Elise Brady USC EDU340 Practicum North Arm State School Year 3
Week 1 Lesson 2/3 - Science
Subject: Science Time: 10:05 11:00 Date: 16/10/2015
Subject Area Focus: Solids and liquids Exploring liquids
Learning Objective:
Understand the properties of liquids
Curriculum descriptor/s:
A change of state between a solid and a liquid can be caused by adding or removing heat
(ACSSU046)
With guidance, identify questions in familiar contexts that can be investigated scientifically and
predict what might happen based on prior knowledge (ACSIS053)
Safely use appropriate materials, tools and equipment to make and record observations, using
formal measurements and digital technologies where appropriate (ACSSIS055)
Objectives:
Understand the properties of liquids
Key Learning Indicators:
Students can identify properties of liquids
Students can identify differing properties between different liquids
Monitoring/Assessment:
Observe students throughout the experiment as they identify and record the properties of liquid,
and the properties of different liquids. Record outcomes on record sheet.
Differentiation:
Extension Have students do the same experiment with liquids that are the same (oil) but with
very different viscosity.
Support Teacher support throughout experiments.
Resources:
Oil
Honey
Water
Stopwatch/es
Graduated cylinder
Marbles
Focus: Draw students attention to the fun items at the front of the class/on their desks.
Engage: Tell the students that we will be learning about liquids through some fun activities and
experiments.
Explicit Teaching: Ask the students if they know what a liquid is. Start a concept map of the
students prior knowledge of liquids. Ask students if they know what the difference between a
solid and a liquid is how can a the state of matter be changed from solid to liquid? Talk with
the students about the properties of liquid create a list of these. Talk with the students about
how some liquids are thick and some are thin this is called viscosity, how viscose something
is.
Guided Learning: Have three clear plastic cups with the same amount of water in them show
this to the kids and draw their attention to the equal amount of water. Have three different
students pour one of the cups of water into another clear container that will be irregular shaped
either taller, longer curved etc. Ask the students what they notice. Show the students that even
though there is the same amount of water, it can look very different depending on what sort of
container it is in. Draw the students attention to the weird container, and ask what they notice
about it. Explain to them that a liquid will always change shape to take up the space it is put in
it is not fixed like a solid.
Exploration:
Students will conduct an experiment to explore the differing viscosity of a range of liquids and
their properties. Explain the experiment to the students. Ask them to come up with a set of
questions that will be able to answer from this experiment. Have the students predict what they
think the answers will be.
Students will be in groups of six/seven, each having a different role:
Timer
Scribe
Equipment person
Safety person
Scientist
Supervisor
Presenter (Optional depending on numbers, another student can take on this role)
Have students conduct the experiment, recording their findings on a simple bar graph.
Have the presenter from each group present their findings to the class, and then have a class
discussion about the results were each groups results the same/different/similar. Talk about
what this means is there a trend? Are thicker or thinner liquids more or less viscose? What are
the advantages and disadvantages of a liquid having a high/low viscosity?
Conclusion: Add to the concept map, asking the students what they now know about liquids
after conducting the experiment. Prompt the students if they struggle or miss any concepts.
Challenge/food for thought: If a solid is a solid, and a liquid is a liquid, what is a gas?
