Big Idea 8: Properties of Matter

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A. All objects and substances in the world are made of matter. Matter has two fundamental properties: matter takes up space and matter has mass.

B. Objects and substances can be classified by their physical and chemical properties.

Mass is the amount of matter (or "stuff") in an object. Weight, on the other hand, is the measure of force of attraction (gravitational force) between an object and Earth.

The concepts of mass and weight are complicated and potentially confusing to elementary students. Hence, the more familiar term of "weight" is recommended for use to stand for both mass and weight in grades K-5. By grades 6-8, students are expected to understand the distinction between mass and weight, and use them appropriately.

Clarification for grades K-2: The use of the more familiar term "weight" instead of the term "mass" is recommended for grades K-2.

Clarification for grades 3-5: In grade 3, introduce the term mass as compared to the term weight. In grade 4, investigate the concept of weight versus mass of objects. In grade 5, discuss why mass (not weight) is used to compare properties of solids, liquids and gases.

General Information
Number: SC.K.P.8
Title: Properties of Matter
Type: Big Idea
Subject: Science
Grade: K
Body of Knowledge: Physical Science

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Independent

SC.K.P.8.In.1
Sort objects by observable properties, such as size, shape, or color.

Supported

SC.K.P.8.Su.1
Match objects by an observable property, such as size or color.

Participatory

SC.K.P.8.Pa.1
Recognize two common objects that are identical to each other.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans

Who Is Your Pilot?:

Engage students in a fun game of guessing by integrating science and math skills. Students keep track of how many pilots are still in the group as they eliminate some each round based on their partner's answer related to observable characteristics. This lesson is based on the CPALMS eReader, "Ten Little Pilots," resource #217323.

Type: Lesson Plan

Exploring Machine Learning to Train an AI Model:

Students will explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) and pretrain a model to recognize and identify objects, including geometric shapes and aircraft. They will used unplugged activities to mimic sorting and classification of the objects using their prior knowledge and then make connections to human learning and Machine Learning. Students will then problem solve and propose solutions using an iterative process to improve the ML model to better recognize the objects. This lesson is an integrated Computer Science, Science and Math lesson designed for students in K-2 to apply math and science content knowledge while exploring and using computational thinking like people in Computer Science careers do.

Type: Lesson Plan

Birds of a Feather:

Students will go on a simulated bird-watching trip around the classroom. They will collect and sort images of various birds into categories based on their visible characteristics. They will use these groups of bird images to practice counting and comparing objects in different categories. Students will use descriptions of bald eagles in the book, The Bald Eagle by Norman Pearl, to identify images of bald eagles among their categories and discuss how the bald eagle is a symbol of the United States.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sort Those Symbols:

Students will be able to sort objects, including American/Florida symbols based on size, color, and shape in this integrated lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sorting and Saying Through Voting:

Students will have the opportunity to apply knowledge of sorting and responsible voting to a fun and collaborative small group activity in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

What is so COOL about my Robot? Warm and Cool Colors:

In this lesson students will create works of art using a painted, warm colored background and a cut and pasted, cool colored robot.  This lesson will reinforce warm/cool colors and geometric shapes in a work of art.  Students will demonstrate mastery of sorting and selecting warm and cool colors.

 

Type: Lesson Plan

Observable Properties of Matter:

Students will sort objects according to their observable properties, such as size, shape, color, temperature (hot or cold), weight (heavy or light) and texture.

Type: Lesson Plan

Finding the One!!:

Students will sort and classify rocks by observable properties, such as size, shape, color and texture. (The properties of temperature and weight are not addressed in this lesson).

Type: Lesson Plan

The Fire Wheels:

The Fire Wheels MEA provides students with a problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best toy car for a company to sell.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sort it Out!:

In this lesson, students will use a graphic organizer to record their observations on sorting matter from the read aloud book Sorting by Lynn Peppas.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sorting Junk!:

In this lesson, students will sort junk boxes to help them understand Physical science benchmarks. Students will also access website to reinforce sorting and technology skills.

Type: Lesson Plan

Getting Wise About Size!:

In this lesson, students will learn common antonyms and will participate in an antonym matching game. They will also learn to sort objects based on a common pair of antonyms, "big" and "small". They will use their understanding of the words "big" and "small" to describe objects, both orally and in writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sorting by Shape and Color:

Students will sort various objects by shape and color in cooperative groups.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Stars and Stripes Part 1: Sorting Into Groups:

Learn about the American flag by identifying colors and shapes and sorting parts of flag designs into groups in this interactive S.T.E.M. and civics integrated tutorial.

This is part 1 of 2-part series, click HERE to view part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Stars and Stripes Part 2: Counting Within Groups:

Learn about the American flag by sorting flag designs and features into groups and counting the objects in a group in this interactive S.T.E.M. and civics integrated tutorial.

This is part 2 of 2-part series, click HERE to view part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Teaching Idea

Sort it Out-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students develop logic skills by investigating various ways to sort by attribute. At the same time, they are exposed to principles of scientific classification.

Type: Teaching Idea

Unit/Lesson Sequence

Sorting Lessons:

In this sequence of lessons, students have opportunities to sort various objects by multiple properties including color, size, shape, temperature, texture, and weight.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials

Stars and Stripes Part 1: Sorting Into Groups:

Learn about the American flag by identifying colors and shapes and sorting parts of flag designs into groups in this interactive S.T.E.M. and civics integrated tutorial.

This is part 1 of 2-part series, click HERE to view part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Stars and Stripes Part 2: Counting Within Groups:

Learn about the American flag by sorting flag designs and features into groups and counting the objects in a group in this interactive S.T.E.M. and civics integrated tutorial.

This is part 2 of 2-part series, click HERE to view part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.