Grade 5: Challenging Changes!
Unit Description
Students will use theatre, music, movement, and the visual arts to observe, analyze and create physical and chemical changes. The unit’s projects will lead students to making comparisons between physical and chemical changes and their various components. This unit and its projects will also focus on the cause and effect of the process of physical and chemical changes. Students will also strengthen their descriptive and opinion writing skills throughout the projects in this “Challenging Changes” unit. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to immerse in some engaging hands-on arts projects that will lead students to mastery of key science concepts and writing skills!
Unit Essential Question
How can comparing and understanding physical and chemical changes help us to understand cause and effect in the world around us?
Real World Context
We study physical and chemical changes because they are in the world around us on a daily basis. We experience changes in matter in many aspects of our life, from the classroom to cooking dinner. Understanding these changes can help us develop day-to-day life skills, and inform ourselves of timely topics such as change and sustainability within our environment.
Cross-Cutting Interdisciplinary Concepts
Cause/Effect
Comparison (Compare and Contrast)
Change
Projects
Project 1: Dance with Atoms
In this project, students will be up on their feet moving and dancing with atoms! They will apply their previously taught knowledge of how molecules move in the three states of matter to represent the movement of the molecules in each state of water. Students should also be able to determine that these changes in matter are physical changes. This particular project goes deeper into analyzing how molecules move using dance integration strategies.
Project 2: Thiebaud’s Tasty Pastries
Students will use visual arts and drama to explore the differences between physical and chemical changes. After learning about the visual art techniques of artist Wayne Thiebaud, students will create a polymer clay pastry. When the pastry art is complete, students will use prior knowledge learned about physical and chemical changes to write a narrative from the point of view of the pastry explaining the physical and chemical changes that are involved in the pastry art-making process.
Project 3: Rap Battles of Changes
In this project, students will use music to explore physical and chemical changes in matter. The project will lead students in comparing and contrasting physical and chemical changes. Students will also strengthen their social skills by working together in groups and developing interpersonal relationship skills by cooperating to work collaboratively on a rap that demonstrates mastery of the science concept.
Project 4: Cooking Show with Mr. & Mrs. Changes
Students will use elements of drama to create a cooking show to dramatize the process of preparing and making foods in the kitchen. This drama will include highlighting the process of foods going through both physical and chemical transformations as they are prepared for an audience to taste. Each student will write their own script for the part they play in the production of the cooking show. Another class will be invited to partner with the class to participate as the audience.
Standards
Curriculum Standards
S5P2. Students will explain the difference between a physical change and a chemical change.
- Investigate physical changes by separating mixtures and manipulating cutting, tearing, folding) paper to demonstrate examples of physical change.
- Recognize that the changes in states of water (water vapor/steam, liquid, ice) are due to temperature differences and are examples of physical change.
- Investigate the properties of a substance before, during, and after chemical reaction to find evidence of change.
CCSS-ELAW.5.2.a Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
ELACC5W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
ELACC5W4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
ELACC5W5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
ELACC5W6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
ELACC5SL4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Arts Standards
DSCO.4 Demonstrates an understanding of dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.
D5FD.1 Identifies and demonstrates movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance.
- Demonstrates accuracy, focus, control, and coordination in performing and creating a spectrum of locomotor sequences performed to music that includes a range of tempos, rhythms, and qualities.
- Performs smooth transitions when connecting movements.
M5GM.4 Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
- Improvise rhythmic patterns using a variety of sound sources and answers to given rhythmic questions
M5GM.9 Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
- Perform, listen, move, and/or distinguish between music from various historical periods and cultures from the Civil War to present (different genres).
VA5PR.3 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional works of art (e.g., ceramics, sculpture, crafts, mixed-media) using tools and materials in a safe and appropriate manner to develop skills.
- Creates ceramic objects demonstrating refinement of the additive or subtractive method. (e.g., pinch method, coil method, relief) and techniques (e.g., score and slip, wedging, slab method, surface texture).
TAES5.3 Acting by developing, communicating, and sustaining roles within a variety of situations and environments.
- Uses vocal elements such as inflection, pitch, and volume, to communicate the thoughts, emotions, and actions of a character.
- Dramatizes literature and original scripts through various dramatic forms such as pantomime, process drama, puppetry, improvisation, plays, and readers’ theatre.
TAES5.2 Developing scripts through improvisation and other theatrical methods.
- Uses a playwriting process (e.g., pre-write/pre-play; prepare to write/plan dramatization; write; dramatize; reflect and edit; re-write/play; publish/perform).
- Creates an organizing structure appropriate for purpose, audience and context.
TAES5.3 Acting by developing, communicating, and sustaining roles within a variety of situations and environments.
- Uses vocal elements such as inflection, pitch, and volume, to communicate the thoughts, emotions, and actions of a character.
- Uses body and stage movement to communicate the thoughts, emotions, and actions of a character.
- Uses imagination to make artistic choices in portraying characters.
- Collaborates with an ensemble to create theatre.
- Dramatizes literature and original scripts through various dramatic forms such as pantomime, process drama, puppetry, improvisation, plays, and reader’s theatre.
Character Education
Components
In “Cooking with P&C Changes,” the students will present their cooking show to a lower grade-level class. You could pair up your 5th grade class with a 2nd grade class learning “how-to” writing. The 5th grade students could perform their cooking show dramatizing the differences between physical and chemical changes. Then the 5th graders could be directed to assist the 2nd grade students with creating a “how-to” writing piece explaining how to make one of the recipes made on the “show.”
Also, in “Rap Battle,” the topic of respect is brought up throughout the lesson. It is addressed because even though we are “battling,” we still need to be respectful of each other and each other’s ideas.
Attributes
Respect
- Learning with others
- Being good listeners
- Kindness
Summative Assessment Tools
- Pre/Post Test
- Compare/Contrast Writing Rubric
- Narrative Writing Point of View Rubric
- Physical and Chemical Change Rap Battle Rubric
- Cooking Show Script and Performance Rubric
Partnering with Fine Arts Teachers
Music Teacher:
- Providing musical instruments for “Rap Battle” project
- Providing examples of Found Sounds prior to students doing “Dancing with Atoms” project
- Differentiation
- Rhyme scheme and pattern (ex. ABAB) in music in “Rap Battle” project
Visual Arts Teacher:
- Offer prints/lesson of Wayne Thiebaud Pastry Art (mini-lesson, or extension)
Dance Teacher:
- Mini-lesson prior to “Dancing with Atoms” project to teach locomotor, non-locomotor, vibratory, etc. (or reinforce if already taught in the classroom)
Appendix (See Additional Resources)
- Pre-test/Post-test
Credits
U.S. Department of Education
Arts in Education--Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program
Cherokee County (GA) School District and ArtsNow, Inc.
Ideas contributed and edited by:
Carol Steele, Taylor Stewart, Melissa Joy, Shannon Green, Dr. Maribeth Yoder-White, Jessica Espinoza
Grade 5: Challenging Changes
Additional Resources
Books
- Changing Matter: Understanding Physical and Chemical Changes by Tracy Nelson Maurer
- Make It change! by Anna Claybourne
- The Solid Truth about Matter by Mark Weakland
- Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Websites