Young Explorers: Investigating Our World · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Active learning works for this topic because students need to touch, observe, and manipulate materials to build accurate mental models of matter. When children sort objects by feel or watch water transform, they connect abstract properties to concrete experiences that stick longer than textbook definitions.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Materials
• NCCA: Primary - Materials and Change

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Small Groups

Sorting Station: Matter Hunt

Provide trays with objects like rocks, water in cups, balloons, and sponges. Students sort them into solids, liquids, gases columns on a chart, then test by pouring or squeezing. Discuss why each fits and record properties.

Differentiate between the properties of a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Station, place a few unexpected items like jelly or crumpled paper to challenge assumptions about solids being only hard or heavy.

What to look for

Provide students with three small cards, each labeled 'Solid', 'Liquid', and 'Gas'. Show them a picture of an object or substance (e.g., a rock, milk in a glass, steam from a kettle). Ask them to place the correct card next to the picture and write one reason for their choice.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Pairs

Water States Circuit

Set up stations: freeze water for ice, heat for steam observation, pour liquid water. Groups rotate, draw changes, and note shape/volume. Predict next state with heat or cold.

Explain why water can exist in all three states of matter.

What to look for

During a demonstration where water is heated to boiling and then cooled to ice, ask students to hold up one finger for solid, two for liquid, and three for gas as you describe each stage. Follow up by asking: 'What did we do to the water to make it change from a liquid to a gas?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Pairs

Gas Squeeze Challenge

Use syringes or balloons to show gas compression. Students predict if gas has shape, squeeze to test, measure changes. Compare to solids/liquids poured nearby.

Predict what would happen if you tried to hold a gas in your hand.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you have a balloon filled with air. What happens if you let the air out of the balloon? Why is it impossible to 'hold' air in your hands like you can hold a rock?' Facilitate a class discussion where students use the terms solid, liquid, and gas to explain their ideas.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 20 min · Whole Class

Prediction Walk

Walk classroom, point to examples of states. Students predict properties silently, then test with teacher tools like dropping clay or releasing air. Share in circle.

Differentiate between the properties of a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

What to look for

Provide students with three small cards, each labeled 'Solid', 'Liquid', and 'Gas'. Show them a picture of an object or substance (e.g., a rock, milk in a glass, steam from a kettle). Ask them to place the correct card next to the picture and write one reason for their choice.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by letting students explore first, then name the properties they observe. Avoid telling them the answers upfront; instead, ask guiding questions like 'Does this keep its shape when I move it?' or 'Can you pour this into another container?' Research shows hands-on inquiry builds stronger understanding than lecture for matter properties.

Successful learning looks like students confidently sorting objects into solids, liquids, and gases with clear reasons. They use terms like fixed shape, fixed volume, and flow during discussions and can predict changes when matter shifts states.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Sorting Station, watch for students labeling all hard items as solids without considering properties like flexibility or weight.

  Have students physically test each item: Can it bend? Can it be poured? Ask them to group objects by behavior, not just appearance, and share findings as a class to challenge initial assumptions.

• During the Gas Squeeze Challenge, watch for students believing gases are 'nothing' because they cannot see or hold air.

  Use the challenge’s syringes to measure gas weight by comparing a deflated and inflated balloon on a simple balance scale. Ask students to discuss how the air’s push changes the scale’s reading.

• During the Water States Circuit, watch for students thinking ice and water are different substances because they look different.

  Have students measure the volume of water before freezing and after melting in the same container. Ask them to explain why the volume stays the same, reinforcing that matter is conserved even when states change.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation