States of Matter

Alli Schie
Lesson Rationale
Students need to understand the concept of matter and know the different properties of
solids, liquids, and gasses to know what purpose they serve and how to use different matter in
different situations.
READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standards
a. Goal- Students will discover the properties of solids, liquids, and gasses.
b. Objectives-
i. Students will be able to explain the difference between a solid, a gas, and a
liquid.
ii. Students will be able to identify different solids, liquids, and gasses that
they see in their own lives.
iii. Students will be able to give examples of changes in matter.
c. Standard-
i. 2.PS.1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different
kinds of materials by their observable properties.
ii. 2.PS.2 Predict the result of combining solids and liquids in pairs. Mix,
observe, gather, record, and discuss evidence of whether the result may
have different properties than the original materials.
II. Management Plan
a. Time:
 Anticipatory set- 10 minutes
 Lesson Presentation- 25 minutes
 Closure- 5 minutes
 Assessment- 5 minutes
b. Space: Students will be on the carpet for the anticipatory set and I will use the
table beside me for all of my materials and the demonstration. Then, students will
go to their assigned seats after they have their Root Beer floats.
c. Materials:
 Mystery bag
 Ice
 Salt
 Sugar
 Milk
 Vanilla
 Baggies
 Spoons
 Cups
  Root Beer
 Water
 Cup
 Bowl
 Exit Slips
d. Expectations: I will expect students to be safe during this experiment and follow
rules closely. I will often tell students that they need to pay close attention in
order to know what to do. I expect students to participate in discussion and make
observations. Since this experiment takes some time with shaking and when Mrs.
Johnson and I divide the icecream, I will pose a question for them to think about
and discuss so that their time is not wasted during the procedures.
III. Anticipatory Set- I will tell students, “So I brought my mystery bag today and I’m
going to pull some objects out and sort them into three groups. As I sort these, we are
going to pretend to be scientists. So, I want you all to act as scientists and investigate
as I sort these items”. I will sort the items into groups of solids, liquids, and gasses.
“Okay scientists, what do you notice about these three groups?” I will allow students
to answer.
IV. Purpose: “Today we are going to explore different states of matter so that we know
how liquids, solids, and gasses work in the real world and why they are important to
us, such as breathing air, drinking water, and eating solid foods”.
PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
V. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
 My student with ADHD will be able to experience the stimulant he needs by
watching an intriguing demonstration and being able to make his own
icecream.
 My student with Autism will be given step by step instructions along with a
written schedule of what we will be doing in class.
 My students will all be able to participate in an engaging activity and will be
able to explore/ask questions at varying levels based upon their needs.
VI. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)
a. I will begin by going through my powerpoint and defining solids, liquids, and
gasses and giving authentic examples for each. Then, I will allow students to
come up with some examples of their owns. Then, I will pose the question, “How
can we change something from one state of matter to another?” I will allow
students to discuss. Then I will say, “Lets make a hypothesis, how can we change
something from one state of matter to another?” Then, I will write a few student’s
hypothesizes on the whiteboard.
b. “I know I’ve been telling you all that we could make Root Beer floats today and I
brought the Root Beer but I forgot the icecream at home. But… Wait… I think I
have an idea. I have some ingredients here in my bag.” I will pull out milk, sugar,
vanilla, ice, and salt and discuss the states of matter of each ingredient. “Maybe
we can make some icecream out of these ingredients, what do you think? Talk to
 the person beside you. Do you think we can make icecream out of this? Why or
why not?” I will then allow a few students to share their answer. “Well, lets find
out!” I will pour the milk, vanilla, and sugar into a small plastic baggie. “Does
this look like icecream? Do you think this can be turned into icecream? How?” I
will allow students to answer. I will then put ice and salt into a larger plastic
baggie. “What if I add some ice and salt?” Then I will tell students to talk to their
partner about how they think this will turn into icecream or why they don’t think
it will turn into icecream as I put the smaller baggie into the ice and salt baggie,
push out all the air, and shake the baggies. I will have students hypothesize. Then,
I will grab their attention, take the smaller baggie out, grab a spoon, pull some
icecream out and take a bite and exclaim “It worked! We can make our Root Beer
floats!”
c. While students are on the carpet, after my demonstration, I will begin to talk
about solids, liquids, and gasses. “We started with a liquid and ended with a solid,
why do you think that happened?” I will allow students to answer and then I will
explain that “when we take heat away or make a liquid cold, the liquid can change
to a solid. It’s like freezing water to make icecubes. This is called freezing
something. We freeze something or take away heat and it becomes a solid. Do
you think that we could change this icecream back into a liquid? How?” I will
allow students to answer. “If we do the opposite and add heat to a solid, it will
change into a liquid. This is called melting. It’s like melting an icecube or a
snowman.” “A solid keeps its shape and size. It’s like this chair. You can’t change
the shape or size of this chair. But a liquid keeps its size, but not it’s shape. So if
we poured this water from this cup into this bowl, (I will pour water from a cup to
a bowl) the water takes the shape of the bowl. It changes it’s shape. What about a
gas? Can anyone give me an example of a gas?” I will allow students to answer.
“Steam is a gas. You know when someone is cooking in the kitchen sometimes it
looks like there is smoke coming off of the pots that you are cooking in? That’s
actually just water in the form of a gas. When we add heat to a liquid it becomes a
gas, like turning water into water vapor. This is called evaporation. But, we can
also turn water vapor back into water but taking away heat or condensing the gas.
A gas does not keep its size or shape. A gas spreads out. It takes up all the space
that it can. The air that we breathe is also a gas. It spreads out all over the place
and that is why we are able to breathe anywhere we go.” I will also be drawing
the molecules of solids, liquids, and gasses as I am explaining.
d. “I am going to let you all make your own icecream. While you are making your
icecream, I want you to think about some other experiments that you can do to see
change from solid to liquid, like popsicles, from liquid to solid, like icecream, and
even try to think of some things that can change from gas to liquid or from liquid
to gas like water”. I will then have the students pair up and I will call them by
partners up to get their baggies that have been pre-filled. I will have them take
turns shaking the baggies. I will instruct them to switch turns every minute for 6
 minutes. As they are shaking, I will be watching to make sure everyone is safe
and there are no messes being made.
e. After 6 minutes of shaking, I will say “Okay, I think we are ready to make our
Root Beer floats. What do you think? Does your icecream look solid?” Then I
will have Mrs. Johnson help me equally divide their icecreams into the cups. I
will have the others who are waiting to get their icecream divided examine their
icecream and see what properties they notice. Once students have a cup of
icecream, they will be instructed to go back to their assigned seats at their tables.
Then I will walk around and poor Root Beer in their cups while they discuss as a
class what they examined or any questions that they might have. I will tell them to
wait to begin eating thing float until everyone has one. Then I will say, “I noticed
something really cool about our Root Beer floats. They all have a solid, a liquid,
and a gas in them! Let’s try to identify what is what. So what’s the solid? What’s
the liquid? Who thinks they know what the gas is?” I will allow students to
answer. If they need help I will give them hints such as, “remember, it will take
up as much space as it can.” Then I will tell them that the bubbles or foam at the
top from the Root Beer is carbonation. Those bubbles are made from carbon
dioxide which is a gas and it is found in all different sodas. That is what makes
the sodas fizzy and bubbly when you pour them.”
VII. Check for Understanding- I will be formatively assessing as students discuss and
answer my questions throughout the lesson. If students are not understanding, I will
explain the concept in a different way or clear up any misconceptions. When students
give an answer or discuss, I will ask them why they think that so that they can explain
their understanding and I will know if they truly get the concept that I am teaching.
VIII. Review Learning Outcomes/ Closure- As students are enjoying their Root Beer floats,
I will ask questions such as “Who can define a solid? Who can define a liquid? Who
can define a gas? Or What are the molecules like in a solid/liquid/gas? What do we
add to change a solid to a liquid? What do we remove to change a liquid to a solid?
What do we do to change a liquid to a gas? Etc..”
PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT
To assess students, I will give them the exit slip provided in which they will label the
states of matter in a rootbeer float and explain how states of matter change.
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Did students follow the safety rules implemented and handle the experiment well? Why
or why not?
8. Were students curious about the topic and asking questions?
9. Did students participate in meaningful discussion? Why or why not?