Focus: In this unit, students learn that matter, the “stuff” of which everything is made, exists in many forms. Students will practice sorting and grouping materials by characteristics, called properties, and investigate how the properties of different types of matter make them useful for different tasks. Students take measurements, which permit simple comparisons of different objects. Students explore concepts that include the following:
- Different forms of matter exist and can be solid, liquid, or gas depending on the temperature.
- Matter can be described and classified by its observable and measurable properties.
- Different properties of matter are suited to different purposes.
- A variety of objects can be built up from a small set of pieces.
- Heating and cooling a substance may cause an observable change that may or may not be reversible.
Engineers and engineering designers use knowledge of the properties of matter as they use materials in design solutions to make things that are useful to people. This series of lessons incorporates learning goals that support the principles and practices of engineering design, such as defining problems, testing materials, and evaluating possible solutions.
Number of Lessons: 4, each lesson is divided into 3–5 lesson segments.
Instruction Time: We recommend that you plan for about 30–45 minutes for each lesson segment. We further recommend that you spend a minimum of twenty-five days and a maximum of thirty-seven days teaching the Properties of Matter unit so that you have time to teach the other units in the Grade 2 CKSci series.
Please note that a Pacing Guide template is provided within the Teacher Guide so teachers can map out the instructional days for this unit.
Additional Search Terms:
matter • property • gas • liquid • solid• observe • sort • temperature • thermometer • heating • hardness • porous • strength • absorption • change • phase • prediction • nonfiction • informational text
CKSci Grade Levels: CKSci units are correlated to topics at the grade levels specified in the K–5 Core Knowledge Science Sequence.
