Lesson overview - changes to materials
This lesson is part of a Level 5 and 6 Science unit on understanding the observable properties of solids, liquids and gasses, and the reversible and irreversible changes that can occur to different material. This lesson is focused on understanding reversible changes in materials.
Victorian Curriculum
Levels 5 and 6
Changes to materials can be reversible, including melting, freezing, evaporating, or irreversible, including burning and rusting
(VCSSU077).
Learning intention
We are exploring the processes of freezing, melting, and evaporation.
Success criteria
I can explain the processes of freezing, melting, and evaporation, and represent them diagrammatically.
Extension ideas
Extend the success criteria (outcome): I can explain the processes of freezing, melting, and evaporation, represent them diagrammatically, and evaluate the impact of these processes in real world situations.
Lesson sequence
Warm up activity
In this activity, students will draw on their prior learning.
- Revisit the states of solid, liquid and gas, with a focus on water.
- Think-Pair-Share: How does water go from a solid to a liquid to a gas? Can it go from a gas to a liquid? Can it go from a liquid to a solid? Does it need to go through the liquid phase? What is needed to make water change between its various states?
- Student pairs report back to the class and co-constructed responses to the questions are produced.
Extension ideas
High-ability students could be paired together or be asked to explore real world examples where water is changed between its various states for a practical application.
Set a challenge
How fast can you melt a cube of ice using only what is in the classroom?
- Place students into small groups. Have each group develop an hypothesis.
- Groups share hypothesis and the class makes predications about which will be the quickest. Each group sets up their experiment and the predications are tested.
Extension ideas
High-ability students could be grouped together for this task or asked to provide justifications for their predictions and results.
Experiment
Freezing, melting, evaporation, and back again.
Extension ideas
High-ability students could be grouped together for this task or be asked to explore real world applications of these processes and evaluate them. For example, the impact of increasing global temperatures on water.