Materials are made of matter. We can observe misshapen objects, including a crayon, lip balm, and a candle.
Planning and conducting an investigation to determine evidence that can be used to construct a claim that some changes causes by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
Crayons are made of wax in a shape that we can hold with our fingers. Birthday candles are made of wax in a shape that we can put on a cake. Lip balm is made of wax in a shape that we can apply to our lips.
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In Lesson 4: Reversible and Irreversible Changes, students constructed a claim based on evidence as they explored reversible and irreversible changes that are caused by heating or cooling different substances. In this final lesson, students return to the anchoring phenomenon of materials being made of matter and misshapen objects in order to develop an engineering plan that utilizes their thinking from Lesson 4: Reversible and Irreversible Changes, i.e., the changes that occurred to the misshapen objects are reversible or irreversible. The engineering plan ultimately solves problems generated by the students, i.e., how to keep the objects from becoming misshapen or how to return the objects to their original and useful shape. Students use a design process and 2.1.H1: Engineering Planning Sheet to develop a plan, compare plans with others, and collaboratively revise their plans. After conducting the investigation, students use their data to write a claim of how and if solid objects can be turned into a different shape. From their experiences with properties of materials and how properties of materials are or are not affected by heating and cooling, the students are able to explain the phenomena of the misshapen objects.
Throughout the lesson, a flag () denotes formative assessment opportunities where you may change instruction in response to students’ level of understanding and making sense of phenomena.
Part I | 30–60 minutes | Engage |
Part II | 60 minutes | |
30 minutes | Explore | |
15 minutes | Explain/Evaluate | |
15 minutes | Elaborate |
Observations combined with prior knowledge are used to infer the causes of changes to properties of matter.
Collaboratively plan and carry out an investigation to gather evidence to support or refute ideas about causes of changes to matter due to heating and cooling.
This Explore helps students make the connection to the anchoring phenomenon via their learning in Lessons 2.1: Properties of Matter through 2.4: Reversible and Irreversible Changes.
Have students choose one misshapen object they want to focus on to plan an investigation. Be aware of safety concerns in the planning, e.g., you can’t put a metal lip balm stick case in a microwave. Here is a sample student plan that only includes the Imagine and Plan phase:
Imagine: I can change the shape of the misshapen crayon.
Plan: First, I would stick the crayon in a microwave to make it a liquid. Then, I would put it in a mold in the shape of a real crayon. Next, I would put it in the freezer to cool. Last, I would use the crayon to color my picture.
Gather evidence to support or refute ideas about the causes of changes to matter.
Provide the following sentence frame if your students would benefit:
I think my plan for ___ will work because ___.
For example, I think my plan for the crayon will work because it is just like what we did with the chocolate. The chocolate melted and turned to a liquid. Then when we put it in a mold, it became hard again after it cooled. I think the crayon will do the same thing. It will have the same shape and hardness (properties) as the regular one.
Throughout the Matter Unit, a 5E the word model was employed; however, at the end of Lesson 5: The Great Wax Disaster, the final Explain is used to Evaluate student understanding of the anchoring phenomenon. Use this rubric to evaluate students’ plans.
Defining and delimiting an engineering problem means generating more than one possible solution to a problem.