Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Solid, liquid or gas?
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/states-of-matter/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/states-of-matter/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Materials can be solids, liquids or gases.
- Solids keep their shape; liquids take the shape of their container; gases spread out.
- Water can be solid, liquid or gas; ice melts when warmed and floats.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Show a stone, a glass of water and a balloon: what is different? |
| 5 min | Read the text together. |
| 10 min | Start the ice cube race (check during the rest of the lesson). |
| 10 min | Play Solid, liquid or gas? together. |
| 10 min | Quiz, then look at the ice cubes again. |
Materials for the experiment
- Four ice cubes of the same size
- Four small plates or saucers
- A warm spot (sunny window), a cool spot (shade), a plate on a radiator cover or a warm drink, and your hands (with a glove or tissue)
Safety: Wipe up melted water so nobody slips. Don't hold ice on bare skin for long: use a tissue or glove.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Air is nothing. | Air is a gas: it fills a balloon and pushes on things. |
| Only water can melt. | Chocolate, butter and wax melt too. |
| Ice sinks because it is solid. | Ice is less dense than water, so it floats. |
Worksheet answers
- For example: a stone, milk, the air in a balloon.
- Float.
- In the warmest place, because warmth melts ice.
Quiz answers
- Which one is a solid? A stone. A solid keeps its own shape.[1]
- What does a liquid do in a glass? Takes the shape of the glass. Liquids take the shape of their container.[1]
- Air is a… gas. Air is a gas: it spreads out to fill the space.[1]
- What happens when ice gets warm? It melts into water. Warm ice melts.[3]
- Put an ice cube in a glass of water. It… floats. Ice is lighter than the same amount of water, so it floats.[5]
Going further
Put an ice cube in a glass of water and another in a glass of salty water. Watch which melts first.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Chemistry: Atoms First, 1.2 Phases and Classification of Matter (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] Chemistry, 10.3 Phase Transitions (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [5] Water Density (U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/states-of-matter/sources/
Privacy: the lesson pages have no ads, no tracking and no cookies. Quiz answers and game scores stay in the pupil's browser. A short video for each age is coming.