Dear Parents,
During the 1st nine weeks your child will be studying physical science. During the unit of Classifying Matter your
student is expected to be able classify matter based on physical properties, including mass, magnetism, physical
state (solid, liquid, and gas), relative density (sinking and floating), solubility in water, and the ability to
conduct or insulate thermal energy or electric energy.
To help your child at home:
It is very important for elementary students to develop an understanding of matter. Students usually have an
understanding of solids and liquids as matter, but they may need some support in grasping that air is also
matter. Your child may also struggle to understand that “soft” solids like powder, cloth, and paper are solids.
Help your child understand that all states of water—solid, liquid, and gas—are water. The water particles are
the same in each state, but the way those particles move around are different depending on whether they are
being heated or cooled.
Here are some questions to discuss with your child:
• What is matter? How is all matter similar?
• What are some ways to measure and compare matter?
• Is ________ matter? (Show some examples that are not matter—such as a shadow, heat, light,
love, etc.—to see if your child understands this concept.)
• What changes occur to ice when is heated?
• What changes occur to the outside of a glass when ice water is placed in it?
• What effect does insulating material have on the amount of ice that melts?
• How does heat affect solids, liquids and gases?
The concepts students are expected to master:
• Matter has physical properties that can be observed.
• We can measure physical properties of matter including size, mass, volume, and temperature.
• We can compare and contrast matter based on its physical properties such as state of matter,
magnetism, and ability to sink or float.
• Heating and cooling can cause materials to change characteristics, such as state, color, and
texture.
• We can predict the changes to matter caused by heating and cooling.
Please feel free to use this as a guide to discuss with you child what they are learning and doing in
class. We look forward to working with you and your child in science this year!
Fourth Grade Science Teacher
1200 Old Decatur Road
Fort Worth, Texas 76179
(817)232-0880
Fax (817)847-6124
www.emsisd.com