[jamielynne]

anyone have any great ways to teach these concepts to younger elementary aged students?

[Miller]

melt an ice cube
it shows all three stages

put ice water with ice in a glass and the kids can see the condensation

[Leah E]

Making OObleck (water, corn starch, and food coloring) is a fun way to teach solids and liquids. It has properties of both. The younger kids have a great time with it.

[ksuwildcat]

How about making a rootbeer float?

[bamagirl]

I have made Jello with my 5th graders. It starts as a solid and dissolves into the liquid water. When you are heating it, they can see it evaporating into a gas. Put it in the fridge...and it's back to solid! I pour my jello into ice trays, and each student usually gets 2-3 cubes to eat!

I have also made the Oobleck...make sure you read the book "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" to go along with your lesson! It can get messy, so make sure you have baby wipes/Clorox wipes handy.

bamagirl

[ssschiess]

In our Kindergarten we teach the kids a drill it goes like this
Solid, Liquid, Gas
Solid, Liquid, Gas
The states of Matter just ask our class
Solid has shape,
Liquid takes one
Gas has none
We do this during our science time and also during morning meeting drills. Helps the kids to remember.
Suzanne

[Ilvtching]

We do that one every year to wrap up our Solid Liquids and gases unit. The kids love it! We also buy all our kids a soda from McDonalds (the orange so there is NO caffine) and we set them on their desk so they can see condensation. Very hard for them to grasp! They love this too!

Amy

[donna]

I teach 2nd and we have a kit we follow for Solids Liquids and Gases.
One activity the kids love is dropping an AlkaSeltzer tablet into a cup of water. This is how we kick off the unit.

First they predict what will happen. Most don't know what the tablet is and I don't tell them. We write down properties of the tablet (solid) and properties of the water (liquid). Then everyone at the same time drops the tablet into their water and it starts to bubble up creating a gas.
You should hear the excitement! I tell them to put their hand over the top of the cup to feel the gas. Kind of like the bubbles of a soda when you open it. Finally they draw what happened on their observation page.

You can also introduce the word "dissolving" at this time. Most of the kids say the tablet "melted".

[mab]

I have my second graders use their index finger as a testing finger for solids, liquids, and gases. They ask 2 questions while using their fingers: Can you put your finger thru it?
Can you pour it?
If you get 2 no's, then it's a solid.
2 yes's, then it's a liquid.
1 no, 1 yes, then it's a gas.

Another thing we do is act out how matter behaves. They each become a molecule of matter. First we bunch up together as tightly as we can so that we can't move, then we're a solid. Then we take a step backward and we can move more freely, then we're a liquid. After that we move way far apart where we can float all over, then we're a gas! They always understand it!

[NJ Teacher]

We take the small water bottles (500 ml) and put about a cup of water inside. We give each group an antacid tablet which they crush (the drugstore generic kind works fine) and then a balloon is placed over the neck of the bottle. The kids love it when the gas causes the balloon to blow up.

[gloves2teach]

Can the kids get the balloon over the bottle before its done fizzing or do you have adults to help them? Is 500 mL the half pint size? Thanks for your help!

Another way to show that the Alka Seltzer changes into a gas is to use a bottle wide enough to drop the tablet into. Drop it in and then immediately stretch a balloom across the top. The gas will blow up the balloon and make it stand up straight. It amazes my 4th graders every year!

[newbieteach]

I am not sure how in depth you are going but we have to know what the molecules will look like in each of these. We do the following activity to show how the molecules act in each.

Since a solid's molecules are close together I have the students stand in a big group touching shoulders. For liquid they spread apart a little and move around in their own little space. For gas they can run around the room because the molecules are spread far apart and move around a lot.

The kids really like doing this. I hope this makes sense and helps.