Changes in State

Eighth graders were studying states of matter and changes in state.  I allowed each student to randomly choose a change in state and they were responsible for creating a cartoon that illustrated the change in state.  To give them some guidance, I told them the main characters in their comic should be the particles in each state of matter.  In their comic, they would personify the atoms to help explain how their behavior adjusts as the matter changes.  Once the comics were completed, I put students in a group to teach their peers about their specific change in state.  I made sure that each group had at least one student with each change in state.  After each student had the opportunity to teach their group, I split the groups in half and they took a group quiz about what their classmates had just taught them.  This was such a beneficial learning experience because students had the responsibility to teach their peers and they had to listen to their classmates and ask questions in order to be prepared for the quiz that followed.

Illinois State Standards:
12.C.3a. Explain interactions of energy with matter including changes of state and conservation of mass and energy.
12.C.3b. Model and describe the chemical and physical characteristics of matter (e.g., atoms, molecules, elements, compounds, mixtures).

Objectives:
Students will:
-illustrate a change in state through a comic
-collaborate with peers through teaching and questioning

Assessment:
Students were informally assessed through observation and questioning during interactions with their groups.  Furthermore, students' understanding was assessed using the group quiz.