Properties of Matter
Part 1: Characteristic Properties of Matter
Lesson 1
Our Ideas About Matter
Students engage in a circuit of eight mini-inquiries to observe and question how matter behaves.
3. Lesson Set-up and Management
INQB Work collaboratively with other students to carry out the investigations.
INQC Communicate results using pictures, tables…and text that are clear, accurate, and informative.
APPH Describe scientific or technological contributions to society by people in various cultures.
- Matter is what all things are made of.
3. Lesson Set-Up and Management
Materials:
- Inquiry 1.1: A 1-liter bottle or standard drinking bottle may be used in place of the 2-liter bottle called for in the materials list.
- Inquiry 1.2: You do not need to spend time baking the sphere and cube out of clay. You can use any different-shaped objects of similar size that will fit in a graduated cylinder. The purpose is only to find out if students are familiar with how and why to make these basic measurements.
- Inquiry 1.4: Students may ask what a pure substance is when they are trying to answer the question on the card. Do not tell them the definition. This stage of learning is for collecting student preconceptions. They should answer questions based only on their initial understanding of these concepts.
- Inquiry 1.5: It is not advised for students to clean out the potassium permanganate solution after completing this inquiry. As the teacher guide indicates, this solution permanently stains. It may be simpler for you to provide a clean tray for the next group and dispose of the solution on your own.
- Inquiry 1.7: Test the squashed pan to make sure it sinks in water. Smash it with a hammer if necessary. You need to make sure there is no air space inside.
- Inquiry 1.8: This station takes the longest. Warn students they really need to move along when working on this inquiry. Students often remove the thermometer when they drop the tablet in, even though it is not in the procedure. They need to keep the thermometer in the test tube and observe carefully. The decrease in temperature (which they should observe without prompting) is only 1-2 degrees Celsius.
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Writing Support:
- This is a great introductory lesson for setting up your expectations for student notebooks. Students will be asked to record their thoughts, data in organized tables, and labeled diagrams. You may want to set a standard for a table of contents or lesson tabs, page headings, organization of notes/procedure steps.
Reading Support:
- This introductory lesson is very student-focused. Students will work in pairs to read and follow procedure steps. Pairing below grade level readers with confident readers is recommended.
- What is Matter? Important vocabulary is reinforced in this reading. The questions lead students to think about ideas in Lesson 2
- Where Did Matter Come From? This reading makes connections to the development of scientific theories over time, cultural connections, and connections to technology.
Math Support:
- Students will need to make accurate measurements of volume and temperature in this lesson. They will record units of measurement and make simple calculations
Last updated 12/14/2010