properties of water assignment teacher edition

Properties of Water Lesson Plan - A Complete Science Lesson Using the 5E Method of Instruction

At the end of this properties of water lesson plan, students will be able to identify physical and chemical properties of water and describe how properties of water are important to the planet’s dynamic. Each lesson is designed using the 5E method of instruction to ensure maximum comprehension by the students.

The following post will walk you through each of the steps and activities from the properties of water lesson plan.

Objective Introduction

At the beginning of the lesson, the class will do a Think-Pair-Share to discuss the objective.

Class Activity

• Physical Properties
• Chemical Properties
• Explain to students they will be making a chart/table/picture note (their choice) of the properties of water after they have viewed the video.
• Show Video – Properties of Water

Student Activity

• Have them break up into small groups (your choice on size).
• In each group brainstorm what needs to be in their chart.
• Construct their chart/table/picture notes.
• Have one or two groups present their final product.

The teacher will help to clear any misconceptions about properties of water. Some major misconceptions are students think objects float in water because they are lighter than water. Not always – think surface tension. Also, students think ice molecules are colder than water molecules. Really ice molecules have less kinetic energy than water molecules.

Estimated Class Time for the Engagement: 20-30 minutes

EXPLORATION

This student-centered station lab is set up so students can begin to explore the properties of water. Four of the stations are considered input stations where students are learning new information about the properties of water and four of the stations are output stations where students will be demonstrating their mastery of the input stations.  Each of the stations is differentiated to challenge students using a different learning style.  You can read more about   how I set up the station labs here .

EXPLORE IT!

Students will be working in pairs to better understand what it means when water is described as having surface tension. Students will follow the directions on the task cards as they conduct a mini lab about surface tension with a water dropper and a penny.

WATCH IT!

At this station, students will be watching a seven-minute video explaining the properties of water. Students will then answer questions related to the video and record their answers on their lab station sheet. For example: Describe what a hydrogen bond is. What is surface tension? List two examples from the video of how the properties of water are important to life on Earth.

RESEARCH IT!

The research station will allow students to interact with a simulation that allows them to create water molecules. It will teach the students about polarity and how molecules can be fused by chemical bonding. Students will then be directed to answer a few questions based on the research they conducted.

READ IT!

This station will provide students with a one page reading about capillary action. In the reading, students will discover what capillary action is and why it is important in our everyday lives. There are 4 follow-up questions that the students will answer to show reading comprehension of the subject.

ASSESS IT!

The assess it station is where students will go to prove mastery over the concepts they learned in the lab.  The questions are set up in a standardized format with multiple choice answers.  Some questions include: Which best illustrates the electrical charge of a water molecule? Which property of water is responsible for capillary action? Why is a good example of the property of water called surface tension? Which answer best describes cohesion?

WRITE IT!

Students who can answer open-ended questions about the lab truly understand the concepts that are being taught.  At this station the students will be answering three task cards: Describe what polarity means in terms of being a property of water. What is evaporation and how does it contribute to the survival of species? What properties of water allows the organisms to survive underneath the ice?

ILLUSTRATE IT!

Your visual students will love this station. Students will need to have completed the research station portion first because students will need to draw a model showing 4 water molecules bonded together. Students may use a computer device for reference.

ORGANIZE IT!

The organize it station allows your students to place cards containing the definitions to the correct vocabulary word that it is describing.

Estimated Class Time for the Exploration: 1-2, 45 minute class periods

EXPLANATION

The explanation activities will become much more engaging for the class once they have completed the exploration station lab.  During the explanation piece, the teacher will be clearing up any misconceptions about the properties of water with an interactive PowerPoint, anchor charts, and interactive notebook activities. The properties of water lesson includes a PowerPoint with activities scattered throughout to keep the students engaged.

The students will also be interacting with their journals using INB templates for properties of water.  Each INB activity is designed to help students compartmentalize information for a greater understanding of the concept.  The properties of water INB template allow students to focus their notes on learning the vocabulary and their definitions.

Estimated Class Time for the Exploration: 2-3, 45 minute class periods

ELABORATION

The elaboration section of the 5E method of instruction is intended to give students choice on how they can prove mastery of the concept.  When students are given choice the ‘buy-in’ is much greater than when the teacher tells them the project they will have to create.  The elaboration project will allow students to create a presentation to teach about the properties of water.

Estimated Class Time for the Elaboration: 2-3, 45 minute class periods (can also be used as an at-home project)

The final piece of the 5E model is to evaluate student comprehension.  Included in every 5E lesson is a homework assignment, assessment, and modified assessment.  Research has shown that homework needs to be meaningful and applicable to real-world activities in order to be effective.  When possible, I like to give open-ended assessments to truly gauge the student’s comprehension.

Estimated Class Time for the Elaboration: 1, 45 minute class period

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Common Core Standards

Life emerges due to the chemical organization of matter into cells.

Essential Questions:

How does life result from chemical structure and function?

Liquid water forms hydrogen bonds, is a solvent, and forms hydronium ions allowing a wide range of biochemical reactions to occur.

Competencies:

Provide examples for when it is correct to use the terms scientific principle, scientific theory, scientific law, fact, and belief.

Pose questions and provide evidence-based explanations about understanding and observations of biological phenomena and processes.

Select and use appropriate tools and techniques when designing and conducting experiments related to the biological sciences and then communicate an analysis of the findings using various types of media.

Identify and describe various ways models are used to explain, interpret, and predict, biological phenomena/systems.

Covalent bond

Electronegativity

Polar molecule

Hydrogen bonding

Specific heat

Surface tension

The student will be able to:

• explain why water is a polar molecule.
• describe how polarity leads to hydrogen bonding.
• explain how hydrogen bonding accounts for the unique properties of water.
• analyze why water's properties are important to maintaining life on Earth.
• use process skills to determine the pH of common household products.
• explain why pH is important to living things.

Lesson Essential Question(s)

3 days (after teaching polarity and hydrogen bonding between water molecules)

Poster board

Markers/Colored pencils

Handout and material list for pH Lab:  http://powerposse.aps.com/classroom/curriculums/pdf/Eighth/eiggactivity5.pdf

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Instructional procedures.

Days 1: Jigsaw activity

1. In their journals, students answer a review question about the previous day's material. "Draw 3 water molecules and show how/where they would hydrogen bond with each other.

2. The teacher monitors student progress. Students share their drawing with their desk partner to compare and discuss.

3. The teacher chooses one pair of students to draw their water molecules on the Promethean Board. The teacher reviews the drawing with the class.

4. The class is broken into four groups. Each group is assigned one of the properties of water (ability to make solutions/pH, cohesion/adhesion, high specific heat, ice is less dense than liquid water). Students read about their designated property out of their text book.

5. Students work with their group to create a poster summarizing the property. The poster must include a drawing representing how the property applies to water's importance to life and a short summary, in words, what the property is.

6. Each group gives a short presentation about their poster. The other groups will take notes in their notebooks with a graphic organizer. (the name of the property/what it means/what the drawing represents)

Day 2: pH Lab

1. Students will work in pairs to complete the activity. Students will work with their partners to answer warm up questions in their journals. "What is pH? Which of the four properties of water would pH be categorized under?"

2. Each pair receives 4 paper cups, each with a different house hold material (grape juice, stain remover, vinegar, and baking soda)2. Students will work with their partner to make predictions as to whether they think each substance is an acid or a base and what they think the pH is. This is recorded in the data chart. (see link in Materials section for the link to the lab handout)

3. Students use Litmus paper to test and record the pH for each substance. This is recorded in the data chart.

4. Students answer the Analysis Questions with their partner.

5. Students revisit the journal questions from the beginning of class, and using what they've learned in the lab, adjust their answers if necessary.

 Day 3: Formative Assessment

1. Working with the same partners from the previous day, the pair travels and meets with another pair to compare and share answers from the journal questions from day 2.

2. The pair finds at least two other pairs to repeat the discussion.

3. Students adjust their answers if necessary.

Formative Assessment:

4. Students first work individually to answer the formative assessment questions.

5. Students then exchange their answer with another student, who "grades" their response.

6. Students meet with their peer editor to discuss the grading.

7. The teacher displays an acceptable answer (answer key) on the board and discusses its evaluation.

Formative Assessment

AnswerKey Assessment 7/24/2012 12:50 PM.pdf StudentVersion Assessment 7/24/2012 12:50 PM.pdf

Related Materials & Resources

http://powerposse.aps.com/classroom/curriculums/pdf/Eighth/eiggactivity5.pdf - Handout and material list for pH Lab.

Other related resources:

Water Properties and Systems

Water, Uniquely Created for Life

Like Dissolves Like - Water the Universal Solvent

Date Published

Insert template, information.

Instant Engagement Activities for Teaching Properties of Water

Properties of water activities are always a hit in the classroom!

Learning about water is ridiculously fascinating and SO MUCH FUN to teach!

I love when students ask what was “added to the water” to make it do these things! 🤣

What makes teaching properties of water so wonderful?

• Properties of water lab activities are CHEAP !
• Materials are easy to find (you probably have everything in your room).
• There are SO many labs you can do either as stations, partners, or demos!

Let me share a few of my favorite activities to help your middle school students love learning about the properties of water!

WANT TO BLOW YOUR STUDENTS’ MINDS???

Get your students hooked right away with this mind blowing activity!

Challenge students to see how many pennies they can fit into a cup of water filled to the brim!

It’s quick and easy to set up!

Fill a cup of water to the brim so the cup can not hold any more water.

Ask students to predict how many pennies can fit in to the “full” glass without it overflowing.

Challenge students to gently place pennies into the cup of water. Drop them in by the thin side.

Students will be amazed to see that they can add an additional 20-30 pennies into a full cup of water!

Bonus : Observe and draw the “dome” at the top of the glass!

IS WATER WET?

Every year during our water unit I get asked this question. I love to have this discussion and then play “ Why water is not wet – with PROOF” video on YouTube.

This makes a great CER too!

ADHESION AND COHESION ACTIVITIES

• On a sheet of wax paper, use a pipette to place a drop of water about the size of a penny. Give students a toothpick and challenge them to stretch the drop as long as they can. Bonus tip: Incorporate measurement by adding a cm ruler!
• Print a maze on paper and place it in a clear plastic sheet protector. Place a drop of water the size of a penny on the sheet protector and challenge students to move it through the maze as fast as they can . Add a stopwatch for extra fun!

EASY SURFACE TENSION ACTIVITIES

• Ask students what will happen when you drop a paper clip in water. Of course they will say sink.
• Give them a fork, paper clip and water and challenge them to make it float.
• Here’s the trick : Place the paperclip on the fork and gently set it on the surface. Then slip the fork under the paperclip and remove from the water.

• Sprinkle black pepper on the top of water. Surface tension will cause the pepper to lay on top. Bonus move: dip a toothpick in detergent and place it in the water. The detergent will cause the surface tension to break and the pepper will disperse and sink.
• This is one of my favorite properties of water activities! It’s a great way to easily investigate surface tension, cohesion, and adhesion at once
• Plus, I love it when the kids ask what I did to the water to make it act like this!!!!
• Check out this QUICK-PREP LESSON !

EASY CAPILLARY ACTION ACTIVITIES AND DEMOS

• Set up : Set up five clear glasses in a row (or circle). Fill glass 1, 3, and 5 halfway with water. Fill glass 1 with red food coloring and water. Fill glass 3 with blue food coloring and water, and fill glass 5 with yellow food coloring and water.
• Place a 2 inch paper towel in an upside down “v” shape connecting each class to its neighboring glass. Have students predict what will happen. Compare predictions to the results the next day.

• Observe a clear drinking straw in water. The water level inside the straw will rise slightly compared to the water level of the straw. Experiment with different size straws to see how the water level is affected.
• Cut the end off of a celery stalk and place it in straight food dye.
• Using concentrated food dye is a huge game changer – results happen quickly and are vibrant !
• ** This is also great to do with white carnations or daisies!

• The paper towel lab is a great way for students to explore capillary action in a meaningful way. In this activity students will explore several brands of paper towels and determine which has the most capillary action. I love to throw in our school paper towels for comparison – it really explains a lot!!!
• Check out this easy prep lab below !

SPECIFIC HEAT DEMO

The balloon demo is always a hit!

Using two balloons, fill one balloon with air and one balloon with water. Hold both over a flame. Kids LOVE this part!

The balloon filled with air will pop quickly, while the balloon with water absorbs the heat energy keeping it from popping.

UNIVERSAL SOLVENT AND DENSITY

I love this four part lab shown below to help students observe properties of water and see how they work together!

Are you looking for super low-prep and engaging activities for your students?

Take a look at the Water Properties Bundle ! It has 7 of my best-selling properties of water resources that are friendly for in-person or distance learning because we know how flexible teachers need to be!

All of the planning is done for you , so you can spend more time on nights and weekends doing the things you love!

Teachers like you said:

This resource was PERFECT! As a VA educator, finding a resource that fits the SOL’s exactly is nearly impossible, until now! My students loved the labs, they were super low prep, and engaging for the students. The language was simple enough for them to understand the content, but appropriately introduced the vocabulary. I will definitely be coming back to this shop!

I used this resource with my Science Bowl team. It did a great job introducing the concepts we needed in order to be successful in our competition. We did very well this year in our competition. Thank you for the resource!

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Education Standards

Virginia science standards of learning 2018.

Learning Domain: Grade 6

Standard: The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices by: planning and carrying out investigations; independently and collaboratively plan and conduct observational and experimental investigations; identify variables, constants, and controls where appropriate, and include the safe use of chemicals and equipment; evaluate the accuracy of various methods for collecting data; take metric measurements using appropriate tools; use tools and materials to design and/or build a device to solve a specific problem.

Standard: The student will investigate and understand that water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment. Key ideas include water is referred to as the universal solvent.

Standard: The student will investigate and understand that water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment. Key ideas include water has specific properties.

6.6ab_properties_of_water_Final

Properties of water.

Science Instructional Plans (SIPs) help teachers align instruction with the Science Standards of Learning (SOL) by providing examples of how the content and the scientific and engineering practices found in the SOL and curriculum framework can be presented to students in the classroom.

Science Instructional Plans (SIPs) help teachers align instruction with the 2018 Science Standards of Learning (SOL) by providing examples of how the content and the scientific and engineering practices found in the SOL and curriculum framework can be presented to students in the classroom.

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