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The Penny Factory
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a simple physical and chemical change. They describe objects by the properties of the materials from which they are made and separate or sort items using these properties. Students explain...
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Solids in Bottles
Students use funnels to put the five solid materials into clear bottles with caps. They observe how the particulate materials look, sound, and move when they shake and roll the bottle. Finally, students write "sound and touch" poetry.
Utah LessonPlans
Stomach Chemistry
Young scholars will create a simulation of the chemical reactions that occur during the digestive process. A physical change occurs when the appearance of matter changes, but the composition of the matter does not change.
Curated OER
Is It There?
Students participate in a lesson plan designed to illustrate these concepts using simple materials. They use Science process skills to observe, measure, predict, make inferences, and communicate while completing the activity. Proper...
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Melting Ice
Students observe the melting of ice and explore the basic physical changes that occur. They gain information of how different substances change the rate of melting. Students discuss the properties of water and ice, the definition of...
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Freestanding Structures: A Tech Museum Floor Activity
Students attempt to design the tallest structure that they can with the given materials which are wooden dowels and rubber bands. They discuss the physics of their structure and how they would improve it the next time they built a...
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Magnet Circus
Students explore the properties of magnets by designing a device that can move as far as possible using only magnets to move it, and design a machine that will stay in motion for the greatest period of time.
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Exploring Buoyancy
Students use materials found at a resource table to design simple devices that will house instruments to take water samples from a tub of water. They design 3 instruments, each varying in density so that one will float, one will hover...
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What's the Matter? (Experiments)
Young scholars observe a scientific discrepant event, and are then challenged to create experiments to solve the dilemma.
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Air Pressure
Learners participate in a series of demonstrations about Bernoulli's principle. They explain how air pressure varies with air speed. They write a detailed lab report about the activity. This is a great way to explore this concept.
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Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
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Permafrost: Permanently Frozen Ground
Learners explore permafrost. In this 3 states of matter instructional activity, students identify characteristics of solids and liquids. Learners observe water and soil melting and freezing at various temperatures. Students make...
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Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
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Food & Science - How Healthy is Your Diet?
Learners experiment with various foods to determine fat and starch content. They rub jam, peanut butter, bananas, and other foods in a small circle on a piece of paper, and observe the results. If there is a high fat content in the...
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Identifying Text Structure #!
In this identifying graphic organizers and their texts worksheet, students observe chronological, compare & contrast, sequence, cause & effect, and problem & solution graphic organizers, read short passages, and match them....
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Earth's Water
If the majority of our planet is covered with water, why do we need to bother conserving it? With a thorough and varied investigation into the location and types of water on the earth, learners will gain an understanding of why this...
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Rising Water!
Students observe water change from a liquid to a gas state when heated and then return to its liquid stage when cooled. They learn that gas molecules move faster than liquid molecules. They discover physical properties that describe how...
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Funny Putty
Students are introduced to the properties of solids, liquids and gases. They see that colloids are mixtures which display the properties of more than one of these states. They engage in an excellent experiment which demonstrates this fact.
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What is Physical Activity?
Students explore the functions of the heart and how it needs to work hard and rest. They play the "Wise Owl Says" game.
Science Matters
Ecosystem Pre-Assessment
Test scholars' knowledge of ecosystems with a 20-question pre-assessment. Assessment challenges learners to answer multiple choice questions, read diagrams, and complete charts.
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Invisible Investigations
Students simulate how charged particles move in a particle detector. In this physics lesson, students observe how iron filings behave when magnetic marbles are passed underneath them. They record and draw their observations.
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Heat Energy
Learners study how matter changes from solids to liquids or liquids to solids. For this physical science lesson, students discuss heat energy and experiment with heat by changing a candle into a liquid using a hot plate.
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Marshland Ecosystems
Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
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STATES OF WATER
Learners identify the various states of water. They use hypothesizing and hands-on experimenting on changing the states of water, the properties of water, and the role of heating and cooling in the changes of state.