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Lesson Plan: Solids and Liquids

Subject:  Science

Grade: 2

Lesson Objective: To identify the different states of matter

Next Gen Science Standard:  2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties

Starter:

Say:

  • Who can tell me what liquids or solids are?  (Range of answers expected, but students should explain that liquids are something that is wet and solids are something that is hard.)

Main:

Say:

  • You did a great job explaining what you thought liquids and solids were.
  • Today we are going to start talking about something called states of matter.
  • Matter is what is all around us and all matter comes in different forms.
  • Some matter is in the form of liquids, some is in the form of solids and some is in the form of gases.
  • Matter is made from atoms.  Atoms are the smallest particles of matter.  They are so small that you cannot see them!
  • Solid matter has atoms that are packed very tightly together.  Solid things hold their shape all by themselves when they are room temperature.
  • Your desk and pencil are examples of solids.
  • Liquid matter does not keep their shape at room temperature.  Liquids are usually wet.  There is space between atoms in liquids and they are always moving a little.
  • Water and syrup are examples of liquids.
  • Matter in the gas state does not hold its shape and does not stop moving.  The atoms in gases are always moving and are very far apart.
  • You usually cannot see gases.  However, gases take on the shape of the container that they are in.  For example, if you blow up a balloon, gas is what fills up the balloon, so the gas is the same shape as the balloon.
  • The air all around us is an example of gases.
  • Matter can move through the states of matter by changing its temperature.
  • Let us think about water.  Water is a liquid at room temperature.  When you heat water up, it becomes a gas, which you can see as steam.  When you cool water down, it becomes a solid, which is ice.
  • You now know the different states of matter.  You are going to find examples of liquids and solids in real life.
  • You are going to think about the things that you have in your house and look around the room to see what you can find.
  • Write the word “Liquid” at the top of one of your notebook pages.  Write the word “Solid” halfway down the same page.
  • You will write all of the examples down in your notebook.  
  • Does anyone have any questions?

Allow about 10 minutes to identify real life examples of solids and liquids.

Walk around the room and check to be sure that the students are on task and understand what to do.

Feedback:

Say:

  • What examples of liquids did you write down?  (Allow the students to answer.)
  • What examples of solids did you write down?  (Allow the students to answer.) 
  • There are liquids and solids all around us!

 

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

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