Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 30710
Properties of Matter: Color, Hardness, Texture, Odor, and
Taste
In this lesson, students will use a compare and contrast chart (graphic organizer) to compare and contrast the different properties of matter – color,
hardness, texture, odor, and taste. Students will also demonstrate the science concepts learned from reading informational text passages on the
properties of matter.
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Interactive Whiteboard, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Keywords: compare, contrast, graphic organizer, science, color, hardness, texture, odor, taste
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Properties of Matter 2 Brainstorming Sheet.xlsx
Comparing Properties of Matter.xlsx
Properties of Matter 2.pptx
Properties of Matter 2.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?
Learning Objectives for Reading:
Learning Object for the teacher:
Students will be able to compare and contrast 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 compare and contrast details of informational text selections?
Student-friendly objective:
I can learn new information by comparing and contrasting details of any informational text selections that I read.
Learning Objectives for Science:
Learning Object for the teacher:
Students will be able to measure and compare objects and materials based on their physical properties including: color, hardness, texture, odor, and taste.
Student-friendly Lesson Essential Question:
How do I measure and compare objects based on their physical properties?
page 1 of 4 Student-friendly objective:
I can measure and compare objects and materials based on their physical properties.
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 compare and contrast graphic organizer. If students have not had experience using a
compare and contrast graphic organizer prior to the lesson, the teacher should implement a whole group lesson on using a compare and contrast 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, color, hardness,
texture, odor, and taste.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Guiding Questions for Reading:
How are the properties of matter alike?
How are the properties of matter different?
What information does the book/article give/tell me?
What details does the book/article give/tell me?
How do these details help me compare and contrast the properties of matter?
What are the details of the book/article?
Guiding Questions for Science:
What is matter?
What are the physical properties of matter?
What physical properties do scientists use to measure and compare matter?
What is color?
What is hardness?
What is texture?
What is odor?
What is taste?
How can matter be classified by its properties?
How can matter be measured and compared?
It is important for students to understand that in an 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, the information given is how the author uses details to
compare and contrast ideas in nonfiction selections.
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
(This lesson is a continuation of the lesson Properties of Matter: Mass, Shape, and Volume. 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 would tell me 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 compare and contrast details of an informational text
selection in order to help us learn more about matter. 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. There are two YouTube videos embedded in the smartboard/PowerPoint presentation.
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 help the students to remember what the word matter means. The teacher will instruct the students to write the word
matter down and to write the meaning of the word in their own words and to 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 ask the students, "What is matter?" and the 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: color, hardness, texture,
odor,and taste.The following questions should be asked to check for understanding: What is matter? How is matter classified by color? How is matter classified by
hardness? What other properties help us classify matter?
The teacher will say, "Today I would like us to learn more about matter, so we are going to learn more about matter by first observing some objects. Show the
students the following objects (or similar objects): rock-granite, pillow, sandpaper, banana, rock-pyrite, cotton ball, a piece of wood, and a cucumber. The teacher will
pass out the compare and contrast graphic organizer and model how to fill in the boxes for the first object. For example, in observing the rock-granite the teacher may
record the color as white, the hardness as hard or not easily broken, texture as rough, odor as earthy, and taste as having no taste. Then the teacher and students
will observe the other objects and fill in the compare and contrast graphic organizer. Listed below are suggested answers for the compare and contrast graphic
organizer:
pillow – white, soft, smooth, clean, no taste
sandpaper – brown/black, flexible, gritty, earthy, no taste
banana – yellow, mushy, smooth, banana, sweet
rock – pyrite – black, hard or not easily broken, rough, earthy, no taste
cotton ball – white, soft, plush, no odor, no taste
wood – brown, hard, smooth, earthy, no taste
cucumber – green, mushy, smooth, fresh vegetable, cucumber
After the compare and contrast graphic organizer is completely filled in 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, "By looking at this compare and contrast graphic organizer, I can see the similarities and differences
these objects have." The teacher will then model how to write a summary comparing and contrasting the objects observed.
As an alternative, the teacher may have individual or small groups fill in the compare and contrast graphic organizer with teacher prompting. In addition, she may have
students suggest or identify the details to be written on to the compare and contrast 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 properties of matter." The teacher should place students into collaborative pairs and give each pair a copy of the passage "Properties of Matter 2"
(Lexile Level 960). The teacher will instruct the student pairs to read the passage together. While the students are pair reading the teacher should assist student pairs
page 2 of 4 with any problems that may occur. After reading, the teacher will guide the students by saying, "At the end of the passage, you are to brainstorm with your partner
several words that can be used to describe color, hardness, texture, odor,and taste." If the students are having difficulty the teacher will ask the class, "What
examples have you thought of?"
The teacher will then instruct the student pairs to pick three objects in the classroom to compare and contrast using the properties of matter. The teacher should guide
the students in writing down the details of each object on the compare and contrast graphic organizer. The students will then explain to another student pair the
similarities and differences of their objects. The teacher will ask the students, "What new information did we learn from the passage? What are some of the details we
learned about that new information?"
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 written form by answering the following question: How do I compare and contrast details of informational text selections?
The students should explain how they used the compare and contrast graphic organizer to organize the new information they learned on the science concept of
properties of matter.
The students will also summarize the lesson by using the compare and contrast graphic organizer to explain what they have learned about properties of matter. The
students will answer the following question in written form: How do I measure and compare objects based on their physical properties?
The teacher should continue to monitor student practice in comparing and contrasting details of informational text that is read to students and 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 filling out a compare and contrast
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 compare and contrast the different properties of matter (e.g. color,
hardness, texture, odor, taste) using a graphic organizer. The students will be required to write a summary to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the
different properties of matter. The teacher will place the students into student pairs. Each student pair should have not worked together during the group activity from
the formative assessment. The teacher will give each student pair a piece of paper divided up into four sections. Each section will be labeled one of the following: color,
hardness, texture, and odor/taste. The paper will be similar to the charts used in the formative assessment. The student pairs will be given eight to ten minutes to
brainstorm any information or details that they learned about color, hardness, texture, odor, and taste. At the conclusion of the activity, the students will be required to
write a summary to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the properties of matter: color, hardness, texture, odor, and taste.
Formative Assessment
1. To gather information on the students' prior knowledge of the lesson benchmark, the teacher will divide students into heterogeneous groups of 4 or 5. The teacher
will give each group one piece of chart paper and a marker. The teacher will then ask the students to fold the chart paper in half twice so that there are four sections.
2. The teacher will instruct the students to label the first section color, the second section hardness, the third section texture, and the fourth section odor/taste. In
groups, the students will discuss and write down any information or details they already know about the topics. Student groups should be given at least eight to ten
minutes to discuss the topics.
3. At the conclusion of the activity, the teacher and students will discuss what was written on each of the group charts. This activity will enable the teacher to evaluate
what information the students know about the properties of matter specifically color, hardness, texture, odor,and taste.
Feedback to Students
During the teaching phase and guided practice components 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 learning the concepts of color, hardness, texture, odor, and taste.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students can draw the similarities and differences instead of writing them on the graphic organizer.
The number of compare and contrast boxes on the graphic organizer can be decreased.
The compare and contrast graphic organizer can be completed whole group or in small group skill groups.
The complexity of the text can be reduced.
The teacher can provide similarities and differences 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 similarities and differences 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 signal words or similarities and differences read in the text.
Extensions:
The complexity of the text can be increased.
The teacher can have the students write sentences in the compare and contrast boxes.
The teacher can provide a compare and contrast 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 compare and contrast graphic organizer to organize information from informational text passages.
The number of compare and contrast boxes can be increased.
The teacher can have the students choose a book on a similar topic and fill out a compare and contrast graphic organizer.
page 3 of 4 The type of information recorded could be extended to video clips and student-friendly informational text passages from the Internet.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Interactive Whiteboard, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
Informational text passages on matter, compare and contrast graphic organizer, brainstorming sheet, chart paper, markers, smartboard, or some way of displaying
teacher copy of the graphic organizer. The following objects will also be needed: rocks, pillow, sandpaper, cotton ball, banana, piece of wood, and a cucumber (or
similar objects).
Further Recommendations:
Comparing and contrasting is an important reading skill for fourth grade students to learn. It is often a skill that many students struggle with when working with
written text. 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 one informational text passage is suggested in this lesson, any informational text passage on properties of matter may be used and is encouraged. Students
should be able to practice using the compare and contrast graphic organizer to organize new information in a variety of science concepts. The goal should be for every
student to become proficient at comparing and contrasting details from an informational text passage and to organize this new information appropriately.
A compare and contrast graphic organizer is used in this lesson, but any graphic organizer that would help students identify similarities and differences of an
informational text passage or book in an adequate manner could also be used.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
Implementing science curriculum within the reading lesson is a great way to teach reading strategies using science content. Informational text can be challenging for some
students so it is essential that they have access to and practice in learning new information from a variety of informational text passages.
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
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.4.RI.1.1:
LAFS.4.RI.2.4:
LAFS.4.RI.3.7:
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 meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic
or subject area.
Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines,
animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of
the text in which it appears.
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 4 of 4