Lesson Two
Lesson One
Overview
Water is a substance that can be found
in three forms: a liquid, a solid, and a
gas. Water can be found most often in
its liquid form and becomes a solid
when the temperature drops below
freezing 32° F or 0° C. Water becomes
a gas when it escapes into the air. The
more heat that is applied to water, the
faster it evaporates.
Water is in a constant cycle of
changing from a liquid to a gas
because it is made up of millions of
molecules that are in constant motion.
Water has no shape. In its liquid form,
it borrows the shape of the container it
occupies. Simple experiments can help
students become more aware of the
properties of water as well as the
importance of water in their lives.
At the conclusion of this section, your
students should be able to identify
orally a liquid and a solid, give an oral
or written definition of a liquid and a
solid, and demonstrate, orally or in
writing, the difference in liquids and
solids.
Objectives
TEKS objectives that will be addressed
in this section include: Science 2.A,E;
4.A, 5.A,C
Completion Time
45 minutes
Materials
(See next page for materials list)
Advanced Preparation
1. Collect all materials listed.
2. Pre-select heterogeneous (unlike) groups. There should be 3-5
students in each group, but this can be done as a whole group activity
with younger children.
3. Have the different liquids and containers divided into tubs or boxes
for the number of groups.
Setting the stage
1. Discuss different shapes: square, circle, rectangle, triangle, cube,
cylinder, and sphere. Discussion depends on your students’ knowledge
of shapes.
2. Have different objects available as examples of these shapes. Look
around the room and have the students find objects in the room that are
these shapes.
3. Ask students “What shape is water?”
ACTIVITY
1. Pour colored water into different clear plastic containers and dry
spaghetti into different clear plastic containers (pitchers, jars, and
cubes) to demonstrate the difference between a solid and a liquid. Have
students pour the water and spaghetti into different containers until they
decide that water takes the shape of its container and that water has no
shape of its own.
2. Introduce the term, “liquid”. Discuss other substances that are liquids
(milk, juice). In small groups, let students experiment to see if all liquids
have the same properties. Give each group three different shaped
containers and three different liquids (milk, juice, pancake syrup, honey,
cooking oil, etc.) and one solid object (marbles, marshmallows). Let
each group decide which items are liquid and which are solid. Have
each group tell the class why the items they chose were liquid or solid.
3. Have students dictate a definition of a liquid and a solid. Record
these responses on a classroom board. After they have defined a liquid
and a solid, make a permanent record of their definitions.
WHAT SHAPE IS WATER?
EXPLORATION
1.
