Title: What is the World Made of? All about Solids, Liquids and Gases.

Author: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfield

Publisher/year: Harper Collins Publishers / 1998

ISBN: 0-06-027143-4

Grade Levels: Fifth Grade- (Could be modified to include third-fifth grades.)

TEK: 5.5 Matter and energy. The student knows that matter has measureable physical properties and those properties determine how matter is classified, changed and used.

The student is expected to:

A: Classify matter based on physical properties, including mass, magnetism, physical state (solid, liquid, and gas), relative density (sinking and floating), solubility in water and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal energy or electric energy.

Summary: This story presents the science concept of matter in a simple way. It informs the reader about the three states of matter; solids, liquids and gases. It presents the concepts in topics and items that children can relate too, like the wind blowing to represent gas, building blocksto represent solids and ice cubes to represent when liquids change to solids. It also provides activities that children can do to really connect with the concepts. For example one of the activities is spraying a bottle of perfume to show the concept of gas. This book is a fun way for students to learn about the states of matter.

Materials Needed:

-Paper

-Pencils

-Scissors

-Computer

-Book

-Rope (1 rope per group of 4 or 5 students)

Activity:

  1. Read the story, pausing to discuss key concepts in the book about solids, liquids and gases.
  2. Pass out paper and have the students make a tri-fold with the paper. The students will label each outside flap either solid, liquids or gases.
  3. On the inside top flap the students will draw a picture of the molecules in a solid, liquid or gas.
  4. On the bottom inside flap they will write the definitions of the solid liquid and gas.
  5. Have the student’s watch the study jams video to complete any information they may be missing on their tri-fold.
  6. When the tri-folds are complete hand out one rope to each group of students. Students will stand up while holding onto the rope.
  7. The teacher will call out a solid, liquid or gas, such as orange juice, Then the students must decide if the item called is a solid, liquid, or gas and then move according to how the molecules would move in that state.
  8. The teacher will call several items out for students to practice.

Additional resources:

Adapted by: Shelley Floyd, 2010