Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 29483
Properties of Matter: Mass, Shape, and Volume
Using the main idea and details graphic organizer, students will be able to distinguish between information given on the properties of matter – mass,
shape, and volume. Students will also demonstrate their understanding of science concepts learned from reading an informational text passage on
the properties of matter.
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Interactive Whiteboard
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: main idea, details, graphic organizer, science, matter, mass, volume
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Main Idea and Detail Graphic Organizer.docx
Properties of Matter PP.pptx
Properties of Matter 1.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Science
Learning Objective for the teacher:
Students will be able to measure and compare objects and materials based on physical properties: mass, shape, volume.
Student friendly Lesson Essential Question:
How do I measure and compare objects based on their physical properties?
Student friendly objective:
I can measure and compare objects and materials based on their physical properties.
Reading
Learning Objective for the teacher:
Students will be able to identify the main idea and details from an informational text selection that they are required to read while working in collaborative pairs.
Student friendly Lesson Essential Question:
How do I determine explicit main ideas and relevant details of informational text selections?
page 1 of 5 Student friendly objective:
I can learn new information by determining the main idea and details of different kinds of informational text selections I read.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should know that informational text selections are considered nonfiction. Students should also know that the purpose of informational text is to give
information and to help students learn. Students should have experience using a simple main idea and details graphic organizer. If students have not had experience
using a main idea and detail graphic organizer prior to the lesson, the teacher should implement a whole group lesson on using a main idea and detail graphic
organizer. The teacher can choose to do this with a range of different texts.
Students should be familiar with the following science vocabulary words: matter, mass, shape, and volume.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Guiding Questions: Science
What is matter?
What are the physical properties of matter?
What physical properties do scientists use to measure and compare matter?
What is mass?
What is volume?
How is matter classified by shape?
How can matter be measured and compared?
It is important for students to understand that in informational text, the information presented can also be identified as details. It is important for the teacher to ask
questions about details and information so the students will begin to understand that in informational text details are what supports the main idea. It is also important
for students to realize that authors can use a main idea and detail text structure to relate relevant information.
Guiding Questions: Reading
What is the main idea of this book/article?
What information does the book/article give/tell me?
What would be another good title for this book/article?
What is the primary topic of the book/article?
What details does the book/article give/tell me?
How do these details help me determine the main idea?
What are the details of the book/article?
How do details help with determining the main idea of a book/article?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
(This lesson is not taught by the day, but by the lesson which may take several days to complete. Duration of lesson will vary.)
The teacher will say to the students: "When I want to learn about something, I can read books or articles that provide me with information. Books and articles that are
written to give us information, or to help us learn are called informational text. Today, we are going to learn how to determine the main idea and details of an
informational text selection in order to help us learn more about matter. In order for us to understand what we are learning about and what we are reading, we must
know the meaning of several vocabulary words. Let's look at the first vocabulary word."
The teacher can follow the smartboard/PowerPoint lesson provided.
To clarify the vocabulary word matter, the teacher will introduce the written word and say, "Matter is anything that takes up space." The teacher will show the word
with a picture or graphic representation that will assist students in remembering what the word matter means. The teacher will instruct the students to write the word
matter down, write down the meaning of the word in their own words, and draw a picture to represent the word. (The students may use the picture provided by the
teacher or may choose a picture of their own.) The teacher will then ask students, "What is matter?" Students will respond whole class and then with feedback and
correction, they will respond to shoulder partners. The teacher will then follow the same steps for the following science vocabulary words: mass, shape, and volume.
The following questions should be asked to check for understanding: What is mass? How is matter classified by shape? What is volume?
The teacher will say, "Today I would like to learn more about matter, so I am going to learn more about matter by reading aloud the passage "What is Matter?" (Lexile
Level 790) by Steve Tomecek, a.k.a "The Dirtmeister" from scholastic.com." The website is embedded in the smartboard/PowerPoint lesson that is provided. After
reading the passage, the teacher will show the students the main idea and details graphic organizer. The teacher will explain that using a graphic organizer is a way
to organize any new information we have learned. Thinking aloud, the teacher will say, "In the topic box, I am going to write the main idea of the passage, which is
what this passage is mostly about. This passage is mainly about matter so I am going to write matter in the topic box."
Then the teacher will say, "In the boxes under the topic box I am going to write some of the information or details I learned from the passage about matter." The
teacher will then write down "found everywhere, states or types, and matter can change" in the first three boxes under the topic box. Then the teacher will say, "In
the boxes under found everywhere, states or types, and matter can change, I am going to write three details that I learned from reading the passage on matter."
Under found everywhere, the teacher will write: your hair, the air, a pear. Under states or types, the teacher will write: solids, liquids, and gases. Under matter can
change, the teacher will write: heat, melting, and change can be reversed. (Or any other details the teachers wishes to include.) The teacher will say, "This is the
information that I have learned about matter and I have organized it in a main idea and details graphic organizer."
As an alternative, the teacher may have individual or small groups fill in the main idea and detail graphic organizer with teacher prompting. In addition, the teacher
may have students suggest or identify the details to be written on the main idea and detail graphic organizer.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
The teacher will introduce the guided practice part of the lesson by saying, "Today we are going to read an informational text passage that will give us information on
the subject of matter." The teacher should display a copy of the main idea and details graphic organizer. The teacher should also place students into collaborative
pairs and give each pair a copy of the passage "Properties of Matter 1" (Lexile Level 890) and a main idea and details graphic organizer. The teacher will instruct the
student pairs to read the passage together. While the students are pair reading, the teacher should assist student pairs with any problems that may occur. After
reading, the teacher will guide the students by saying, "In the topic box we are going to write the main idea of the passage, which means what the passage was
mostly about." The teacher will then ask students, "What was the passage mostly about?" The students should write the word matter in the topic box.
page 2 of 5 The teacher will guide students on the boxes under the topic box. The teacher will say, "The passage had three paragraphs. We are going to write down the main
idea of each paragraph and details that support that main idea." The teacher will ask the students, "What new information did we learn from the first paragraph of the
passage? What are some of the details we learned about that new information?" The teacher should guide the students in writing down the main idea of mass and
three details learned about mass. The teacher will repeat to guide students through the next two paragraphs on shape and volume. An example of a main idea and
details graphic organizer for this passage is in the smartboard/PowerPoint lesson and as an attachment.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
The students will summarize the lesson in a written paragraph form by answering the following question: How do I determine explicit main ideas and relevant details
of informational text selections? The students should explain in their summary how they used the main idea and details graphic organizer to organize the new
information they learned on the science concept of matter.
Suggested example: I determine an explicit main idea by thinking about the main topic or message. An explicit main idea will be stated in the passage. Places I can
look for the main idea are in the first, second, and last sentence of a paragraph or passage. One question I can ask myself is "What was the whole passage about?" to
help me identify the main idea. I can also identify the main idea by determining what the relevant details in the passage have in common. For example if the relevant
details are: the sky, the ocean, and a blue jay, the main idea would most likely be things that are blue.
The students will also summarize the lesson in a written paragraph form by using the main idea and details graphic organizer to explain what they have learned about
matter. The students will answer the following question in written form: How do I measure and compare objects based on their physical properties?
Suggested example: I can measure and compare objects based on their physical properties by determining an object's mass, shape, and volume. Mass is the measure
of how much matter an object contains. Matter is composed of solids, liquids, and gases. Solids always keep their shape, liquids take the shape of the container it is
in, and gases do not have a definite shape. Volume is the amount of space matter takes up. A good example of comparing mass, shape, and volume is looking at a
pillow and a brick. The brick would have more mass because it is heavier. The pillow would have more volume because it takes up more space. Both the brick and the
pillow are solids and keep their own shape. Mass, shape, and volume are three physical properties of matter.
The teacher may also choose to combine the two Reading/Science essential questions in order to have the students explain identifying the main idea and details of the
passage also helped them learn new information about matter. The teacher would have the students answer the following question: How did identifying the main idea
and relevant details of the informational text passage help me to measure and compare objects based on their physical properties?
The teacher should continue to monitor student progress in identifying the main idea and details of informational text that is read to students, coupled with
informational text that is read during small group guided reading lessons.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
The teacher will repeat the lesson structure with a variety of informational text selections across the curriculum and guide students in completing the main idea and
details graphic organizer. The teacher will continue to offer guided practice, remediation, and extension when necessary. Students needing additional support can
practice this activity in a small group setting, using high interest informational text passages. Teachers should increase the level of complexity where appropriate for
students.
Summative Assessment
Given an informational text selection on matter, with guidance and support, students will be able to identify the main idea and details using a graphic organizer. Using
the graphic organizer, the students will be required to write a summary to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the topic, main idea, and details of the
lesson on matter: mass, shape, and volume.
The teacher will once again designate four areas of the classroom for students to discuss the charts used in the formative assessment. The teacher should place the
students into heterogeneous groups that are different from the groups used in the formative assessment. The groups of students will once again rotate around the
room to the four different station areas. The groups of students will be given five to eight minutes at each area to add any additional information learned or to
evaluate any previous errors for each topic or main idea: matter, mass, shape, and volume. At the conclusion of the activity, the students will be required to write a
summary to demonstrate their understanding of the topic, main ideas, and details of the lesson.
Formative Assessment
In order to gather information on the students' prior knowledge of the lesson benchmark, the teacher will designate four areas of the classroom for students to
brainstorm and discuss the topic and main ideas of the lesson. The teacher will place one piece of chart paper at each station area. The teacher will then label one
chart with the topic of matter. The teacher will also label the other three pieces of chart paper with the following main ideas: mass, shape, and volume. The students
should be placed into heterogeneous groups to rotate around the room to each of the four stations. At each station, the students will discuss and write down any
information or details they already know about the topic and main ideas. Student groups should be given at least five to eight minutes at each station area. At the
conclusion of the activity, the teacher and students will discuss what was written on each of the four charts. This activity will enable the teacher to evaluate what
information the students know about the topic of matter and the main ideas of mass, shape, and volume.
Throughout the teaching phase and guided practice, the teacher will assess student understanding by asking assessment prompt questions.
Feedback to Students
During the teaching phase and guided practice component of the lesson, the teacher will assess student understanding by asking assessment prompt questions. The
teacher will also provide students with feedback on their progress of understanding the concepts of matter, mass, shape, and volume.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students can draw the main idea and details instead of completing them on the graphic organizer.
The number of detail boxes on the graphic organizer can be reduced.
The main idea and details graphic organizer can be completed whole group or in small group skill groups.
page 3 of 5 The complexity of the text can be reduced. The teacher can provide the main idea and details on paper for the students to cut out and glue in the correct position.
The teacher can have the students use a highlighter to highlight the details in the passage.
The teacher can give students books or passages to follow along with the teacher as she reads.
The teacher can have the students choral read (read with the teacher) books or passages.
The teacher can have the students give a signal, like thumbs up, when they hear a detail read in the text.
Extensions:
The complexity of the text can be increased.
The teacher can have the students write sentences in the main idea and detail boxes.
The teacher can provide a main idea and detail graphic organizer with the boxes filled in incorrectly and the students would need to apply error analysis techniques to
make corrections.
The students can create their own main idea and details graphic organizer to organize information from informational text passages.
The number of detail boxes can be increased.
The students can compare and contrast the physical properties of different objects.
The teacher can have the students choose a book on a similar topic and complete the main idea and detail graphic organizer.
The type of information recorded could be extended to video clips and student friendly informational text passages from the Internet.
Suggested Technology: Interactive Whiteboard
Special Materials Needed:
Informational text passages on matter, main idea and details graphic organizer, chart paper, markers, smartboard, or some way of displaying teacher copy of the
graphic organizer.
Further Recommendations:
Identifying main idea and details is an important reading skill for fourth grade students to learn. It is often a skill that many students struggle with. For that reason
alone, it is imperative that students are exposed to informational text passages across the curriculum. Integrating science concepts can be accomplished by
recognizing what science benchmarks need to be presented to the students. Using informational text passages and trade books can be used to create and prepare
lessons for student instruction.
Although two informational text passages are suggested in this lesson, any informational text passage on matter may be used and is encouraged. Students should be
able to practice using the main idea and details graphic organizer to organize new information in a variety of science concepts. The goal should be for every student to
become proficient at identifying the main idea and details from an informational text passage and to effectively organize this new information.
A main idea and details graphic organizer is used in this lesson, but any graphic organizer that would assist students in identifying and recording the main idea and
details of an informational text passage or book in an adequate manner could also be used.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
Reading informational text can be challenging for some students to comprehend, so it is essential that teachers give students many opportunities to access and practice
learning new information from a variety of informational text passages. Integrating content area and/or informational text into the reading curriculum is an important skill in
which upper elementary students need to learn and practice. Implementing science content within the reading lesson is a great way to integrate reading strategies while
using science content.
The science standard(s) aligned to this lesson were chosen because the reading material contains content related to the science standard(s). This lesson is not intended to
replace a science lesson aligned to these standard(s) or directly address the core intent of the science standard(s). This lesson should be used in conjunction with science
instruction related to the science standard.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Diane Mikolon
Name of Author/Source: Diane Mikolon
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Polk
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
page 4 of 5 License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.4.RI.1.1:
LAFS.4.RI.1.2:
LAFS.4.RI.4.10:
SC.4.P.8.1:
Description
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from
the text.
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical
texts, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Measure and compare objects and materials based on their physical properties including: mass, shape, volume, color,
hardness, texture, odor, taste, attraction to magnets.
Remarks/Examples:
Investigate the concept of weight versus mass of objects.
Florida Standards Connections: MAFS.K12.MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically and, MAFS.K12.MP.6: Attend to
precision.
page 5 of 5