Lesson Three: Interactive Activity on the States of Matter (hands-on, use of technology)

Time Frame: 45-50 minutes

Objectives:

-  The students will be able to describe how the physical properties of objects sometimes change when one object chemically combines with another.

-  The students will use technology to explain how matter changes in both chemical and physical ways

Materials: computer, internet access, paper, pencil, Animation Maker

Procedure:

1.  Tell the students that they are going to continue learning about the states of matter by using the computers. Make sure the students understand the rules and procedures that need to be followed when they use the computers and the internet.

2.  Put the students into groups of three or four and give them a sheet of directions about the interactive activity that they will be doing. Tell the students that they will work at their own pace, but must finish the activity within 50 minutes.

3.  The first step on the list of directions requires the students to watch the Brainpop video States of Matter. This is found on the website http://www.brainpop.com/science/matter/statesofmatter/index.weml and this gives the students an overall review on what matter is. Brainpop is an educational site for kids that provide lessons, activities and animated videos for kids to preview.

4.  After the video the students will view three websites. The first site is www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_intro.html. This provides a description of matter and the physical and chemical changes that cause it to change. The second site is www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_states.html. This site provides visuals on the different states of matter. The last site the students will be previewing is www.nyu.edu/pages.mathmol/textbook/whatismatter.html. This site describes the properties of matter and the changes they go through. This site interacts with the students because it asks them to type in the answers to questions throughout the page. After the students explore these three sites, they will fill out a short worksheet with their group assessing how much information they obtained. The questions on the worksheet include:

  1. What is matter?
  2. What are two ways matter can change? What does this mean?
  3. Explain and give an example of each type of change.
  4. What are the four main states of matter?
  5. What is all matter made up of?
  6. What is another name for a state (not Illinois or California)
  7. People describe objects in many ways using size, shape, colors and textures. Describe these two objects using these characteristics. Object 1: bowl filled with oranges Object 2: Wrapped birthday present (The pictures are on the last website).
  8. What do properties describe?
  9. Describe the next three objects using properties. (The pictures are on the last website).

5.  Next, the groups will visit the States of Water web site, http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/slg.html to explore the different states of water. On this site there is an activity the students perform where they dry off their hands and feel their palm noting whether it is wet or dry. Then they hold their hand in front of their mouth, about an inch away from them, and breath slowly eight times on the palm of their hand. Now feel their hand again and note whether it is wet or dry. This will help them understand the concept of water vapor.

6.  After the students have explored the various sites and completed the worksheet, they will discuss in a group the results and what they learned.

Assessment: The students will turn in their completed worksheet and write in their journal how they used various aspects of technology to enhance their understanding of the changes and states of matter.

Lesson Three Extension: Animation Maker

Time Frame: 2-3 class periods, 50 minutes each

Each group of students will use Animation Maker to create an animation that shows the three states of water and how each changes from one state to another.\

1.  A liquid to a solid

2.  A solid to a liquid

3.  A solid to a gas

A paragraph should be typed underneath the animation describing what can be seen in the animation. The students should then create an animation that shows a chemical change and an animation that shows a physical change. Within these animations the students should write the following information in paragraph form.

Describe the physical properties of the object before the change.

Describe the change that is taking place and why that change is either physical or chemical.

Describe the physical properties of the object after the change.

Explain why the change may or may not have caused the physical properties to change.

The students should already have practice using animation maker. This can be downloaded at http://vse-online.com/. The kids animation maker is a beginner-level animation tool that allows kids to create their own computer animations quickly and easily. It allows children to develop their creativity and improve their painting skills. They also are able to translate their ideas into animations.

Assessment: This assessment will focus on their own presentation of their animation using Animation Maker

3 / 2
Mechanics / All sentences are spelled correctly with correct punctuation / Most sentences are spelled correctly with correct punctuation / Few or no sentences are spelled correctly with correct punctuation
Animations / All the animations are included with the correct descriptions underneath / At least three animations are included with somewhat correct descriptions underneath / Less than three animations are included with incorrect descriptions underneath
Overall Appearance / The animations are neat and orderly / The animations are somewhat neat and orderly / The animations are carelessly made and sloppy

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