Teacher’s Pet: What’s the Matter?

Guiding Question: How can materials change?

On Thursday, May 2nd students in Room 12 had an In-School Field Trip with Chris from Teacher’s Pet! This interactive experience was used to help introduce our new topic in Science: Matter. Over the next few weeks, students will investigate and analyze how materials have the potential to be changed.

To kickstart our In-School Field Trip, Chris let us know that her dog Buddy was splashing in mud and unfortunately became a Muddy Buddy. Many students were wondering, why does this matter? Through conversation, students learned that anything on earth that takes up space and has mass is made up of matter. Chris helped us to better understand how materials have the potential to be changed and she introduced us to the characteristics of the three states of matter – solid, liquid and gas.

Using four different hands-on activities, students were left with practical knowledge of how matter can be altered in materials that they use in their daily life and how some changes are irreversible. They also explored the effects of temperature on the different states of matter and began to apply this information to better understand the water cycle. As students explored the states of matter they began to discover how they could help Muddy Buddy get clean again!

Thanks to the tremendous help of three parent volunteers and Chris, students were highly engaged while having the opportunity to identify signs of changing matter. As I walked around the classroom and listened to students converse with one another, it was fun to hear students making predictions, talking about and comparing liquid substances, and explaining the concept of boiling and melting in their own words. Students also learned about safety in the classroom and hoe it protects them during experiments.

Success Criteria:
Understand the Magic of Melting:

• I can explain what happens when solids turn into liquids.
• I know that this special change is called melting.
• I understand that different things melt at different temperatures.

Be a Safe Science Explorer:

• I can use the right tools to safely explore melting and freezing.
• I know how to handle materials carefully.
• I understand the importance of following safety rules in the science lab.

Become a Temperature Detective:

• I can investigate and find out the melting and boiling points of different things.
• I know that temperature plays a big role in these changes.

Observation Skills:

• I can observe and recognize when a substance changes from a solid to a liquid (melting) and from a liquid to a solid (freezing).
• I can identify the signs of these changes, such as the appearance of soap chunks during melting or the solidification of a liquid during cooling.

Hands-On Exploration:

• I actively engage in hands-on activities to explore the changes in states of matter.