Great Lesson On Solids and Liquids for Children

This article on exploring the properties of a mixture with young children is short and to the point. It talks about different ways you can engage your students in this topic. This article gi... See More

This article on exploring the properties of a mixture with young children is short and to the point. It talks about different ways you can engage your students in this topic. This article gives teachers ideas on how to get the children curious about this topic by doing things such as allowing unstructured play with aluminum foil, clay, or cutting put pieces of paper. It also discusses allowing children to play for long amounts of time with common kitchen ingredients such as flour, baking soda, salt, and oil. While the students are playing you can ask them open ended questions about what they are doing and about the substances they are playing with. You can record their answers for assessment. At the end of this article it gives you a full out lesson plan for cornstarch and water. This is a great activity for children because it is so different than doing an activity where you mix a solid and a liquid (ex. ice cube and water). With this activity you mix the cornstarch and the water together and it creates a solid like substance when you touch it, however when you pick it up in your hand it drips out and runs as a liquid. It is a very strange feeling that kids really love playing with and exploring. This lesson plan comes with an objective, materials, and a full procedure for the activity which can easily be used right away in any classroom. I liked this article and it helped me better understand how small children can experience liquids and solids and gave me a ready to use lesson plan.