KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher Candidate: Mackenzie Rosenfelt
Cooperating Teacher: _________________________________
Group Size: Whole Class, Small Group
Allotted Time: 50 Minutes
Subject or Topic: Science- Matter Unit

Date: TBA
Coop. Initials: __________
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Section: _______________

STANDARD(s):
S3.C.1.1.3: Classify a substance as a solid, liquid, or gas.
S3.C.1.1.1: Describe matter in terms of its observable properties (e.g., weight, mass, shape, size, color, texture,
state).
I.

Performance Objectives
a. The 3rd grade students will be able to identify what matter is, the states of matter, and properties of
matter by creating a paper bag book.

II. Instructional Materials

a. Block
b. 2 cups, different sizes
c. Balloon (already blown up)
d. Pin
e. Construction paper
f. Markers
g. Crayons
h. Pencils
i. Chart paper
j. Brown lunch bags
k. Glue sticks
l. Pony beads
m. Science Notebooks
III. Subject Matter/ Content prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea(s), new content -- an outline goes here)
a. Prerequisite skillsi. Identifying properties of objects (shape, size, color, texture)
ii. Prior knowledge of the 5 senses
b. Key vocabularyi. Matter- Anything that takes up space and has mass
ii. Solid- State of matter that keeps its shape and volume
iii. Liquid- State of matter that keeps its volume but forms to the shape of its container
iv. Gas- State of matter that expands to occupy the volume available
v. Particles- What matter is composed of
vi. Property- Something about matter that you can observe with one or more of your senses
c. Big idea(s)i. Differentiating between the three states of matter and how they are made up.
ii. Identifying the properties of matter.
d. Additional contenti. N/A
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
a. Boys and girls, last week we talked a lot about object in the environment. This leads us into
our new science topic, which will be about matter. Today, we are going to begin our new unit
by learning about what matter is, the three states of matter, and how we can observe matter.
b. The teacher will have a block, cup of water, empty cup, pin, and balloon on the desk when
lesson begins.

B. Development
a. What is matter?
i. The teacher will tell the students that matter is all around is, us it anything that takes
up space. You see matter everywhere but you may have never realized it was matter.
Matter is made up of tiny particles that bounce off each other to keep its shape. There
are three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases.
ii. The definition of matter and the types of matter will then be written on the board.
iii. Ask students if they can see anything in the room that may give them a hint as to
what each type of matter could be.
iv. Students should be able to identify the three items on the desk and will be able to
give a guess on which state of matter each item is. After a student guesses, the
teacher will ask the class if they agree with that student.
v. After the guessing, the teacher will tell the students if they are correct.
b. States of matter
i. Solid
1. Teacher will tell students that a solid is anything that has a defined volume
and shape, which means that the volume and shape will not change. The
teacher will tell the students that volume is a type of measurement that will
be discussed later on in the unit, for now they will focus on the shape. The
teacher will refer to the block on the desk and call a student up to try and to
change the shape of the block (throw to ground, squish with hands, etc.).
Students should realize that nothing they can do to the block can change its
shape.
2. Under the solid label on the board, the teacher will draw the particles that
make up a solid for students to refer back to. Teacher will discuss that the
particles are so tightly knit together that they cannot move, and that is why a
solids shape is so defined.
ii. Liquid
1. Teacher will tell students that a liquid is anything that has a defined volume
but not a defined shape. The teacher will refer to the cup of water and empty
cup on the desk and call a student up to demonstrate how the water is able
to change its shape. The cups will be two different sizes, so the student will
be asked to pour the water from one cup to another to visualize this change
in shape.
2. Under the liquid label on the board, the teacher will draw the particles that
make up a liquid for students to refer back to. Teacher will discuss that the
particles are close together but have no structure to keep. This is why the
shape can change when a liquid is poured into a new container.
iii. Gas
1. Teacher will tell the students that gas does not have a defined volume or
shape. The reason that the balloon is blown up is because there are tiny
particles in the balloon are free-flowing. We cannot physically see gas, but
it is all around us. For example, the air we breathe is considered a gas, we
cannot see it but its there. Teacher will call up a student and ask them what
they think will happen if they use the pin on the balloon. After students give
the answer, the teacher will allow them to pop the balloon with the pin. The
students will then be told that the particles that were free-flowing in the
balloon to keep is blown up have been released into the air.
2. Under the gas label on the board, the teacher will draw the particles that
make up a gas for students to refer back to. Teacher will discuss that the
particles are free-flowing and have no shape to keep.
iv. Teacher will tell students they have two minutes to discuss with their partner what
each state of matter is and how we know. Then teacher will call on 3 students to
answer the question before moving on.
v. Give each table a piece of chart paper and have them make three columns and label
them: solid, liquid, and gas. Then tell the students they are to draw as many real-life
examples they can think of in each category. They will then post their papers on the
wall for the rest of the class to see. If the teacher finds a drawing that is in the wrong
category, then they will discuss it with the class and decide where that object should
go.

c.

d.

Properties of matter
i. The teacher will then choose one of the groups charts and point out an object they
have in each category. The teacher will ask students to brainstorm with their group
how they would describe each object if they were trying to explain it to someone
else.
ii. The teacher will call on 3 students, all from different groups, to describe these three
objects. He/she will write the students descriptions on the board.
iii. The teacher will then tell students that all of the characteristics given for each object
would be described as the objects properties. Properties of matter are something you
can observe with one or more of your senses.
1. If students did not cover all the senses in their descriptions of the object,
than the teacher will ask for examples of those senses. For example,
smelling.
iv. The teacher will then hold up a coffee can and ask students: what state of matter the
can is and to give properties of the coffee can. After the properties are given, the
teacher will then identify all of the types of properties the students described and
write them on the board.
1. Texture, color, shape, size, and smell should all be discussed. Teacher can
then ask students to give different examples for each property. For example,
shape could be a circle, rectangle, triangle, etc.
Matter Paper Bag Book
i. Teacher will then tell students that they are going to be creating paper bag books to
help remember the information they have been learning about matter.
ii. The class will be creating these books together step-by-step.
iii. Students will be given a worksheet that will have titles that they can glue on some of
the pages.
1. Cover page- Students will write the title Matter on the front with their
name in the bottom corner.
2. First page- Students will cut out the title What is matter? and glue it onto
their page. They will then write their answer under the question.
3. Second page- Students will cut out the title What are the 3 states of
matter? and glue it into their page. They will then write their answer under
the question.
4. Third page- Students will use construction paper and the example from the
teacher to create a foldable for inside the page. It will be in three sections.
On the top, the students will write each state of matter and on the inside
they will draw the particles that make up each state.
5. Fourth page- Students will cut out the Properties of Matter title and
worksheet and glue it into their book. They will fill out the worksheet.
6. Fifth page- Students will cut out the Properties of Matter title and paste it
into their book. They will then choose one object they used as their example
on page four and draw the object and describe it using the properties of
matter.

C. Closure
a. After the books are complete, the students will then switch their books with a partner and
check to be sure all of the information inside is correct.
b. Teacher will tell students that tomorrow they will begin discussing the different ways to
measure matter.
D. Accommodations / Differentiation
a. Student C.F. has autism and their sensory issues need to be addressed. The student will benefit
more from tactile learning as opposed to visual or auditory. This students ability to learn,
however, is fine and there are no academic accommodations that need to be made.
i. C.F. will have their own items on their desk when we are discussing each state of
matter so that they can feel and experiment themselves with each state of matter.
ii. They will be designated to label the chart paper and draw at least one object for each
state of matter on the paper.
iii. When the teacher draws the particles on the board, they will have pony beads to

complete the structure of each at their desk.

iv. They will be given their own coffee can to be able to work with the class on
identifying properties of the can. They can also write these characteristics in their
science notebook.
v. The student will be given a pre-made Properties of Matter foldable the gives tactile
examples of each property to refer back to.
vi. The student will be using pony beads in the paper bag book to show the particles for
each state of matter.
vii. The student will use one color for each state of matter throughout the book.
E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formativea. The students will complete a paper bag book that informs the reader of all of
the information discussed about matter for the given lesson. This will be graded
using a checklist.
2. Summative- There is no summative assessment for this unit.
V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Students Performance in Terms of States Objectives

1.
2.
3.

B. Personal Reflection
How could this lesson be improved?
Are the students understanding the content? If not, what can I do?
Are there any steps I could add to make this lesson more engaging for students?

VI. Resources
Hooty. (2012, 08 25). Hooty's Homeroom. Retrieved 09 24, 2014, from hootyshomeroom.blogspot.com:
http://hootyshomeroom.blogspot.com/2012/08/paper-bag-books.html
Selina. (2012, 04 19). Classroom Magic. Retrieved 09 24, 2014, from classroom.blogspot.com:
http://classroommagic.blogspot.com/2012/04/science-matters.html?
utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+ClassroomMagic+(Classroom+Magic)