Density Lesson Plan: Matter and its Interactions

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Density Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Density, and addresses standards about identifying properties of matter and understanding density as it relates to mass and volume. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Model of density for the class:

  • Add water to a glass container
  • Add vegetable oil, honey, and more water to the container

Ask:

  • I’ve put oil, honey, and water into this container with water. Which is at the top? Middle? Bottom?
  • Why are they separate? What don’t they mix?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Density Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about density while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the fo

  • Make-a-Movie: Make a movie that demonstrates how the density of an object changes when its temperature changes.
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying various cause and effect relationships as they are associated with density.
  • Creative Coding: Code a comic that chronicles an atom’s response to the temperature of the substance changing.

More to Explore 

Matter Sorter: Sort falling objects based on their state of matter in this game. 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of matter with these topics: States of Matter, Measuring Matter, and Property Changes. 

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, 9-12, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3