Could States of Matter Be Any More Fun?

This week we added a new 1st grade student.  She is going to fit in great with our group!  We started our day working individually in the TOPS Math program.

We had a tremendously fun day Monday!  We have been waiting for the exciting arrival of our favorite Quirkle, Gilbert Gas.

My first graders that were with me last year said, "I remember him.   I loved those experiments."   Thanks to Steven Spangler Science and a Google search or two, I was able to find new and even more exciting experiments that teach the states of matter.  We discussed the different forms water can take.

The students easily shared what they knew about the water cycle.  They knew water was a liquid and when it it frozen, it forms ice which is a solid.  They knew water evaporates when it is heated and becomes steam or water vapor, a gas.  A few students knew clouds were made of water vapor and when the clouds are too full of moisture, the gas changes to liquid in the form of rain.

I wanted to explore the states of matter with something with which they are unfamiliar.  Dry ice was perfect.  We learned dry ice is a solid and that it is the frozen form of carbon dioxide.  We discussed carbon dioxide freezes at -109 degrees Fahrenheit so we needed to protect our skin from it by using gloves or tongs to handle the ice.  The students also learned dry ice sublimates and goes from solid straight to a gas.  Check out some of our experiments in the video and slide show below.

The students continued to explore Microsoft Power Point during our computer lab time.

It was a busy but really fun day!  Boys and girls, what was your favorite experiment?