States of Matter

We have been learning all about the States of Matter in science.  We did three exploratory activities.  I was trying to determine if students could sort matter into its states. 

To assess them, I stayed with the students in the first station.  There were pictures of many different kinds of matter.  You can see that students sorted an ice cream cone, feather, candles, and an apple into the solid pile.  In liquids, they sorted soup, water, lemonade, and milk.  I was checking to see if all of my students could sort matter.  

This is a picture of the completed sort.

In the second station, we explored the properties of solids.  I have a rock collection that I shared and students used magnifying glasses to figure out some of the properties of solids.  Here are some students examining the rocks.

These are the rocks in my collection.  They are labeled and stored in baggies.

In the third station, students read books in our classroom library about the States of Matter.  Here are some pictures.

The consensus after we finished the rotations was that, "You can learn a lot if you explore materials!"