1 of 15

Arizona STEM

Acceleration Project

The Biggest Snowman: Exploring States of Matter and Chemical/Physical Changes with Fake Snow

2 of 15

The Biggest Snowman: Exploring States of Matter and Chemical/Physical Changes with Fake Snow

A 5th grade STEM lesson

Kelsey Kendrick

12/7/2023

3 of 15

Notes for Teachers

Context: This lesson takes place in a classroom for one or more hours (or 1 or more class periods)
Students may work in small groups of 2-4.
An emphasis on states of matter, as well as physical and chemical changes.
Challenge: The students should try to build the tallest snowman possible.
* partnering with lower level elementary can make this a fun cooperative STEM activity.

-You may choose to add a fun story about snowmen to open up the activity.

List of Materials:

Enough plastic trays for every group

The trays need to be deep enough to hold a good amount of “snow”. Students will be making their snow and building their snowman in the tray.

Snow Materials

Baking Soda 1 cup per group
Corn Starch 1 cup per group
Liquid Soap 2 tbsp per group
Water-1 tbsp (per group) at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Melting the Snowman

1 cup of water per group
1 tbsp of citric acid per group

Other Materials

Beaker to measure (or measuring cups)
Pipettes (1 per person or 1 per group)
Ruler

Fake Snow Lab Packet

Notes and Materials: I created this lesson plan as a review for my sixth grade science classes. We also partnered with our first grade classrooms to give my students an opportunity to act as the teacher and to give our first grade students an opportunity to do a challenging STEM activity. This STEM activity allowed my sixth graders to review science and math concepts learned in fifth grade, but this would be great to do with a fifth grade class when learning about states of matter and physical and chemical changes. You may choose to give students a bag with the cornstarch and baking soda already measured and mixed together, or you can allow students to use a beaker or measuring cup to measure their own materials. When I did this with the younger students I chose to make the bags up ahead of time to allow for more time on the activity. Below is a link to the packet I created to go along with this lesson.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10krfY7U_ra39Vm7SvniKGmWZNROJS7cG1v63nu0Y7SY/edit

You may edit this and use it as you see fit, but please make a copy for yourself before editing.

4 of 15

Arizona Science Standards

Science Standards:

5.P1U1.1

Analyze and interpret data to explain that matter of

any type can be subdivided into particles too small

to see and, in a closed system, if properties change

or chemical reactions occur, the amount of matter

stays the same.

5.P1U1.2

Plan and carry out investigations to demonstrate

that some substances combine to form new

substances with different properties and others can

be mixed without taking on new properties.

Science and Engineering Practices

ask questions and define problems
develop and use models
plan and carry out investigations
analyze and interpret data
use mathematical and computational thinking
construct explanations and design solutions
engage in argument from evidence
obtain, evaluate and communicate information

Arizona Mathematics Standards

5.NF.A.1

Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with

equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators.

5.NF.B.7

Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.

5.MD.B.2

Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/8, 1/2, 3/4). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots.

5 of 15

Objective(s):

Today we will describe the states of matter used in our STEM activity.

Today we will make fake snow and use the fake snow to explore chemical changes.

Today we will measure our snowmen, using fractional lengths, and use those lengths to fill out a data table and line plot.

Today we will collaborate and communicate effectively with our peers to complete an engineering design challenge.

6 of 15

Agenda (60 minutes)

-Snowman Image Discussion (Lesson Opener)

-Key Concepts

-The Biggest Snowman Ever

-Snow Experiment

-Snowman Design Challenge

-Data Collection and Analysis

Above is the agenda that I followed. I began the lesson with a picture of a snowman and asked my students what states of matter are involved in the creation of a snowman. We then reviewed some key concepts they learned in fifth grade before beginning the experiment. If you are using this lesson with students that have not covered the standards in this lesson plan, you may want to add in some more time to cover the concepts states of matter and chemical and physical changes.

I partnered with the first graders at my site for this lesson, so I have included the read aloud that we did before we began our snow experiment. After the read aloud, we completed the snow experiment and completed the snowman design challenge. After we completed building, I had the kids go around and measure each other’s snowmen and record the measurements in a table. Finally, after the first graders left, my sixth grade students analyzed the data they gathered on the snowmen’s heights.

7 of 15

What states of matter are involved in the creation of a snowman?

8 of 15

States of Matter

Solid

Liquid

Gas

9 of 15

States of Matter

-Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas.

-Solids have a definite shape and volume, while liquids have a definite volume but take the shape of their container.

10 of 15

Physical and Chemical Changes

Physical Change

Chemical Change

11 of 15

Physical and Chemical Changes

-Physical changes involve a change in the physical properties of a substance, such as changes in size, shape, or state, but the substance itself does not change chemically.

-Chemical changes involve a change in the chemical composition of a substance, resulting in the formation of new substances with different properties.

12 of 15

Read-Aloud

13 of 15

Hands-On Activity Instructions

In a group of 2-4, use the provided substances to make snow and construct the biggest snowman possible.

Constraints:

bag of cornstarch and baking soda mix
hand soap
citric acid
water
at least 2 snow balls

14 of 15

Assessment

Snow:

Were you able to follow the lab directions and create “snow”
Did you work collaboratively with your group?
What states of matter did you begin with?
What states of matter did you end up with?
Was there a physical or chemical change occurring?

What is your evidence or reasoning?

Math Assessment

-Snowman line plot

-What was the average height of the snowmen our class made?

15 of 15

Differentiation

One way to differentiate in this lesson is to provide completed models for students and annotations that they can choose from to draw an arrow to the annotation and its’ matching model.

For the activity, you can provide everything pre-measure out for students that may struggle with measuring.

The math can be differentiated by having the student find the greatest and least greatest heights instead of the average.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

To challenge students or extend the lesson, you may choose to have them complete a written assignment where they explain the chemical reaction that occurred, using the lesson vocabulary.