Classroom Activities: Changing States of Matter
These classroom activities are designed to complement the Changing States of Matter topic on BrainPOP Jr.
Particle Dance Party
Have your whole class model the particles that make up solids, liquids, and gases. To model solids, have students make a shape and link arms together. They can dance in place but keep the whole shape. To model liquids, students can place their hands on each other shoulders and walk slowly around the room. They can dance and observe that they have more space to move. To model gases, have students dance about the room without touching each other. They should observe that they have much more room than before and are able to spread out freely.
Ice Cube Meltdown
Bring in a bag of ice for your students. Divide the students into small groups or pairs and have them find the fastest way to melt an ice cube. Remind your students that heat can change matter and adding more heat might make matter change faster. They may want to put the ice cubes in a sunny spot, warm them up in their hands, or just put them in a cup on their desks. Have students time how long each method takes. Which method was best? Have groups discuss and share their observations and findings with the class.
Evaporating into Thin Air
Divide students into small groups and have them pour a cup of water. Make sure they label the cup with their group name. Then have them record the height of the water level with a ruler. Have students place the cups in a sunny spot outside. Throughout the day have students measure the water level. What happened to the water level? This experiment can be done over the course of a week.