### Lesson Plan: Matter and Its Properties
**Grade Level:** 3rd Grade
**Subject:** Science
**Lesson Duration:** 1 hour
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#### **Objective:**
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1. Define matter and understand that everything around us is made of matter.
2. Identify and describe the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
3. Understand the basic properties of each state of matter.
4. Participate in simple activities to demonstrate the properties of matter.
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#### **Materials Needed:**
- Chart paper and markers
- Balloons
- Ice cubes
- Glass of water
- Plastic containers
- Small rocks
- Cotton balls
- Pictures of various objects (both in solid, liquid, and gas forms)
- Science journals
- Measuring cups
- Thermometer
- Food coloring (optional)
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#### **Standards:**
- NGSS 2-PS1-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
- NGSS 2-PS1-4: Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
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#### **Introduction (10 minutes):**
1. **Greeting and Warm-Up:**
- Greet students and share today’s topic.
- Start with a quick discussion to get students thinking: “What are you made of? What is your chair made of? What is water made of?”
- Introduce the term “matter” as anything that takes up space and has mass.
2. **Hook:**
- Show a balloon and ask what might be inside it (air, a gas), and talk about how matter can be different forms.
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#### **Direct Instruction (15 minutes):**
1. **Definition of Matter:**
- Explain that matter is anything that has mass and takes up space.
- Use everyday objects to help illustrate: a book (solid), water (liquid), air (gas).
2. **States of Matter:**
- Show pictures or actual samples of solids, liquids, and gases.
- Define each state:
- **Solid:** Has a definite shape and volume (e.g., rocks, ice cubes).
- **Liquid:** Has a definite volume but takes the shape of its container (e.g., water, juice).
- **Gas:** Has no definite shape or volume and expands to fill its container (e.g., air in a balloon).
3. **Properties of Matter:**
- Describe properties such as hardness, texture, flexibility, buoyancy, etc.
- Discuss how solids, liquids, and gases can change from one form to another (e.g., ice melting to water, water evaporating into steam).
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#### **Guided Practice (15 minutes):**
1. **Activity 1: Sorting Matter:**
- Provide small groups with a set of pictures/objects.
- Have students sort these into three categories: solids, liquids, gases.
2. **Activity 2: Changing States:**
- Show an ice cube and ask what will happen if it’s left out (introduce melting).
- Place an ice cube in a container and let students observe it melting.
- Discuss what happens when water is boiled (introduce evaporation).
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#### **Independent Practice (10 minutes):**
1. **Science Journals:**
- Ask students to draw their observations of the ice melting.
- Have them write a few sentences describing a solid, liquid, and gas.
2. **Hands-On Experiment:**
- **Changing States Experiment:**
- Provide each student with a small plastic container of water.
- Let them add a drop of food coloring to see the liquid flow.
- Using a thermometer, take the water’s temperature.
- Discuss what would happen if we freeze or heat the water.
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#### **Closure (10 minutes):**
1. **Review Key Concepts:**
- Recap the states of matter and their properties.
- Ask questions:
- "What is matter?"
- "Can you give me an example of a gas?"
- "What happens when we heat or cool water?"
2. **Q&A Session:**
- Allow students to ask questions to clarify their understanding.
3. **Exit Ticket:**
- Ask each student to write one thing they learned about matter on a sticky note and place it on the chart paper.
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#### **Assessment:**
1. **Observation:**
- Monitor students’ participation and engagement during the sorting and journal activities.
2. **Discussion Participation:**
- Listen to their responses during the review and Q&A session.
3. **Science Journals:**
- Check for understanding through their drawings and sentences.
4. **Exit Ticket:**
- Review the sticky notes for accuracy in their understanding of the lesson objective.
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#### **Extensions:**
1. **For Advanced Students:**
- Introduce the plasma state and discuss its properties briefly.
- Perform additional experiments showing changes between states such as freezing water or observing condensation.
2. **For Struggling Students:**
- Provide additional hands-on activities and visual aids.
- Offer one-on-one support during journal activities and experiments.
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This lesson plan aims to provide a comprehensive, engaging, and hands-on approach to understanding matter and its properties for 3rd grade students, helping to stimulate curiosity and foundational scientific comprehension.