Don't Start Earth Science in the Wrong Place. Teach matter first.

Am I the only one who does a matter and physical science review before I start my Earth Science content?

I like to spend a bit of time reviewing matter, forces, and energy before I get started on Earth Science content because i feel like it provides the foundation needed to really understand Earth Science. Matter, forces, and energy is really the foundational building blocks that are used to understand some of the Earth Science phenomena we experience on Earth.

How I Start Off With Matter

I love using short videos in class. I incorporate videos in almost each class period because sometimes hearing me explain something and then seeing someone else explain the same concept with different visuals is exactly what my students need.

Here’s the first video I show.

After the video, we talk through my Intro to Matter slides. I read these to students one at a time while they’re working through guided notes. I have them keep these notes in their science binder so they can refer back to them later. I’m not sure about you, but we have midterms, and students ALWAYS forget the material we started learning back in the beginning of the year.

Of course, you can make your own slides for this, but I use my Introduction to Matter Slides. They cover matter, pure substances and mixtures, states of matter, changes of state, and mass versus weight.

I love these guided notes because they are super easy to fill in. At this age, I prefer this over asking students to copy every single word from a slide. It’s impossible to keep moving through the lesson without me hearing them ask for more time or tell me they’re not done yet.

Matter Continues…

We’re kicking off this day with these videos. The way our curriculum is structured, this information should be a review for the students. In addition, they go more in-depth with this information in chemistry.

As a big Disney fan, I LOVE the title of this video.

After the videos, students complete worksheets to understand matter. This worksheet is a 3-page no prep activity that allows students to actually review what they’ve learned in the last few days.

It’s the perfect homework or independent classwork activity to see where your students are in their understanding of the concept.

The Force Is With Us

My intro to this day starts with 3 short videos.

This first video is about the two different types of forces. One thing to know before showing it is that the video uses the term non-contact forces. Our textbook calls these field forces. They’re referring to forces that act without direct contact, so I point out the vocabulary difference before we move on.

Next, we watch contact forces, which focus on the various examples of contact forces.

I end the videos with a similar video to the contact forces, but this time showing non-contact force (field force) examples.

I like separating these because we’re about to do the contact versus field force whiteboard game. Students have already seen examples of each before I start calling out scenarios.

After these videos, we complete our forces and matter doodle notes.

As an incentive to make their notes pretty and neat, I give the students an extra point for coloring the doodle notes. The notes are kept in their binder to help them study.

A Group Game

Next, I bring out the whiteboards.

Students work with a partner or small group. I call out an example, say, “Ready, set, go!” and they race to write whether it shows a contact force or a field force/non-contact force. I use these individual whiteboards so I can give them to each partner

Here are the examples I use:

Drop a ball: Answer is field force. Gravity pulls the ball toward Earth without touching it.
Push a book across a desk: Answer is Contact force. Your hand touches the book to move it.
Slide a book and let it stop: Answer is Contact force. The book and desk touch, creating friction.
Bring two magnets close together: Answer is Field force. The magnets can attract without touching.
Turn the magnets so they push apart: Answer is Field force. The magnets repel without touching.
Stretch a rubber band: Answer is Contact force. You have to touch and pull the rubber band.
Push a toy car: Answer is Contact force. Your hand touches the car to make it move.
Pull an object with a string: Answer is Contact force. The string touches and pulls the object.
Rub a balloon on your hair and hold it near paper: Answer is Field force. The charged balloon can attract the paper without touching it.
Drop a pencil: Answer is Field force. Gravity pulls the pencil toward Earth without touching it.

Remember not to make this complicated. It should be a fun, engaging game.

I like doing this after students have already learned the definitions because it’s an informal assessment that helps me determine where the students are with learning the content.

Energy

Students first review the difference between potential and kinetic energy. This is an important concept because it helps explain Earth’s formation and some of Earth’s natural processes.

This introduces potential and kinetic energy and gives students a basic comparison between the two types of energy before we start our notes.

You can make your own presentation to discuss energy, or you can use my Introduction to Energy slides and guided notes.

The lesson covers potential and kinetic energy along with thermal, sound, electrical, magnetic, chemical, light, and nuclear energy. The resource also includes two graphic organizers. Please note that this is a very introductory lesson. I don’t need my Earth Science students doing a deep dive into every form of energy right now.

Physical Versus Chemical Change Hands-On Demo

After these two videos, we begin with our hands-on activity!

This quick hands-on activity helps students to really connect the concepts with real-world situations. When I say quick, I mean quick! This is one of those labs that doesn’t require a lot of materials, a bunch of prep, or a clean-up period.

I put the students into five groups and give each table one set of materials.

Station 1: Ice in a jar with a candle warmer
Station 2: Paper
Station 3: Effervescent tablet and water
Station 4: Milk and vinegar
Station 5: Salt and water

Station 1 turns on the candle warmer. Station 2 tears the paper. Station 3 drops the tablet into the water. Station 4 adds vinegar to milk. Station 5 adds salt to water and stirs.

I draw a simple table on the board with four columns: Station | Items | Type of Change | Evidence.

Then I go around the room one station at a time.

I ask the group: What did you do? What did you observe? Physical or chemical? What’s your evidence?

Everyone else records what happened at that station. Here’s what you can expect:

Station 1; turn on the candle warmer: physical change – state change, but the substance is the same
Station 2: rip up the paper: physical change – size/shape change, but the substance is the same
Station 3: drop the effervescent tablet in the water: chemical change – gas bubbles are evidence of a chemical change
Station 4: add the vinegar to the milk: chemical change – a new solid material forms
Station 5: add the salt into the water and stir. : physical change – salt dissolves, but remains the same substance