Why is it important for students to learn about matter and

its interactions?

Its important for students to learn about

matter and its interactions because matter
is everywhere.
Matter, matter everywhere.
There's matter in your hair.
Matter in the air.
There's even matter in a pear!
There's liquid matter, solid matter, and
matter that's a gas.
Even you are matter, because you have
volume and mass! (PBS Learning Media)
In science, students are always in contact
with matter and working with it. By
studying and experimenting with matter, it
gives students a better understanding about
the world around them. Identifying
different types of matter can help them
with any kind of science investigation when
they have to manipulate different states of
matter.

4. What misconceptions do students typically have about this

concept and why?

Students may believe:

-matter can only be a solid, liquid, or gas
-Matter has no permanent aspect. When
matter disappears from sight (e.g.
when sugar dissolves in water) it ceases to
exist
-Once an ice cube or some type of solid is
turned into a liquid or another state of
matter, it can not be reversed.
-the space between particles is empty
-Materials can only have properties of one
state of matter
-gases are not matter because they are
invisible
-Air is not a gas
-Only water can melt, boil, and freeze

-air particles do not move when there is no

wind

5. What do you expect students to know and be able to do

as a result of instruction?

After instruction, students should be able to

identify a solid, liquid, and gas. They should also
be able to identify a chemical reaction-one
where two substances mixed together create a
new substance. In addition, they should know
that a physical change is one where a new
substance is not formed. They should come out
of the 5E lesson plan with a better
understanding about what matter is and how
matter interacts. They should also be able to
conduct an investigation based on the
characteristics of matter.

6. What specific experiences and activities might be useful

for helping students develop their understanding of matter
and its interactions?

Engage: With a white board, we will create a

concept map on what the students already
know about matter. During this phase, we can
assess for student misconceptions and see what
we need to cover in order for our experiment to
be effective. In addition, we can determine what
our group of students already has a firm grasp
on.
Explore: During our explore phase, we will have
students experiment with baking soda and
vinegar. We will have some vinegar in a water
bottle and a balloon that will have some baking
soda in it. When they are ready, we will put the
balloon over the water bottle and dump the
baking soda into the vinegar.. That is where they
will witness the balloon expand and fill up with
gas. During this point, we will assess student
understanding by asking students what they are
observing and what they think is happening.
Explain: During the explain phase, we will talk
about chemical reactions and how when the
baking soda and vinegar were mixed together, a
new substance was formed. We will discuss how
the matter transformed from both a solid and a
liquid to a gas. We will also show them how
there is less vinegar in the water bottle because

some was mixed with the baking soda to form a

gas-so the vinegar was apart of the gas that
inflated the balloon. Based on their new
knowledge about matter and its interactions, we
will add to their concept map in a different color
in order to show them how much they learned.
Extend: During this phase, we will question the
students on what they believe will happen when
mixing two substances doesnt necessarily make
a new substance. We will have them mix water
and vegetable oil with plastic spoons and
observe what happens. They will observe how
the oil rests on top of the water and the two
substances do not mix together-they stay
separated. We will describe this as a physical
change because no new substance was formed.
Evaluate: At the end of the experiments, we will
bring out their original concept map and add
any key concepts they learned from the explain
and extend phases. (Especially chemical and
physical changes). We will go over what they
learned and ask them questions about their
observations and any questions they still have
about matter and its interactions. Throughout
the 5E stages, we will formally assess by
observing their actions and keeping a mental
note on the things they are saying. Also, we will
take the students around the room or in the
halls and ask them to take pictures of the matter
they see. We will discuss their pictures and talk
about what kinds of matter they observed and
identified. We will also have students draw
pictures of what they observed. We will ask
them to label their illustrations and identify
whether it was a physical or chemical change.
This will illustrate to us whether they grasped
the science content.
Materials: baking soda, vinegar, vegetable oil,
water, water bottles, balloons, plastic spoons,
paper towels, white board, expo markers, trash
bag, iPads, paper, crayons

7. In what ways could you assess students understanding or

Before this lesson, we will bring out the concept

confusion about matter and its interactions

before/during/after instruction?

map to discuss what the students already know

and possible misconceptions that they have
about matter and its interactions. During the
instruction, we will continually question and
discuss their observations and thoughts that
they have. We will also continually ask them if
they have any questions about their
observations and their reasoning for what is
happening during the investigations. In this way,
we can address any confusions and this can lead
us in teachable moments. After the instruction,
we will bring the concept map out again and add
to it with the ideas and concepts they have
learned throughout the investigation. We will
put their new concepts in a different color so
they can visually see how much they have taken
out of the lesson. We will also assess their
explanations about the pictures of matter they
took with the iPad and whether they could
correctly label their illustrations of the
experiments. We will clear up any final
comments or questions during this time as well.