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Grade___2_________

Concept/Topic(s)__States of Matter
(Solids)_____________________________________Time Needed ____30
minutes____

Background Information

Rationale:
The students are learning about the states of matter and properties of solids in their core
classroom. Teaching this lesson will facilitate their use of academic vocabulary required
to discuss the topic, and promote their understanding of the content. My goal is to pre-
teach the academic language, which the students will need to access the content in their
science lessons, and to prepare them for more in-depth learning of the properties of solids
in their classroom.

Essential Questions
Do solids keep their shape if you place them in different containers? Does a solid object
remain solid if it is broken into pieces?

Objectives:
The students will be able to conclude and explain that solids keep their shape if placed in
different containers, and that solid object remains a solid if it is broken. They will be able
to support their reasoning by the evidence from the experiment they do during the lesson.

Standards:
Common Core:
2 P 2 Understanding properties of solids and liquids and the properties they undergo.
WIDA: language of Science

Prior Knowledge/Connections:
The students are expected to know the concept of matter and that matter can be in three
states: solids, liquids and gases, because they learned this in the previous lessons. They
are able to name examples of solids and their properties. They will know content area
vocabulary such as property, matter, solid, liquid, and adjectives to describe solids
(smooth/rough, hard/soft, edible, etc.) This lesson will continue the topic of solids,
adding to the students’ understanding of their essential characteristics. I will refer to the
graphic organizer (wall chart), which I have been creating together with the students to
remind them of what they have already learned about solids and their properties.

Differentiation:
I will facilitate communication and collaboration between the students by assigning
partners and providing time to discuss ideas in small groups before sharing with the
whole group. Students will learn new concepts by various means: listening to the text
online, having a discussion with others and using real objects, so that each learner can
process new information in the way that is best for him or her.

Materials/Resources:
Graphic organizer to refer back to previously learned concepts and vocabulary.
A video presentation from HomeschoolPop.com (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=nbfloBQnpK8)
Handout for the experiment
Assessment cloze activity handout
Chocolate
Chalk
Paper
Small bowls and cups
Paper towels and wipes
Pencils
Document Camera

Implementation
Lesson Introduction/Hook:
I will remind the students of the scavenger hunt they did during the previous lesson, and
ask them what they learned about the properties of solids and how they learned it (by
seeing and touching objects in the room). I will show them the new objects, which will be
used in the experiment (chocolate, chalk, paper) and ask what they think we will do with
these objects today.

Lesson Development
The students choral-read the objective for the lesson.
I ask what they remember about the properties of solids from the previous lesson. (What
objects did we find in the room? What properties did they have?)
We look at the new objects on the table (chocolate, chalk, paper). What do you think we
will do with them today?
We watch and listen to the video about solids. Students talk to each other in groups/pairs
about the most important information they learned from the video (solids have their own
shape).

Experiment.
Students are in pairs or small groups. They get containers (a bowl and a cup) and pieces
of materials (chocolate, chalk, paper). Do these objects have shape? Did the shape change
since the beginning of the lesson? Can we change it? How?
Students focus on the first object, a piece of chocolate. They discuss with their
partner(s) the properties of chocolate and what it looks like. They get the paper handout
for the experiment, write their name and complete the part that asks them what chocolate
looks like.
Students wipe their hands and place the chocolate in the bowl. Did its shape change?
Next, they place it in a cup. Did the shape change? They complete the second column
about the chocolate.
The students each break off a piece of chocolate. We discuss what has changed. Does the
chocolate have the same shape? Does it still have a shape? Is it still chocolate? Is it still a
solid? Students complete the last column about the chocolate.
Students repeat the same steps with the paper and chalk.
Students discuss with their partner(s) how to complete the 2 sentences at the bottom. We
share our answers as a group.
If time permits, students do the writing activity (cloze text) individually as an assessment
and share the answers with the group.
Students eat the chocolate and line up to leave.

Concluding the Lesson/Closure/Debriefing


I will ask the students what they learned about the solids from their experiment and check
for understanding.

Assessment Plan:

The students will be able to express orally that solids keep their shape, that we can
change their shape by breaking them, and that solids still remain solids if we break them.
They will use the words “solid”, “shape”, “container”. They will be able to complete the
bottom part of the handout with the missing words, stating in writing that solids do not
change when you put them in different containers. They will individually complete the
cloze activity, filling in the missing words.

Follow-up Activities:

Add the new information about the solids to a graphic organizer.


In the following lessons, students will listen and read about liquids, and learn that, unlike
solids, liquids take the shape of the container. We will refer back to today’s experiment to
compare and contrast solids and liquids.

See handout on the next page

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