Lesson Ideas

UAH Student Teacher

States of Matter

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States of Matter Interdisciplinary

Writing: Procedural Text-->How to build a snowman using transitional words.

Science: States of Matter-->The life cycle of a snowman: Build one out of crushed ice
& explain the 3 states as the snowman melts.

-Show the dierence in the molecules of each state & play game with a hula hoop. Fit as
many kids in a hula hoop to represent solid molecules for example.

-Activity with gluing cheerios to display how compact the molecules are.

Reading: Read story: Bartholomew and the Ooblek

ELA: Onomatopoeia-->Make a list of sound words from the story

Science: Make Ooblek & discuss non-newtonian fluids

Writing: Ooblek Poetry-->use adjectives or similes to write a poem on how Ooblek

smelled, felt, and looked like

Science: Review States of Matter with How fast can you melt an ice-cube-->give
students one ice-cube in a bag and see who can melt it the fastest...this will lead into a
discussion on friction

*EXTRA ACTIVITY: Give students a cup with an

Acazeltzer & have them predict whatll happen by

using the scientific method! -->State: GAS

Lower Elementary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGu9FWSPtc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33WdI64FiY

Upper Elementary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAPc6JH85pM

Study Jam collection of AWESOME videos:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/activity/matter-9-studyjams-interactive-scienceactivities

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The Scientific Method

The Banana Experiment: Kids decide what the best way to keep the
banana fresh is. Ideas range from putting the banana in the freezer, in a
paper bag, or any idea the students have. Students choose 4 ways and
the 5th banana sits out on the self like a regular banana. Observe for 5
days and journal the changes & make sure to make predictions too!

The Clean Penny Experiment: How do we make a clean penny?

Record and observe 3 pennies in water, water & soap, and water &
vinegar.

How Big of a Bubble: Which bubble gum brand makes the biggest
bubble? The teacher should get a variety of bubble-gum and allow
students to try dierent pieces and record their results.

Grow a Gummy: How long can you grow a gummy worm or how tall

can you grow a gummy bear? Allow students to grow a worm or bear by
placing a gummy in water, water+salt, and water+sugar, and one neutral
gummy. Kids will love this fun activity!

Melt an Ice-cube: What makes ice melt..faster? Find out in this activity

where 3 ice-cubes are placed in water, sugar, or salt. Compare all 3 to the
original ice-cube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8427L0Wry0

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Lets Grow a Plant

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Plants: Interdisciplinary
Reading: Read a story introducing the
unit on plants. Use this as a time to
sequence events in a story, ask Blooms
Qs, ask what the plants needed to grow,
Review setting/characters/main idea
within the storyline, and/or text
connections.

-Some great books include:

The Gardener by Sara Stewart

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway

They Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds

Science: How do plants get

their water? This can be done
with carnations & food coloring
to see how water is absorbed.
Another method is to put a
plastic bag over a leaf for a
couple of days & see how the
leaf gets water.

-Scientific method: incorporate

how dierent types of liquids
aect a plant/its growth. Feed
one with water+salt, sprite,
vinegar, etc!

Science: Grow a plant/grass & explain

what the plant needs to grow.

-This can be done in either a bean in a

bag with a moist paper towel or actual
seeds in a cup.

Arts/Theatre: How do the plants

feed? Students will become

bumblebees & go around to
each flower (half the class is
flowers & the others are bees).
Students will read a script.

-You can also use Cheetos to

see how pollen sticks when
bees feed on a flower.

Writing: Procedural Text-->How to grow a

plant using transitional words.

-Students can also use a graphic

organizer to label all the parts of the plant.
Print me.

*EXTRA:

What Does a Root Taste Like?

Students sample a variety of
veggies or fruits that are seeds,
roots, stems, flowers, or leaves!

Math: Measurement unit on plants. Note

how big your plants grew in centimeters
and inches. You could also compare the
biggest hight to your own and find the
dierence.

-Students can also measure seeds

(avocado pits, the pit of a peach, corn,
coconut, etc) and make a chart for them.
They can use approximation to find the
measurements.

Culture, Science, &

Economics: Students explore
labor & production of plants &
its eect on animals, third-world
countries, the general
population, & the waste of
products through its consumers.

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Plants: Extended Lesson on Bees

Buzz-Buzz
Writing: Snaps for the Hive: Students will create a Haiku or Limerick on bees.
Students will have to be familiar with terms such as stanza, verse, & line.

ELA: To be or not to bee: A lesson on homonyms.

Plant Videos:

Geography: How do bees find their location? Students will use a map, map
key, & scale to locate states where the honey bee pollination is highest

Economics: How is honey produced? How much work is required and who
consumes it? Students will learn about producers and consumers and cost
of production.

Math: Hexagon and shapes. Students will learn about plane figures and their
angles, edges, vertices, and faces.

Art/Writing: Students will color in a hexagon and draw & write about
something a bee made for them (honey for my tea, beeswax used to make
candles, lipstick. shoe polish etc).

Writing: Point of view: Do you think its fair for us to take honey from bees? If
you were a bee how would you feel? Are you on the bees side or the peoples
side?

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Lower Elementary:

http://youtu.be/dUBIQ1fTRzI

http://youtu.be/sXrnH2Kjc

http://youtu.be/xldSRWtNMXE

Upper Elementary:

http://youtu.be/pO7sc_qvft0

Study Jams list of videos

Bee Videos:

http://youtu.be/0_pj4cz2VJM

http://youtu.be/2_Z2dQW0-S4

http://youtu.be/nga4Z_HRUsU

http://youtu.be/VsCmSWoF8PY

http://youtu.be/1XRHveGgYjQ

Bee Movie clip

Holidays: Halloween Lessons

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