Julia Coston

Solids, Liquids, and Gases Lesson Plan

LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson is important because students need to be able to show, from what they know
about solids and liquids, how they know that something is a liquid and therefore is not a solid. It
is important for students to be able to go through trials and errors to get the accurate result that
furthers their learning about solids and liquids.
READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal: The students should be able to separate solids and liquids based on the properties
they possess.
B. Objective:
 After finishing the solids and liquids experiment, students should be able to
separate solids and liquids based on their physical properties.
 Students in their groups, after doing the experiment, will be able to communicate
why predictions are so important.
C. Standard:
1.PS.2: Predict and experiment with methods to separate solids and liquids based on their
physical properties.
SEPS.3: Constructing and Performing Investigations
II. Management Plan
a. Time: 1 hour 20 minutes total
 5 minutes: Anticipatory Set
 10 minutes: Introduction
 35 minutes: Solids and Liquids Experiment
 5 minutes: Whole class Chart
 5 minutes: Exit slip
b. Space: The classroom – desks, tables around the room
c. Materials: PowerPoint, extra solids and liquids, pairs of shoes, Legos, toy cars,
liquid glue, milk, slime, boxes, recording sheets, whiteboard markers
d. Behaviors: This lesson is a very hands-on, collaborative, and talkative lesson. The
students are more free and expressive during this lesson which should help with
behavior problems. In terms of the experiment itself, I give instruction on how to
behave and what I expect during that time. I also give clear instructions that the
experiment is a privilege and can be taken away from those who do not follow the
rules.
III. Anticipatory Set:
a. Yesterday we got to learn about the states of matter, which are solids, liquids,
and gases. At the end of that lesson we made a human model of the particles in
each state of matter. Can I have a few volunteers show me what the particles in a
solid would look like? The teacher will call on a few raised hands so they can
demonstrate for the class. If the way they are showing the particles does not look
completely right to you then you can help them from your seats. Once they are in
place I will ask, Why do particles look like this in a solid? Anyone can answer this
 question. I will have someone answer for the class and then have them all sit back
down. I will go through the same procedure for liquids and gases. You guys did a
great job with the review about solids, liquids, and gases.
IV. Purpose:
a. Today, we will be furthering our study in what solids and liquids are NOT gases.
We will be predicting and experimenting with both liquids and solids. We
experiment so we can fully understand what we are learning about and find the
importance and value in our result

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation
 My typical early finishers will be put in a group with students I know need a little more
guidance and help. My early finishers tend to be the ones who understand the learning
well and so I am hoping that they can help the students in their group who understand
less and can help them get the experiment done more efficiently.
 For my student with ADHD, the experiment is very hands on and can be messy. I will let
the student know ahead of time what we are doing in class so they are able to focus better
during that time. I am also hoping that the interactive and collaborative environment of
the lesson with help the student succeed in this lesson.
 For my student who struggles with reading and writing, the worksheet they have to fill
out will be filled out with their group and there is the option of drawing put on the
worksheet as well. I read the instructions for the whole class before they start the
experiment to make sure everyone understands. There is not much reading involved in
this lesson, and the only writing part would be the student’s exit slip, which he is allowed
to come tell me what he learned and I can write it for him.

VI.Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

 Introduction for Solids and Liquids
o I’m am now going to be walking around putting a few items on people’s desks.
Do not touch the item put on your desk until I call your name and it is your turn. I
will walk around and put a solid on two people’s desks and a liquid on two
people’s desk. Okay, Chris. I have put something on your desk can you tell me
what it is? I have put a hardcover children’s book on his desk. Yes, that’s right!
Now if I were to ask you if it were a solid or a liquid what would you say? Okay!
So it’s a solid, but how do you know? Can I put this book in a cup? Can I bend it
to fit it in something? Yeah I can, but then it would be messed up right? Yeah
okay thank you Chris! Now Lesleigh, what did I put on your table? I put a juice
box on her table. Can you tell me if the stuff inside is a solid or a liquid? Okay!
How do you know? Could I take it out and put it in a glass? Will it stay in my
hand well if I try to hold the juice? I will give her prompting questions like this so
she as well starts thinking about the physical attributes of a liquid. I will then go
on to ask the other two students about the items on their desks. (They have tomato
sauce and a Barbie doll).
o Both solids and liquids have physical characteristics that help us know if what we
are looking at is a solid or a liquid. A physical characteristic is something defines
what I am looking at, so I could say that I know Lesleigh is Lesleigh because she
 always has long brown hair, that is a physical characteristic that defines a part of
Lesleigh. So solids and liquids have things that define them as being a solid or
liquid. I will pull up my PowerPoint to show them. I will read what is off the first
slide for them that talks about solids. Solids have a definite shape and definite
volume. This means that the shape they are in cannot be easily changed and it has
a specific amount of space it takes up in a container. One example I put up on the
slide is strawberries. Can anyone tell me why strawberries are a solid based on
their physical characteristics? I will let a couple students answer. Right! My next
picture now is of a bed. How can both a strawberry and a bed be solids? I will
give students time to think and answer. Great! Exactly! The rules still apply to
both when we talk about solids. They both have a specific shape that cannot be
changed and if the shape does not fit in something the object will not fit.
o Now how about liquids? Liquids have NO definite or specific shape, but they do
take up a certain amount of space if you put them in something like a container.
My first picture is of water. How do I know water is a liquid? I will give students
time to answer. Okay! Great! Now have about coca cola? It takes and looks
different than water, but is it still a liquid? Why? Again I will give students to
time to answer. Yes! Exactly! Both are liquids because they can take on the shape
of any container and occupy that space and if they are not in something they
flows out and does not stay in one place.
 Solids and Liquids Experiment
o Now using what we just learned about solids and liquids and their
characteristics, we are going to do a little experiment. There are 6 stations
around the room with 6 items on each. You will be put into groups to try and find
out which of these items are solids and which are liquids. I will first put you into
your groups of three and then have you go to your tables before explaining
further. I will put up the slide with all of their names on it, the group they are in
and what table they are at. Do not touch anything at the tables, keep your focus
here on me. As I said earlier, we will be experimenting to find out which of the
items is a solid and which are liquids. We will be doing so based on what we
know about the physical characteristics of a solid and liquid and we just
practiced earlier which should help. With experimenting comes predicting and
predicting just means that we are going to be guessing what the result will be
before we do the experiment. So I can look at an item we used earlier, I pick up
the Barbie, and I just by looking at this item I take in what I know already and
guess what I think she might be and I guess a solid from what I already know. So
now I want you to do the same. In your groups, on the paper I’m handing out
now, predict how many will be solids and how many will be liquids, and which
ones which. I will go around an pass out the papers they will use for this
experiment. They will get 5 minutes to predict.
o Okay! Now that you have all predicted it is time to do the actual experiment.
 On the tables are: liquid glue, slime, bottled milk, boxes and jars, toy cars,
Legos, and a shoe
 Also on their tables are: sieves for the objects they have
o On the worksheet I have passed out it has the instructions for what you are going
to be doing. I will read them once through with the class and then you will
 required to do what the instructions say with your partners. I will let you know
now that nothing in front of you is a toy or something to play with. You are doing
a science experiment and I expect for you to be respectful to your partners.
Respectful to the stuff in front of you, and cautious about what you are doing. No
messing around or I will have you do something else. I will have a timer going to
let you know how many minutes you have left to do this experiment and remember
you are filling out the whole worksheet with your partners. You have 30 minutes
total. I will set the 30 minute timer and will be walking around to help with
clarification and with the experiment in general.

VII. Check for understanding:

a. Solids and Liquids Class Chart
i. Once the timer has gone off I will have all the students clean up their
station and come sit back at their desks. I will have a big chart with
sections for each group written on the whiteboard. Now we are going to be
documenting the what we learned from our experiment on this large chart.
On the last question on your worksheet. It told you to write the names of
which items you found to be solids and which you found to be liquids. Then
it asks you if your prediction was correct or not. I want to hear from one
member of each group what they learned and found out from this
experiment. I will write what I hear from each group in their section of my
chart before talking to the whole class again. Okay! Now that our chart is
finished can you all see the similarities in what we learned and found out?
Can you all also see some differences, maybe in what we predicted or
whether we were right or not? Right, exactly! Predictions help us grow
and gives us a place to start when we are doing experiment we have a little
bit of knowledge on. It lets us build from what we know already. After this
discussion, I will have the students bring me their group papers they filled
out.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure

Once I have all the papers from them I will get their attention focused on me again. To finish the
science lesson today I am going to have you all write a short sentence to me telling me
something you learned about predictions today or something more you learned about solids and
liquids. I will pass out blank half sheets of paper to the class. Do not forget to write your name
on your paper and when you are done please come hand it to me.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Formative:
I will be using the review during the anticipatory set and the participation during the introduction
to today’s lesson to help me see who is catching on to the learning.
During the experiment, I will be constantly walking around to each group observing what they
are doing, what they seem to be learning, etc.
When we all come together to fill out the chart I will be assessing what each group has decided is
the final outcome from the experiment. I will also be using their exit slip info to find out how the
lesson went from each student individually.
Summative:
The worksheet that the students worked on in their groups will be the summative assessment for
the lesson. I will be grading it on completion of the experiment and on completion of the
worksheet. I will be an individual grade but each group member will receive the same grade.

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. I wanted the students to practice observing an item and logically thinking why it could
be a solid of liquid. Did having that modeling time during the introduction help them
when it came time to do it in groups?
8. How beneficial was the worksheet? Did it help the students through the process of the
experiment and was it beneficial as evidence of learning for me as the teacher?
9. Was having the individual exit slips helpful to know the overall understanding of the
lesson for the class? Will I have to reteach this lesson a different way?