Lesson Plan: Changing States of Matter and the Water Cycle

Teacher: Cori Camelia Subject: Science

Grade level: 5 Date: 23
March 2017

*This lesson can be split up into two days. One day can be designated only for changing
states of matter, and the other for the water cycle.

Standards: Next Generation Science Standards

-5-PSI-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their
properties.

-5-PSI-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more

substances results in new substances.

Objective:
Students will differentiate between the 6 changing states of matter (freezing, melting,
evaporation, condensation, deposition, sublimation). Students will also be able to explain
the hydrologic cycle (water cycle) and how changing states of matter make up the process
of the hydrologic cycle.

Relevance/Rationale:
This lesson will emphasize the importance of understanding the natural processes that the
Earth goes through that tend to be invisible to the naked eye. Upon completion of this
lesson, students will recognize that states of matter can change forms through physical
and chemical processes. Additionally, this lesson will strengthen the students curiosity,
understanding, and reasoning as to how the natural world works around them.

Learning targets: (presented in power point)

-Physical changes can be reversed; chemical changes cannot be reversed without
extraordinary measures.
-Freezing: liquid to solid. (I.e. water turning into ice)
-Melting: solid to liquid. (I.e. ice turning into water)
-Evaporation: liquid to gas. (I.e. wet clothes dry on clothesline)
-Condensation: gas to liquid. (I.e. sweat on a cold drink) *The result of condensation
can range from dew, fog, and clouds.
-Deposition: gas to solid. (I.e. frost on windshield)
-Sublimation: solid to gas. (I.e. dry ice)
-Matter: solid, liquid, gas. Occupies space and contains mass.
-Hydrologic cycle or water cycle: the sequence of conditions through which water passes
from vapor in the atmosphere through precipitation upon land or water surfaces and
ultimately back into the atmosphere as a result of evaporation and transpiration. Begins
with precipitation, evaporation from ocean, surface water, etc., condensation, infiltration,
and runoff.
-Transpiration: Water vapor is also emitted from plant leaves by a process called
transpiration.
-Precipitation: rain/snow.
-Infiltration: the water travels through soil, cracks, and rocks and filters through the
Earth.
-Runoff: the draining away of water (or substances carried in it) from the surface of an
area of land, a building or structure, etc.

Accommodations for individual learners:

-Teacher will monitor student discussions and have students work in pairs when filling in
charts.
-Visuals and vocabulary presented on power point and board for students with special
needs.
-Sentence starters are presented on board for EL students.
-Video and power point connect material.
- Teacher scaffolds when necessary (guides discussions, prompts questions that can lead
to ideas, reiterates new ideas and concepts obtained in the lesson, reads aloud).

Activities/Tasks:
-Teacher brings in 3 Ziploc bags. 1 bag of ice (to show solid to liquid change), a bag of
water (liquid), and a Ziploc bag filled with air (gas), labeled A, B, C. (If possible, bring in
dry ice to demonstrate sublimation.) Use these bags throughout the day to have students
observe whether these items changed or not within their Ziploc.
-Teacher will ask students if they know the 3 states of matter and to identify each bag as a
solid, liquid, or gas by creating a list of solids, liquids, and gasses. Students will work
individually and then share with a partner.
-Teacher will then prompt students to discuss with their partner whether they believe if
the 3 forms of matter can change. Ask for examples of how they could change and what
they might look like when they do change. Example questions can be:
Can a solid turn into a liquid? (Freezing) YES
Can a gas turn into a liquid? (Condensation) YES
And so on with the 6 different changing states of matter.

-Students will then watch a video about the changing states of matter and how they relate
to our hydrologic cycle (Bill Nye the Science Guy- Phases of Matter). Students should
continue filling in their lists while watching this video to ensure they are engaged.
-Teacher presents and guides lesson on the Hydrologic cycle using lecture on power
point, using key words that students learned through the changing stages of matter.
- Power point introduces the ideas of the water cycle: transpiration, precipitation,
infiltration, runoff, and evaporation.
-Teacher will ask students to think about the water cycle and its processes and how it
might relate to the changing states of matter.
-Closure: suggest that students reflect on times at home or in nature that they have
experienced any of the processes learned in class.

Assessment: (formative)
- When students go home, they should think of other ways that they might have
experienced any of these processes. Can other things melt? How? What else can freeze?
How? Have they seen evaporation anywhere else? Have they seen condensation on any
other objects? Students report back the next school day and share with the class.
- Each student will turn in their lists at the end of class that separates items by solid,
liquids, and gasses, as well as naming their properties, their processes, and examples.
- Students will show thumbs up/thumbs down when teacher asks questions regarding
facts learned (true-thumbs up, false-thumbs down), as well as proceeding on with new
information.

Resources/Materials:
-Bill Nye the Science Guy- Phases of Matter https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=MBgM73DLK1s
-Dry ice
-3 Ziploc bags filled water, ice, and air.
-Power point including image of Hydrologic cycle
-Solid/Liquid/Gas worksheets