The Matter Song teaches all about matter and the states of matter. With this states of matter song, students learn about solid, liquid, and gas, as well as the phases of matter, properties of matter, physical changes, chemical changes, and so much more. Matter has mass and takes up space.…
Matter word wall flash cards with 16 picture cards for solid, liquid, gas, melt, evaporate and more, for 2nd to 5th grade science. Answer key included for easy checking.
This solid liquid gas worksheet asks 2nd Grade students to name the state of matter in six everyday examples using a word bank. An answer key is included.
This classifying list worksheet has 2nd grade students sort nine everyday words into solid, liquid, and gas columns. An answer key is included, making it easy to check their thinking about matter.
This hot and cold activity lets children sort 12 picture cards onto a Hot and Cold mat to learn about temperature. For kindergarten to 2nd grade, answer key included.
This states of things states of matter activity has Kindergarten to 2nd Grade students sort 12 picture cards under Solid, Liquid, and Gas headings, with a sorting chart, practice page and answer key included.
While listening to the Matter Song (MP3), students learn about the states of matter, phases of matter, properties of matter, physical changes, chemical changes, solid, liquid, and gas and more.
Solid, liquid, gas: matter is everywhere!
Second graders learn that matter is anything that takes up space, and that it comes in three states: solid, liquid and gas. A block keeps its shape, juice takes the shape of its cup, and the air in a balloon spreads out to fill it. Kids describe and sort materials by properties like hard or soft, heavy or light, and bendy or stiff. They also discover that heating and cooling can change matter: ice melts into water, and chocolate melts in a warm hand. The click comes when a child points at a puddle and says, "That used to be snow!"
Matter is a hands-on topic. Kids need to touch it, pour it and watch it change.
Start the unit with the matter song and have kids make a motion for each state: fists tight for solid, wavy hands for liquid, arms flung wide for gas. Use the motions all week whenever you name a state.
Why it works: words set to a repeating melody are easier to recall than the same words spoken (Wallace, 1994).
Try it withMatter SongSongsOpen it →Bring in a tray of everyday items: a rock, a cup of water, a bottle of air, a crayon. Kids sort them into solid, liquid or gas and explain how they decided. Then they record the sort on paper.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withSolid Liquid Gas WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Post matter vocabulary with pictures, like melt, freeze, shape and container. Point to a word every time you use it in the lab. Kids start using the words in their own explanations.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withMatter Word WallFlash CardsOpen it →Matter experiments feel like magic to 2nd graders.
ActivitiesGive each group an ice cube and see who can melt it fastest without putting it in their mouth. Talk about why hands warm it.
Open Hot and Cold Activity →
ActivitiesKids huddle close for a solid, wiggle around for a liquid, then spread out across the room for a gas.
Open States of Things States of Matter Activity →
WorksheetsKids list things around the classroom and sort each one by state of matter. Bonus points for tricky ones like toothpaste!
Open Classifying List Worksheet →Teacher favorites right now: Matter Song, Matter Word Wall and Solid Liquid Gas Worksheet.
Solids keep their shape, liquids take the shape of their container, and gases spread out to fill any space. Ice, water and steam are the same matter in three states.
They describe and sort materials by their properties and learn that heating or cooling can change matter, like melting or freezing. Some changes can be undone, and some cannot.
Freeze water into ice cubes, then let them melt on a plate and talk about each change. Or melt a little chocolate in your hands. Kids love tasting the results.
Yes! Air takes up space, even though we cannot see it. Blowing up a balloon is a great way to show kids that air is a gas that fills space.
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