Matter Conservation in Mixtures Activities for 4th Grade Science

This 5E Lesson teaches 4th grade students about the conservation of matter in mixtures like soil and water or oil and water. Aligned with TEKS 4.6C, it includes editable PowerPoints, worksheets, assessments, and student-choice projects. The lesson promotes differentiated, student-led learning, and requires minimal prep, offering both digital and printable formats.

The unit begins with engaging word wall cards and a class activity to address key concepts. In the Exploration phase, students participate in a station lab with nine multimodal learning stations, such as reading passages, videos, and hands-on demos, to investigate the mass of mixtures. Output stations allow students to demonstrate understanding through activities like sorting, writing, and illustrating. A bonus “Challenge It!” station provides enrichment for early finishers.

Explanation includes editable PowerPoints, interactive notebooks in English and Spanish, and note-taking templates. Students extend their learning with student-choice projects and are assessed with STAAR 2.0-aligned questions. The lesson is flexible for in-class or virtual use, supporting various learning needs.

This modular, student-led station lab on conservation of matter aligns with the 2021 TEKS 4.6C standard for 4th grade. It helps students explore how matter is conserved when mixtures are formed, providing an engaging and interactive physical science lesson. With nine differentiated stations, this lesson promotes personalized learning, allowing students to work independently or in small groups with minimal teacher direction. The materials include signage, resources, and task cards, and may require a few common lab supplies.

The stations include activities like "Explore It!" where students apply concepts through digital tools, "Watch It!" where they watch a video and answer questions, "Read It!" which includes a passage about mud pies with vocabulary exercises, and "Research It!" where they analyze mixtures like oil and water. Output stations include "Organize It!" where students manipulate objects or digital images, "Illustrate It!" for drawing models of physical properties in mixtures, and "Write It!" for short-answer prompts. An assessment station helps students demonstrate their understanding of matter conservation, and a bonus station offers extension activities for early finishers.

This resource can be used in both in-person and virtual learning environments.

The Matter Conservation in Mixtures Student Choice Projects align with the 2021 TEKS standard 4.6C and give 4th graders the option to select a project that suits their preferred output style. The project page includes six different student-led options along with a “design your own” project. An editable rubric supports assessment by teachers, peers, or the students themselves.

The projects are flexible and cater to different learning needs. Teachers can modify the rubric for grading, and there are both modified and advanced project options to accommodate students needing remediation or a challenge. These multimodal projects allow students to showcase their understanding in creative ways.

The resources include a project choice board, teacher directions, and an editable rubric. Standard classroom supplies like paper, markers, and scissors are typically required, with many projects also offering digital completion options.