Overview of Lessons

During the course of this unit, students will engage in authentic scientific studies of solids
and liquids. Students will learn vocabulary words associated with scientific explorations, as well
as vocabulary associated specifically with the content of solids and liquids. We will introduce the
unit by raising the question of who can be a scientist and correct the possible misconception that
first graders cannot be scientists. Students will learn to differentiate between solids and liquids
by thinking about their definitions and properties. Throughout the course of the unit, students
will be reminded that the culminating activity of the unit will require them to use their
knowledge of solids and liquids to decide what state of matter a specific object is. To conclude
the unit, students will be asked to determine whether Oobleck is a solid and/or a liquid based on
their observations. Students will be expected to use their knowledge of the properties and
definitions of solids and liquids in order to make their decision.
Lesson 1: What Is A Scientist?
In this lesson, students will explore who can be scientists and what scientists do to be
scientists. When asked to imagine scientists, most students may share that they imagined an old
man with glasses and crazy white hair surrounded by science tools in a science lab. This lesson
will work to correct the misconception that this is the only type of scientist that exists. Students
will learn that scientists ask questions about their world and use the scientific method to help
them answer these questions. Students will watch a Brain Pop video on making observations
before they complete two observation activities, one on student observations and the other on
liquid observations. To conclude this lesson, students will create their very own lab coat craft and
on it, they will explain how they are scientists too.
Lesson 2: Defining the Properties of Liquids
Using liquids in bottles as examples, teachers and students will develop the words
colored, viscous, foamy, transparent, translucent, fluid and bubbly to describe
what they saw in the previous lesson. Teachers will go over an anchor chart with the terms and
definitions. This chart will hang in the classroom for reference throughout the unit. At their seats,
students will complete a worksheet where they will have to pair the vocabulary term with a
picture that matches in order to reinforce these terms.
Lesson 3: Liquid Level Exploration
Inordertobegintheinvestigationofliquidlevels,theteacherwillaskstudentstoshut
theireyesandthinkaboutabottleofliquidbeingtippeddifferentways.Teacherswillencourage
studentstothinkabouthowtheliquidlevelwouldlookatdifferentangles.Studentswillthen
workincenterstoexplorethisconceptfurther.TheInvestigationcenterwillworkinpairsto
investigatetheliquidlevelsofonevialofwaterinvariouscontainers.Theywillrecordtheliquid
levelsonaworksheet.StudentsattheWaterLevelinaBottlecenterwillobservetheliquid
levelofabottleofliquidatdifferentangles.Thestudentswillrecordtheirfindingsona

worksheet.StudentsattheAtYourSeatcenterwillcompletetheMeasuringLiquidsLevel
worksheet,whichwillrequirethemtocompareliquidlevels.StudentsattheComputerscenter
willplayPBSKidsCanYouFillItgametoworkwithfillingcontainersandobservingtheir
liquidlevels.
Lesson 4: Liquids Mixed With Water
Students will observe different liquids in bottles. The students will make predictions and
take notes of whey they think will happen to each liquid when it is mixed with water. The
students will then pour water into the bottle, shake it up, and observe what happened to the
liquids. Some liquids may mix completely and some liquids may form layers. The students will
takes notes of what happened to the different liquids after mixing them with water.
Lesson5:IceExplorationandPhysicalChanges
Studentswillworkincenterstolearnaboutphysicalchanges.Atthesidetablecenter,
studentswillmakepredictionsaboutwhattheycandotohelpspeedupthephysicalchangeof
meltingice.Attheatyourseatcenter,studentswillworkonaworksheetwheretheywillhave
toidentifythephysicalchangethathasoccurred.Atthecomputerscenter,studentswillplay
ChangeIt!,whichisagamethatallowsthemtomanipulateitemswitheitherthevirtual
freezerorovensothattheywillundergoaphysicalchange.
Lesson 6: Solids Mixed With Water
Students will observe different solids in bottles. The students will make predictions and
take notes of whey they think will happen to each solid when it is mixed with water. The students
will then pour water into the bottle, shake it up, and observe what happened to the solids. Some
solids may dissolve, some solids may stay the same, and some solids may change. The students
will take notes of what happened to the different solids after mixing them with water.
Lesson 7: Bits and Pieces
In this lesson, students will work in centers to explore solids as small particles or pieces
in a mixture. Students at the mix-separating center will work in pairs to separate a mixture of
solids into several different containers without using their hands. While students will have a
chance to try varied methods, they will come to learn that screens of different sizes can be used
to separate the mixture. Students will also work at the solids mixed with water center to make
final observations of their solid materials they had mixed with water in the lesson prior to this
lesson. The other two centers will be a computers center, where students will work on an
ABCYA or a Brain Pop solids and liquids game, and a at the rug center, where students will
read through solids and liquids books. At the end of this lesson, students will compile a list of
questions with the teacher to ask the guest scientist that will visit the following day.

Lesson 8: A Visit from a Scientist

Mrs. Zamirowski, a biochemist, will be joining the class in order to teach the students
about her job as a scientist. She will be doing an experiment with the students and will also be
available to answer any questions the students may have about science, her job, or solids and
liquids.
Lesson 9: Evaporation
As part of the home/school connection plan, students will have completed an evaporation
experiment at home prior to this lesson. For this experiment, students and their families made
predictions about what would happen to a glass of water left out in a sunny spot for several days.
For students who were unable to complete this at home, an in-class cup of water will be left on
the windowsill for them to observe. In class on the day of this lesson, students will discuss the
home/school experiment and any observations they made over the several days. The students will
then watch a short clip from a Magic School Bus episode on evaporation in order to see the
change of state in action. This clip will then be used to lead a discussion on evaporation. Finally,
students will record their final observations of the in-class cup of water and explain what
happened to the water in their science notebooks.
During the last 5 minutes of this class period, the teachers will explain to students that
they will be having a guest scientist join their class the following day. The teachers will explain
that the scientist, Mrs. Zamirowski, will be doing an experiment with them and she will also be
available to answer any questions the students may have. Teachers and students will brainstorm a
list of questions they may want to ask the scientist. These questions will be recorded on an
anchor chart that the students will be able to reference the following day during the visit.
Lesson 10: Oobleck
Teachers will introduce this lesson with a discussion about toothpaste and pudding. The
teachers will take a count of which students think that toothpaste and pudding are liquids and
which students think that they are solids. The students will make oobleck. The students will write
down the different properties of the oobleck in their science notebooks and make a final
judgment of whether they think the oobleck is a solid or liquid. In whole group, the teachers will
discuss that oobleck, along with toothpaste and pudding, have properties of both solids and
liquids. They will explain that there is no right answer and that all of the students guesses are
correct. They will stress that the process of investigation and observation of why they came up
with their final judgment is most important.