“Misconceptions appear across all areas of science and within all age groups.

”
(Gomez-Zwiep, 2008). It is the teacher's role to organize students' ideas and opinions into
accurate knowledge (Gomez-Zwiep, 2008). This report will identify four common
misconceptions in the science of primary students, from Biology and Chemistry. Therefore, it
will challenge students to investigate for more details and learn about the misconceptions.

Biological Misconceptions:
Misconception 1: Non-living things are dead.
Correct answer: Wrong. Because non-living things are things that has never alive to be dead.
This activity will focus on students from grade 1 to grade 3. Commonly, they have no
conception of non-living things. Young students aged 6-8 often find it hard to characterize
living and non-living things. In their minds, anything that can move is described as a living
thing. They may not understand the life cycle, so they reckon non-living things are the same
as dead. Some students think plants are living things because they grow and change every
day. However, some students argue that plants are considered non-living because they cannot
breathe and eat. Children have a naïve thinking that we are dead if we do not breathe and eat.

Before starting the lesson, it is essential to do a bit of warm-up. It is possible to ask students
to list out living and non-living thinks that they can think of on a piece of paper as a group.
By going around the school, they observe and notes down how they look. This activity will
help them express their opinion of what they think about living and non-living things, and the
teacher will have a brief understanding of how the students think. Additionally, the students
can discuss their opinions and argue why they think that way with each other.

The experiment they will be doing is to compare a living goldfish and a goldfish cracker. This
activity will help the students tell if non-living things are dead or if they have never been
alive. Two examples are familiar to the students, one is their favorite snack, and the other
they all have seen a lot. This activity will be carried out in class, the students sit in a large
circle with the goldfish on the middle table, and each student has a goldfish cracker on their
table. There is a possibility that some students might eat the cracker before the experiment
starts. The teacher might permit them to get no more than five goldfish crackers to do the
experiment and caution them not to touch the goldfish. It is essential to give them definitions
of living and non-living things before starting the experiment so that they get a clear
understanding of what they are comparing.
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Experiment 1:
GOLDFISH VS GOLDFISH CRACKER
Examine a live gold fish and a goldfish cracker
Answer the questions below to decide which one is living and which one is non-living

Goldfish cracker
Goldfish
Does it move on its own?
Does it eat and drink?
Does it give birth?
Does it get bigger?
Does it need air?
Conclusion: Living or Non-living
Explain why ____ is living/ non-living

This activity was carried out with two kids aged 5 and 6. A fish ice cream was used in place
of the goldfish cracker with a video of swimming alive goldfish. They were asked to answer
the questions from the table. Two of them all said goldfish is the living thing, and the cracker
is the non-living thing, but they all asked more questions about the goldfish, such as “how
they give birth?” or “how they breathe?”. Making the kids ask questions might be suitable as
they are excited about the topic and want to know more about how a living thing does. They
also ask each other the questions and decide together whether it needs air or not because they
think underwater does not have air. It might be difficult for kids to work with a real goldfish
as they would be fascinated with the fish more than paying attention to the activity. There is a
possibility that they would be very excited about the activity because of the goldfish. More
distinguish questions might be given so that they can think more. Overall, this activity still
needs more improvement points, but the two are very curious about the alive fish and enjoy
their ice creams after the activity. It is better to do the activity with a real fish and a more
similar-looking snack to compare the two things better and see how the kids work with a real
fish.

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Misconception 2: Plants take in water through their leaves.
Correct answer: Wrong. Because plants take in water from the roots.
Plants are one of the most common topics in primary science. They learn about their life
cycle and structure and experience planting seeds. However, students develop misconceptions
about plants, such as grass and flowers are not plants or leaves take in water for the plants to
grow. Teachers must be aware of what the students think and give accurate knowledge. This
activity will focus on students from grade 1 to grade 3. At this age, students usually mistake
each part’s function and do not notice some parts of the plants.

The misconception that “Plants take in water through their leaves” is common among young
students. Many students can identify parts of plants and their functions, but not many of them
notice the roots. Students reckon plants get water through leaves because leaves look like
they reach out to get water, or the roots are unnoticeable to them. Before starting with the
activity, the students can have a chance to list out as many parts of the plants as they know.
This way, teachers will understand how much they know about plants to give them
information about the topic.

The experiment will be watering parts of the plants. The teacher will provide five similar
plants with the same conditions and name the parts they will be watering differently for each
plant. Students will water the parts and observe the plants for four days to see how the plants
change differently compared to others. The whole class will be doing this activity together.
The plants will locate at school, and students will check on them and take note of each plant’s
condition every day. By watering different parts, students will notice significant differences
in each plant and notice if the one watered on the leaves is alive. Within four days, there is a
possibility that some plants might not have a significant change which can make this
experience fail. The teacher also needs to prepare a video of herself trying out the experiment
if the class activity does not work out. The students can then observe each day and note down
the description of the plants.

Experiment 2:
Method: Water the plants on different parts
- 1st pot: Leaves
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 - 2nd pot: Branches
- 3rd pot: Flower
- 4th pot: Roots
- 5th pot: From the very top
HOW PLANTS GROW?
Observe five plants and give description to each plant every day. Note special change.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
Plant 1
Plant 2
Plant 3
Plant 4
Plant 5

Draw where the water goes to help the tree grow and stay healthy (Primary
connections, n.d.).
EXPERIMENT REPORT:
Which one died? Which one is still alive?

Explain why?

Chemistry Misconceptions:
Misconception 1: Feather is not solid (Allen, 2010)
Correct answer: Wrong. Feather is solid because it has form and shape

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Students in primary school are taught to identify solid, gas, and liquid. However, some
objects are hard to classify which one belongs to solid, gas or liquid group. Examples are
feather, power, wool, or fabric. Children reckon that any object being hard is solid, the liquid
is water, and similar to air is gas. Some students might think of power as a liquid as we can
pour and spill power just like water. This is why it is hard for kids to put a feather in the solid
group matter. A teacher must give students a clear definition and characteristic of each matter
and classify different kinds of solid, water, and gas so that children do not mistake the
matters. The teacher may talk more about how the state of matter can change due to
temperature. The activity will focus on students from all grades of primary. Even students of
higher grades easily mistake some objects’ matter.

This misconception “Feather is not solid” is common in every grade in the primary. Students
understand that all solids must be hard and rigid (Allen, 2010). However, they are not taught
to classify soft and hard solids in school. This leads to their misunderstanding of the solid
matter. How The students classify feathers not as a solid as they feel the feather is lightweight
and soft while solid objects are hard. The feather is solid as it has its form and shape.
Therefore, the feather is considered a solid object.

The activity will compare objects of all states and describe their appearance and
characteristics to identify their matter. To help the children classify the objects, it is best to
give children a clear, simple definition and examples of each definition. The activity will be
carried out in class, and students get to classify every object in their class and group them up.
Using examples that are familiar to the students will help students understand better and be
more precise. Lightweight objects like feathers might confuse them as they do not know
where to classify feathers. After the activity, the teacher must give a clear definition of each
matter and let the students group the objects again.

Experiment 1:
Solid or Not Solid
Look at your list of solid objects. Give description of each object’s appearance in the table.
Solid Non-solid
Bag: rectangle, black, has buttons Feather: light, soft, beige color
Pencil: long, sharp, black Milk: white, watery, sweet

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Table: hard, heavy, circle Cloud: white, fluffy, big
Give similarities and differences of the two column and explain why feather is a non-solid but
not a solid object.

Misconception 2: When an object burns, it will disappear (Allen, 2010).

Correct answer: Wrong. They don’t disappear, they just change into another form.
When going on a barbeque picnic, children are fascinated by how big charcoal chunks are
and reduce their size to small pieces or even turn them into ash. They might ask their parents
what happened to the charcoal, and the parents tell them the charcoal is burnt and
disappeared. It can be times when they see the burnt paper, it becomes small pieces or even
lose its form of paper. Some students think that the burnt charcoal and paper have turned into
gas that rises when the charcoal and paper are burnt. Some may think they disappear in the air
like they do in magic.

The misconception “When an object burns, it will disappear” is often mistaken as true. The
reason is that students see a different form of the objects and reckon that the original object
disappears. Teachers must give kids information “if you weigh what you start with and what
you end up with, these values will be identical because matter can be neither lost nor created”
(Allen, 2010). Like charcoal, wood also gets “eaten up” by the flames and turns into ash. It is
explained that “The particles that makeup wood and oxygen have been rearranged during
combustion to make new materials, carbon dioxide and water.” (Allen, 2010). If burning
takes place in a container, it is easier to weigh the before and after of the object and see if the
object disappears. It is essential that the teacher thoroughly explains the definition and carries
out the experiment safely to see the results. The final result will prove the definition, and
children may participate happily in class,

The activity will be burning candles in a container with a lid and weighing them before and
after burning (Allen, 2010). Candles are ubiquitous with kids. Some kids may ask why
candles get smaller when burning candles and where the wax goes. For safety, the teacher
will carry out the experiment, and students will observe the process and take note of notable
changes in the candles. After the candles melt, some students may predict the weight will not
be the same because the gas may add weight to the container. Others believe the weight is the

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same as they can not escape from the container. There is a possibility that the result can be
different by a few grams and may not be persuasive enough for the children.

Experiment 2:
Same or Different Weight
Fill in the table as you observe the process. Note down any special changes
Weight of the candle Description of the candle

Steps in the experiment:

- Put the candle in the jar
- Light up the candle
- Put on the lid immediately

Final Report
After-weight of the candle Description of the candle

Special changes of the candle:

After-weight after open the lid Explain why the weight is still the same

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 References

Additional information for teachers Background information. (n.d.).

http://scienceweb.asta.edu.au/verve/_resources/asta_3-2-1_bi_non-living_yr3-4_v1-2.

pdf

Allen, M. (2010). Misconceptions in primary science. Open University Press.

Gomez-Zwiep, S. (2008). Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of Students’ Science

Misconceptions: Implications for Practice and Teacher Education. Journal of Science

Teacher Education, 19(5), 437–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-008-9102-y

Innovate-to-Educate Store. (n.d.). Teachers Pay Teachers. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Innovate-to-educate-Store

Mitchell, I. (n.d.). Primary Connections: Linking science with literacy.

Www.primaryconnections.org.au.

https://www.primaryconnections.org.au/themes/custom/connections/assets/SBR/data/c

oncepts/bio.htm

Primary connections. (n.d.). Growing well | Primary Connections.

Www.primaryconnections.org.au.

https://www.primaryconnections.org.au/resources-and-pedagogies/curriculum-units/gr

owing-well

Victoria State Government. (2019). Living things. Vic.gov.au; Education and Training.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/scienc

e/continuum/Pages/livingthings.aspx