Name: Danielle Monjean

ID: 110234120
Unit Planner for Learning in Science
Learner context
Topic Focus: Chemical Sciences: Solids and Liquid
Level of schooling: Year 3
School and class context:
The year 3 class consisting of 25 students; 12 boys and 13 girls. Within this classroom, there is a student with an
intellectual disability and three ESL students. During Science lessons, there is an SSO who is allocated to support these
four students throughout the lesson. Due to this, the classroom environment is set up to enable flexible learning. This is
where the children have the choice of where they wish to sit and learn, enabling independence skills. Collaborative
learning and groups discussions are promoted through the positioning of the tables and having free open spaces to
work with. The classroom has a speak up culture where all students are supported to build positive relationships and
feel comfortable to raise their hand to offer comments or ask questions.

What is the learning focus?

Concept(s):
All matter exists as solids, liquids
and gases and are called states of
matter.
Solids have a fixed volume and holds
their own shape.
Liquids take the shape of the
container they are in, have a free
surface but a fixed volume.
Matter can change from one state to
another through being heated or
cooled.
These changes of matter are called;
heating, freezing, condensation or
evaporation.
Thinking and Working Scientifically/Mathematically:
 Developing the ability to broaden their terminology and vocabulary
 Describe characteristics of solids and liquids
 Use their understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning
skills
 Use estimation skills
 Use observation skills
 Use questioning skills
 Have good communication skills through physical representations,
predicting and hypothesizing
 Analysing and comparing different data
 Classifying different states of matter
 Recording, reporting and communicating the findings to peers.

Key manipulative / algorithmic skills being developed

 Correctly match two given substances
 Participate in different science experiments
 Students can use their team work and social skills
 Answer independently
 Use fine motor skills to manipulate the materials and heating/cooling methods
 Participate in physical movement and representations
Dispositions:
 Develop a curiosity about how the physical world works
 Develop an understanding of different states of matter and how they can change
 Develop positive behaviours and attitudes towards Science

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

How will the students engage with this learning? (Provide here an outline of a learning experience with using the given structure)
Prior Knowledge/Engagement Learning Experiences (s):
Lesson 1: Engage: Prior Knowledge Lesson
Capture student’s interest and find out their prior knowledge about solids and liquids and how these states change
through adding or removing heat.

Prior Knowledge Experience 1:

- Use hands on materials to engage the students with substances from different states (melt prior to students
observing)
- Students observe melted substances and answer prompting questions about the state and what it used to be.
Prior Knowledge Experience 2:
- Introduce non melted objects
Students observe and make connections, answer prompting questions
Prior Knowledge Experience 3:
- Class discussion
Enable a class discussion about the definitions of ‘melting’ and ‘freezing’, examples and how this occurs, etc
Exploratory /Explore Learning Experiences:
The explore phases enables the students to be involved in hands-on experiences to explore ideas, collect
evidence and discuss their observations on what happens during the heating and cooling process. Students will
use the PROE (predict, reason, observe, explain) format.
Lesson 2: Explore: Melting
Exploratory Experience 1:
- Watch the YouTube to begin learning the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33WdI64FiY
- Ask questions to get the terminology and definitions of the different types of matter from students.
Exploratory Experience 2:
- Discuss lesson focus, guidelines and safety requirements
- Introduce materials (water, honey, oil, chocolate chips, metal, etc)
- Brainstorm descriptive words on board that students might use (hold, cold, runny, sticky, soft, etc)
- Predict/hypothesise what will happen when the different materials are heated
- Record reasons for predictions in workbooks using sentences and pictures
Exploratory Experience 2:
- Allocate groups to a material
- Observe at room temperature and make notes/pictures in before section
- Decide on heat sources (sunlight, hairdryer, heater, oven)
- Conduct the experiments for each of the materials
- Explain what happened in their workbooks in after section
Exploratory Experience 3:
- Class Discussion
Students share their results to the class (encourage descriptive and comparative language)
- Half the bags go in the freezer and half in the fridge for next lesson

Differentiation:
- Groups are chosen to enable students to help and learn from each other
Dial Down:
- Draw pictures instead of sentences
- Copy describing words off the board
- SSO works with students that need help
Dial Up:
- Write words
- Write sentences
- Discover own describing words

Lesson 3: Explore: Cooling/freezing

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

Exploratory Experience 1:
- Recap on what the students did last lesson
- Brainstorm descriptive words on board that students might use (cold, frozen, slippery, hard, wet etc)
- Predict/hypothesise what will happen with the different materials that were put in the fridge and freezer last
lesson
- Record reasons for prediction in workbooks using sentences and pictures
- Discuss lesson focus, guidelines and safety requirements
Exploratory Experience 2:
- Groups to get out their materials from fridge
- Observe and explain what happened in their workbooks in after section
Exploratory Experience 3:
- Groups to get out their materials from freezer
- Observe and explain what happened in their workbooks in after section
Exploratory Experience 4:
- Choose one material and turn all observations into a story board (before warming, after warming, after
putting in fridge, after putting in freezer)
- Explain task
- Students undertake
Exploratory Experience 5:
- Class Discussion
Students share their results to the class (encourage descriptive and comparative language)
- Present their story boards
Exploratory Experience 6:
- Game: Freeze
Students walk around play area until teacher says freeze, students freeze, and teacher says melt to go again
When frozen, ask prompting questions like, ‘what is something that melts?’, etc.
Differentiation:
- Recapping at beginning of lesson jogs the memory of students that need it about the terminology and
definitions etc.
- Groups are chosen to enable students to help and learn from each other
Dial Down:
- Draw pictures for story board
- Copy describing words off the board
- Simplify questions for the Freeze game

Dial Up:
- Write words on their story board
- Write sentences on their story board
- Discover own describing words
- Alter questions for the Freeze game to challenge students that need an extension

Explain Learning Experiences:

Lesson 4: Explain: Changing states
Explain Experience 1:
- Recap on what the students did last lesson through discussing their results and viewing their storyboards

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

 - Watch the YouTube clip to recap on the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33WdI64FiY
- Explicitly explain what molecules are
- Explain the role play activities (students will be a physical representation of a solid/liquid/gas).
Explain Experience 2:
- Participate in the first role play activity
Students will act as the atoms and the molecules in the states of matter with their bodies (solid=stand close,
liquid=space between, gas= separated greatly).
- Participate in the second role-play activity
- Teacher outline rules and two separate areas (solids and liquids)
Teacher to call out different forms of solids/liquids (ice, table, juice) and students move to the designated
area accordingly and begin acting like the matter stated. (for example; juice, jiggly to liquid area, take the
shape of the area)
Teacher to also call out different warming and cooling along with an example (heater, fridge, in the sun) and
students to move to the correct state that will happen if heated or cooled. (for example; ice and heater,
students move to the liquid area)
- The slowest person is out
Explain Experience 3:
- Using concrete materials, students represent the molecules of the different states on a plate (Image 1)
Draw this in their books
Represent with concrete materials how the molecules look and change when heated/cooled and visa versa
Draw and write process in their books
Differentiation:
- Recapping at beginning of lesson jogs the memory of students that need it about the terminology and
definitions etc.
- Groups are chosen to enable students to help and learn from each other
- Respect that students may not like standing close to their peers so they can act as gases
Dial Down:
- Use simplified examples during the role play activities

Dial Up:
- Challenge students in the activities with time limits
- Extend students with using harder examples

Investigations /Problem solving/Elaboration Learning Experiences:

Students are able to be involved in an investigation to discover how shape affects the melting rate of
chocolate.
Lesson 5: Elaborate

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

 Elaborate Experience 1:
- Discussion as a class about different materials melting at different temperatures, shape changing, etc.
- Introduce chocolate material and explain investigation aim
- Discuss how to write questions for investigations and how to conduct a fair test
- Split into groups
Elaborate Experience 2:
- Student’s to collect chocolate
- Fill in first part of investigation planner (aim, hypothesis, materials and procedure) (appendix 1)
Elaborate Experience 3:
- Conduct experiment:
Break chocolate up and put into two sample bags
Choose heating method (hair dryer, sun, heater)
Heat
Conduct observations
Elaborate Experience 4:
- Record results on planner
- Recap on how to construct and use bar graphs
- Draw a bar graph in work books showing results (labelled: number of minutes and full piece of chocolate and
broken up chocolate
- State a conclusion to experiment on planner
Elaborate Experience 5:
- Discuss results and findings as a class
Differentiation:
- Groups are chosen to enable students to help and learn from each other
- SSO to assist where needed
Dial Down:
- Draw pictures on investigation planner
- Make bar graphs on the group with a small group of students that need assistance
Dial Up:
- Write words or sentences on investigation planner
- Challenge students by getting them to make bar graph themselves
- Extend students with getting them to choose a graphing method of their choice
After views & reflection/ Evaluation learning Experience
Lesson 6: Evaluate
Evaluate Experience 1:
- Reflect on what has happened over the unit
- Brainstorm ideas of what we have learnt
Evaluate Experience 2:
- Fill in the ‘Too Hot’ worksheet (appendix 2) to be assessed
Evaluate Experience 3:
- Students to represent what they know through choosing either solid or liquid and making a poster to
represent this

How will you know what the students have learnt? (Assessment)

What will you assess? How will you assess? When will you assess? & How will you record What forms of
Who leads the your assessments? feedback will you
assessment? provide?

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

 Concept(s): During the first lesson, Diagnostic assessment Observation/ Verbal Feedback
Knowledge and observations and anecdotal anecdotal
understand of what records will be take on the
states of matter is and student’s prior knowledge. Digital photographs
examples to add to work
The explore, explain and portfolio and
States of matter: Solids elaborate lessons will be recording of
and Liquids formative assessment where the Formative assessment explanation
children will lead the assessment
How states of matter and teacher will observe and take
change state notes on their learning.

The processes for The last lesson involves the

changing states of teacher assessing a final piece of Summative assessment
matter work/ product, the poster and Written feedback
the ‘too hot’ proforma to and annotations on
determine if the concepts were work samples
covered and understood
correctly.

Thinking and Working Through analysing the final Formative and Digital photos and Verbal and written
Mathematically: product/poster summative annotations feedback
The use of
understanding, fluency,
problem-solving and
reasoning skills

Links with the ACARA Framework

Strand: Science Understanding Sub- Strand: Chemical Sciences
Descriptor: Achievement Standards: Proficiencies (for General capability
Mathematics)

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

 A change of By the end of Year 3, Understandi Literacy
state between students use their ng: - Word Knowledge
solid and liquid understanding of includes - Understand learning area
can be caused by materials and the connecting number vocabulary
calculations with - Comprehending through listening
adding or behaviour of heat to
counting sequences and viewing
removing heat suggest explanations
- Procedural Texts
for everyday Fluency: Numeracy
observations. includes - Collet, interpret and represent data
readily counting in tables and graphs
numbers in Critical and Creative thinking
sequences - Inquiring – identifying, exploring
and organising information and
Problem- ideas
solving: includes - Identify and clarify information and
formulating ideas
problems from - Organise and process information
authentic situations,
- Formulate, pose and respond to
using number
sentences that questions
represent problem Information and Communication
situations
Technology Capability
Reasoning: - Using technology to melt/freeze
includes objects
using known facts to - Use ICT to create their posters
derive strategies for
unfamiliar Personal and Social Capability
calculations, - Working and discussing as a team
comparing and - Answering questions individually
contrasting - Following safety requirements

Strand: Science as a Human Endeavour Sub- Strand: Nature and development of science
Descriptor: Achievement Standards: Proficiencies (for Mathematics General capability
Science involves making Same as above Same as above Same as above
predictions and
describing patterns and
relationships

Strand: Science Inquiry Skills Sub- Strand: Questioning and predicting, Processing
and analysing data and information, communicating
Descriptor: Achievement Standards: Proficiencies (for Mathematics) General capability
With guidance, identify Same as above Same as above Same as above

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

 questions in familiar
contexts that can be
investigated scientifically
and predict what might
happen based on prior
knowledge.

Compare results with

predicts, suggesting
possible reasons for
findings.

Represent and
communicate ideas and
findings in a variety of
ways such as diagrams,
physical representations
and simple reports

Teacher Resources (What has informed your planning, background information, learning experiences, discussion of student understanding?)
- Teaching Primary Science Constructively Textbook (Skamp & Preston 2018)
- Help Your Kids with Science – A unique step-by-step visual guide book (Carol Vorderman, 2012)
- Teacher Pay Teachers (Teachers Pay Teachers 2016)
- Pinterest (Silbermann, Sciarra and Sharp 2010)
- Science for Children (Fleer, M 2015)
- Smart Board
- YouTube- Place Value song (YouTube, 2016)
- Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2017)

Student Resources (resources that engage students with the learning)

- Templates
- Substances (Oil, Honey, Water, Ice, Chocolate)
- Equipment (Fridge, freezer, hair dryer, microwave)
- Snap lock bags
- Work books
- Craft Materials (textas, glue, scissors, poster paper)

References:

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2017, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority, Education Services Australia, viewed 21 March 2019,
<http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/>.

Fleer, M 2015, Science for children, Cambridge University Press, Australia Pty Limited.

Harry Kindergarten Music 2014, Matter Chatter (song for kids about solids, liquids and gases), video, YouTube,
uploaded 12 June 2014, viewed 19th April, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33WdI64FiY>.

Silbermann, B, Sciarra P and Sharp, E 2010, Pinterest, viewed 18.4.19, <https://www.pinterest.com.au/>.

Skamp, K and Preston, C 2018, Teaching Primary Science Constructively, 6th Edition, Cengage Learning
Australia Pty Limited.

Teachers Pay Teachers, Teachers Pay Teachers, viewed 26th September, <
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com>.

Word Count: 2499 words

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

Appendices:

Appendix 1:
Appendix 2:

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.

Image 1

©Planning for learning in mathematics and science, 2018 drafted by B.O.P.