Mystery Item Free Classifying Matter Group Activity

 How to Teach Classifying Matter?

Classifying matter has always been the first unit I taught in 5th grade science. The students need all year to practice it! In this unit students are not just identifying the properties of matter, they are classifying objects based on their properties of matter. Students continuously need practice identifying the properties of objects and putting them into categories based on their properties.

If you look at the STAAR test, there are a lot of tables classifying matter based on their physical properties of matter. My students in the past have struggled with reading those tables and figuring out what an object is based on three or four given properties.

This activity gives each group a box of items where they will pick one item and classify it based on the properties given on the sheet. 

Each group will pass their box of items and their classification for the mystery item to the next group. The group will have to use the table the previous group filled out based on the physical properties of the object to guess what the mystery item is. 

Download the free activity here. 

I have included a list of potential items that you can place in the box. I went through the last several years of the 5th grade science STAAR test to see which items they use in their questions.

Here are some other resources I have to help your students practice classifying matter. 

Classifying Matter BUNDLE

Density Cube Lab

Do you have these Density Cubes in your school building?

United Scientific DCSET10 Density Cube Set, 10 Cubes

My first year of science coach I found these density cubes in the science lab and in teacher's cabinets off mixed up. Some of them were easy to tell what was what, but for others I did exactly what I would want students to do. I knew what the volume was so I measured the mass and then calculated the density and labeled all the cubes with numbers. (It took forever.) Then I begged science teachers to keep them organized so we didn't have to do it again.

Here is a lab sheet for students to do the same process. They find the mass and volume and then calculate the density to identify what each cube is made of.

The measurements do not have to be 100% exact. (Well, volume can be, make sure they are measuring in centimeters)

If your triple beam balances are like ours, they may not be exactly calibrated. Things may be off by a few grams which is why the known densities have a range. 

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Science Coloring Pages to Use in Stations or Homework

The science teachers at my school started small groups this year and wanted things for students to do in stations as they pulled students into small group. I had a made a coloring page one and they requested more. So I started making some coloring pages for them. The students like doing them. There are something students can complete without interrupting the teacher at her small group and they enjoy coloring--even in middle school. Not every student likes to color...but that's okay. 

Here is a free coloring page  for students to differentiate between elements and compounds. 

If you are interested other science coloring pages. The topics there so far are calculating density, heat energy transfer, metals nonmetals and metalloids, rock cycle, classification of organisms, and plate boundaries.

Circuits Intervention-Science STAAR Review-TEKS 5.6B

Ya'll. It's that time of year again.

STAAR Review Time--closer to summer and no alarm clocks and pool time!

This 4-day Easter weekend was just enough to give me the taste of summer.

STAAR review is not my favorite time of year because it can be so boring. By the end of our 2-3 STAAR review weeks, I am ready for the students to take the test and just get it over with already.

So, I refuse to just do 2-3 weeks of practicing test questions. There needs to be variety, students talking, excitement, etc.

I've had this idea that a multiple test is basically full of true/false statements. Students just need to identify the true statements and easy-peasy! (Of course I realize it is more complicated than that.) But for some students, it might be a way to chunk the questions and make them more manageable.

I have an activity to share that focuses on electrical circuits. In the activity, students analyze a circuit and 7 statements about it. They will need to determine if the statements are true or false.

I used this in an activity in small group yesterday. We analyzed the circuits together--talked about the path the electricity traveled, found areas where the circuit was open or closed, and traced the path with a dry erase marker. Then I gave each student one of the cards to determine if the statement was true or false. After they figured it out, they shared their answers and we talked about it. 

If you want to try out this FREE Resource, click the here to download it. 

I also have these Circuit Task Cards available in my store. 

Let me know how this intervention goes for you!

Rock Cycle Resources

Teaching the rock cycle can be fun. Even though it is a real-life process that takes millions of years to observe, there are many ways to model the rock cycle.

This lab uses chocolate, butterscotch, and white chocolate chips to model sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rock formation.

If you have some broken crayons (what teacher doesn't), this lab uses crayons to model the three types of rock formation.

Love starburst? This lab uses starburst to model the processes.

(I did not create any of these lab. I just found them on the web.)

Types of Rocks Foldable

Digital Types of Rock Sort on Google Drive

This interactive webpage overviews types of rocks and the formation. There is also a little quiz at the end. 

Best Ted-Ed Videos

I love Ted Ed videos. They are beautifully done and explain topics in a unique way. I want to share some that cover topics we might teach in math or science.

The videos are not meant to teach an entire concept to students, but rather a way to understand the concept in a more real-world situation.

To be honest, it would be nice if teachers had more time to teach mathematical and scientific concepts in the actually situations and money for better tools. Like the soccer one, how cool would a lesson on force, velocity, and friction be where students figure out the best way to do the impossible kick and take measurements as they go?!

Why can't you divide by zero?
Topics covered: Division, Multiplication, Properties of Operations, and Zero


Why do airlines sell too many tickets?
Topics covered: Statistics (binomial distribution), probability


Football Physics: The impossible free kick
Topics Covered: Newton's 1st Law, Velocity, Force


The weird and wonderful metamorphosis of the Butterfly
Topics: Metamorphosis



Pangaea Pop Up
Topics: Plate Tectonics


What happens when continents collide?
Topics: Plate Tectonics, Plant and Animal Migration, Fossils as Evidence

Moon Phases, Seasons, and Shadows TEKS 4.8C

5th grade science teachers in Texas need to spend some time reviewing/reteaching some 3rd and 4th grade science TEKS in addition to the 5th grade TEKS. 

Science TEKS 4.8C says "Collect and analyze data to identify sequences and predict patterns of change in shadows, seasons, and the observable appearance of the Moon over time."

This TEKS has been tested once in the last 4 years and it was over tides--which was dropped from the TEKS this year. It isn't enough for students to know what causes these events but they should be able to look over data and predict. 

Moon Phases

This video shows all the moon phases from 2017.  

• Ask students what they notice and wonder after watching the video. Do they see a pattern after watching it?
• Give students a calendar with some of the moon phases filled in for the month. Have them complete the calendar based on the pattern they see. 

Seasons 

Use this file to assess what students remember about the different seasons. There are 24 cards. Give each student one card and they can walk around the room meeting up with their classmates. When they meet another classmate, each students will share the characteristic on their card and discuss what seasons they believe it belongs in. At this point, they can switch cards and then find another partner. At the end of the activity, create a chart and have students place their cards in the correct season. 

Shadows

Students need to understand how shadows are formed (because light travels in a straight line and when light hits an object, that object may block the light) and they need to understand that shadows form a predictable pattern. You can put an object outside and predict where the shadow that object creates will be. 

This activity lets students practice where the shadow is. It also doubles as an activity for 5.8C which is about Earth's rotation. Place the page with the tree in a sheet protector. Have students label the time for each of the Sun's position. Then have them draw where the tree's shadow will be with a dry erase marker at any given time. 

__________________________________________________________________________

All three of these patterns can be summed up with this free foldable found in my TpT store. 

Mythbusters-Force

I thought Mythbusters was off the air, but its not! Which is awesome. I think it is a great show and a cool way to talk about scientific investigations.

This past week in 5th grade science, the 5th graders started designing a simple experiment to test the effect of force on an object. I like using Mythbuster videos to show students how to design scientific investigations. Not every investigation they do checks all the boxes, but it does allow us to discuss the questions they are asking, the variable, their steps, and how they can make a new investigation.

I spent sometime this week looking for some Mythbusters videos that show investigations dealing with force to show our 5th graders and then discuss.

If you use a service like View Pure, you can enter the link from YouTube and get a new link without ads or distracting side menus that YouTube might have.

Video #1
Cars Crashing into each other at 50mph

Video #2
Car crashing into wall at 100mph

Video #3
Dropping concrete on a car to make it somersault

Video #4
Eggs holding lots of weight

Video #5
Phone Book Friction

With each of these videos, you can ask the following questions:

What question is the investigation designed to answer?
What is the independent variable? What are the mythbusters changing?
What are the steps to their investigation?
What do you wonder? <--This question is to see if students think of similar investigations they could do. This is helpful as the TEKS states they should be designing their own experiment.

There are more force videos available, but these have no beeped language in them.

You can just have a class discussion after watching the videos or have students write their answers here.

Calculating Average Speed--FREE Resource

Math and Science are so closely connected, but students never believe it. Ever tried teaching a cross-curricular lesson, only to have students say "This isn't math/science/writing class!" Middle school students start to get a glimpse of how science needs math.

In the Texas Science Standards in 6th grade, students start to calculate average speed given time and distance measurements. Here are a few resources that may help students practice calculating average speed.

ENGAGE

Start by introducing the the formula for calculating average speed by having students hop across the room or take the students outside. Mark off a predetermined distance (like 20 meters, 50 meters...) and give pairs or groups of students a timer to collect their data.

EXPLAIN

Take the Engage activity to a whole new level. Students will need to go outside for this one. Mark off a predetermined distance (50-100 meters) and have students tiptoe, speed walk, and run while they time the members of their group and then calculate their average speed.

MINI-ASSESSMENT

Students should be able to read tables and graphs to calculate average speed. This mini-assessments helps you see if students are able to do that.

Download this for FREE here.

Change in Science TEKS and Metamorphosis Foldable

The science TEKS have been streamlined this year. Our district has done a lot of work to make sure that teachers are aware of the changes and not teach old lessons without making sure they fit the streamlined TEKS.

If you haven't used the resources on Lead4ward and you teach in Texas, you should. I am constantly on this website for various resources, the one I am sharing with you today takes the old TEKS and compares them with the streamlined TEKS. To find it, go here and click on the appropriate side-by-side for your grade level.

One thing that 5th grade does not have a TEKS for anymore is complete and incomplete metamorphosis. However, if you look at this document it states "Impact: the term metamorphosis has been removed from the K-12 TEKS (implied it will be addressed in standards pertaining to life cycles of living organisms that undergo metamorphosis)". There is still a 3rd grade TEKS that discusses life cycles that can still be tested on the 5th grade STAAR. So...will it not be on the STAAR test? I think it is possible.

So, here is a science notebook foldable that goes with metamorphosis, available for free on my TPT store.

Science and Science Tools

I changed positions last year and became a science instructional coach. I am now starting my second year in the position and almost feel like I got my stuff together. At least this week. 

I have wanted to be an instructional coach for a several years--every since I learned that was a thing in education. I enjoy working with other teachers and collaborating on lessons and strategies. I like learning about new things in education and sharing it and helping others make it work for their classroom. 

So, I have a year down and I am excited to start my second year. I've moved from math to science to math and now back to science. I am sure I'll move to math again someday. You'll see a mix of math and science good stuff on this blog still. 

In honor of my new (year old) position, here is a free science tools brochure. You can download it here Science Tools Brochure .

Scientific Laws and Scientific Theories

While I have students after school waiting for buses to dismiss, we watch education related videos. Sometimes we watch CNN Student News and sometimes we watch Ted Education videos. This is their new one this week. If you believe a theory graduate into a law, you need to watch this.

In my Science Teaching for Middle Grades class I took in grad school, we discussed this topic a lot. Most people have misconceptions of what a scientific theory is and think that it will one day "graduate" into a law. (Which is what I thought at one point in my life.) A theory in science is not like a theory in other content areas.

So when people here things like the Theory of Evolution or the Big Bang Theory--they hear theory and think there is not enough evidence to support the theory to become a law so it should not be given too much weight. Not the case. 

Having a scientifically educated population is important for our future and our children's future. Teachers need to make sure they understand what they are teaching. Many elementary teachers are not given proper training in science teaching--or the time to teach it. I love teaching math and I think it is extremely important to my students futures that they understand the basics of it--especially financial literacy and reading graphs. An understanding of science affects who we vote for, what policy are leaders create, what gets published in textbooks, etc. 

Unfortunately, most schools are not going to provide the training to make sure that teachers know what they are teaching. It is up to teachers to research, read peer-reviewed articles, have subscriptions to journals, and ask when they don't understand. This way they are doing everything they can to provide the best lessons for their students with the most accurate information. 

Newsela

I like trying to bring science current events into my classroom but I want the students to be able to read the articles I give them.

I found this website after a lot of googling. 

Newsela.com is what I found. It takes articles from different newspapers and lets you change the reading level on it. Here is the same article in 8th and 4th grade reading levels. 

I've seen it go down to 3rd grade reading level. Some of the articles have short quizzes that go with it to. There are several categories. I have used the Science most often. It is a great way to make what we are learning in science seem more real life. 

So after a night of googling, I found I great resource to use the the classroom. What are some things you have found scouring the internet?

Anchor Charts

I have been making Anchor Charts this weekend. I realize that it might me a little late in the year, but I can always use them again. I tried to make them a bit interactive. It might help the students think a bit while looking at them. 

I have a Pinterest board called Anchor Charts where I've been collecting example for a while. You can check it out here.

Science Safety

There is one thing all science classes teach the first week of school: Science Safety.

There aren't many dangerous things 5th grades get to do in science quite yet. The most dangerous thing they face can be their own behavior. I am sure some teachers have seen some crazy things! The worst I've had so far is some pencils poking eyes (mostly their own).

Yet, building good habits now will help when they get to that dangerous stuff later on.

As part of my "Plan-a-palooza," I have finished the lesson on science safety.

We'll begin with the science contract. It is the first grade of the year and it is an easy one. Just a parent signature!

My students have a hard time communicating their thoughts. After we go over the science contract, I will give the groups some scenarios of students breaking the rules. As groups, they will discuss what is going wrong and how the students can fix it. An easy intro to all the talking and writing about science they will have to do this year.

Both the contract and the science safety cards are available for download in the TpT store. Just click on the pictures.

One thing I discovered last year, was this video. The kids love it. 

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I am debating giving additional homework. I am definitely a teacher who believes in homework, especially if it involves the parents somehow. I might send home a blank sheet of paper and asking students to create a safety poster choosing one rules from the contract. I did this in class last year, but I just don't think I'll have the time with this lesson. 

How are you sure your kids are safe during science?

Fortune Teller Project

I found this idea on Pinterest awhile ago and have tried it twice this year. 

The first time was when technology failed me horribly. One day I had a lesson planned where I needed the computer and internet, and I just couldn't get them to work. Luckily my conference period is first thing in the morning when I realized my day wasn't going to work. I remembered this foldable and sent my intern to cut some large 11x17 paper to square size.

That day, we reviewed science vocabulary. The students chose 8 words from their science notebook. On the top triangle, they put the vocabulary word. Underneath, they put the definition and a picture or example of the vocabulary word. The students loved it. Who doesn't like  making fortune tellers in the open instead of trying to hide it! Best of all, if they didn't finish that day, they got to pull it out later in the week when they finished something else. 

The second time I used it, I planned it out a bit more. At the end of our unit on Renewable Energy, I set up a choice/menu board. One of the choices was a fortune teller.  On the top triangle, students wrote the 4 types of renewable energy they chose and included the pictures. Underneath they wrote the advantages and disadvantages of each. 

Some students, really did their best work on this. These are some of my favorite examples. 

Pockets in Science Notebooks

Sometimes when we work on things in science, they don't get completely done. Pockets in science notebooks are an easy way to store things for that purpose. Or to store a cardstock ruler, or some vocabulary cards. Or a candy bar. Whatever.

This one requires no extra product. Take two sheets of paper. Fold one over diagonally, glue the side and bottom to the second page. And eureka! there's a pocket.

 For this one, you could use an envelope or a sheet of paper folded over. Just glue it to an inside cover or a sheet of paper. 

This envelope is cut up the side and has the flap cut off. 

Science Tools in the Science Notebook

I have said it before. I love Science Notebooks. I have used every year I have taught science (that would be, count it, 2 whole years) and I am excited to use them again this year.

I want to do a lot more with the science notebook this year and have a lot more information in it. Sometimes it is like pulling teeth with 5th graders to get them to care about the science notebooks as much as I do, but it is worth it in the end.

This is an activity I am doing this week. One awesome part of G-camp was getting to talk to Jr. High and High School Science teachers. I asked them what they think us elementary teachers need to hit on better. 

They mentioned science tools. Students don't really know how to use them or what they are. So I am going to try to be better at it this year.

So I have collected all the science tools that the Great State of Texas says my 5th graders need to know by the end of the year. The students will work in a groups and I will give them a few of the tools at a time. As they go through each tool, they will name it, draw a picture, and write a brief description of what it does.

Because they are working in groups, someone is bound to know at least what each tool does. But if by chance nobody knows, their instructions are to draw a picture and leave everything else blank.

Throughout the year as we use each tool in class, we will go back to these pages and fill in the blanks. 

These are my example pages. I learned this format in a workshop I went to this summer. It is an easy way to give the students a limited space for each tool. Because you know some students will go crazy on the pages. They still might.

Almost Over

I have returned from G-camp. I was tested physically, mentally and emotionally. But I made some wonderful teacher friend in that two weeks. They became my family and without them, I would not have survived it.

Not only were they great friends, but fantastic teachers. The best part about being around other teachers is all the great ideas. I literally have pages of resources and ideas to look up and try out.

I was one of the newer teachers and it was refreshing to be around teachers who have 5, 10, 15+ years of experience and still love teaching. They are trying to improve for their students.

That's why we all started teaching, right? We want to impact the lives of children somehow. I am ready to get back to work, keep a positive attitude and work smart.

I am also better prepared to teach my students geology. In Texas, 5th graders cover sedimentary rock, fossil fuels and ecosystems. I collected samples of all types of rock, including some sedimentary rock with fossils in them! I am excited to share with my kiddos.

Me at White Sand Dunes in New Mexico

Revolve and Rotate

I have created some interactive notebook pages which you can use to complete this activity with your students.

Here is another idea from my science notebook. Inside our notebooks we put models of the earth revolving around the sun and rotating on its axis. Just like reflection and refraction, students can easily mix up rotate and revolve.

 

The students glued an earth to the edge of a strip of paper. They used a brad to connect the strip of paper, the sun, and the notebook page. Then we wrote the definition for revolve, orbit and the length of 1 revolution beside the model. 

 This next year, I would like to add the moon to this model.

For the bottom part, the students needed to see a visual of the day/night cycle. We turned the earth on its axis and glue it down. Then drew the line where day/night meet. 

 

This page is meant to model rotation. Each student received a view of the earth from the top. We attached a brad through the north pole and marked which way the earth spins. We added the definitions of rotate, axis and axial tilt. There is also a line showing where day/night meet.

I had this all set up before class so the students could see what we were aiming for. But I also did another as we went through it together.

This corresponds with Science TEKS 5.8C and it is partly a review from early grades.

Next year a I need to add a page that shows how the sun moves across the sky during the day. If anyone has a page in a science notebook they think could work, let me know.