Students across all ages and grade-levels experience matter in their everyday lives. In fact, our entire world is made of matter, including things we don't see, such as the air we breathe.

With all of the wild snowstorms we have seen lately across the nation, as educators, we can use it as a prime learning opportunity. Students can learn that matter has mass and takes up space. Matter can also exist in different states—solids, liquids, or gases.

We can help students better understand the different states and properties of matter in a variety of ways. The snow we have seen in South Lake Tahoe, for example, is a solid-state of matter. Snow consists of loosely held ice crystals. Ice is the solid-state of matter and therefore snow is the solid-state of water. Also, ClassOrbit’s video Changes in the Properties of Matter provides concise knowledge and appropriate examples and experiments to make learning about matter fun and easy to follow.

Here’s even a special lesson developed by our very own Curriculum Director, Raeanne Garcia. This lesson connects a science lesson on matter with Read Across America Week as an ode to our beloved Dr. Seuss.

Lesson Extension and Hands-On Exploration

Do you ever wonder how you can allow students to explore states of matter in the classroom safely? Assist your students in experiencing states of matter first-hand, while having fun and getting a little messy while doing it, with Oobleck.

Step 1: Make Oobleck ahead of time

Oobleck Recipe: Mix together 1 part room-temperature water with 2 parts cornstarch, and dye it green. Let students store their Oobleck in small resealable bags. Oobleck stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (Educator tip: let this substance dry for a few minutes and then wipe or vacuum it from the carpet. Don’t put this down the sink drain.)

Step 2: Independently or as a whole-class, have students fill in a Venn diagram with “solid” on the left side, “liquid” on the right, and “Oobleck” in the middle.

Step 3: Read the book, Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss (find it here on Amazon).

Step 4: Give students their own pile of Oobleck and let the learning begin.

Step 5: Have students share out with a partner, group, or to the whole class, what they noticed about the Oobleck. Fill in the center section of the Venn diagram.

Captivating students’ attention (with an out of the ordinary activity), in order to reach deeper meaning, is critical for creating understanding. Share how much fun you and your students have with the states of matter and Oobleck on our Facebook or Instagram @ClassOrbit.