Properties of Solutions Activities for 5th Grade Science

This Kesler Science 5E Lesson for TEKS 5.6C guides 5th-grade students in comparing the properties of substances before and after forming a solution while demonstrating matter conservation. Designed for flexible, student-led learning in both in-person and virtual settings, it includes editable PowerPoints, worksheets, assessments, and student-choice projects in English and Spanish. The lesson follows the 5E Model, starting with engaging discussions and vocabulary support, followed by a hands-on station lab where students explore mass conservation through experiments, reading passages, videos, and research tasks. Interactive presentations, choice projects, and STAAR 2.0-aligned assessments help deepen understanding and evaluate progress. The resources below will give students a comprehensive understanding of the properties of solutions. All of the following materials are also included in the Kesler Science Membership.

This Kesler Science 5E Lesson for TEKS 5.6C offers a comprehensive physical science unit for 5th grade, focusing on comparing the properties of substances before and after forming a solution and demonstrating matter conservation. The lesson includes editable PowerPoints, worksheets, assessments, and student-choice projects, with resources available in English and Spanish. Designed for flexible, student-led learning, it supports both in-person and virtual environments.

Following the 5E Model, the unit begins with engaging class discussions and vocabulary support. The exploration phase features a differentiated station lab with nine stations offering hands-on experiments, reading passages, videos, and research tasks to explore mass conservation in solutions. Students showcase their understanding through organizing, writing, illustrating, and assessments. The explanation phase offers interactive presentations and notebook templates. Elaboration activities encourage deeper learning through choice projects, and evaluation materials include STAAR 2.0-aligned assessments and review questions. This versatile lesson is designed for easy adaptation to meet diverse student needs.

Engage your 5th-grade students with this student-led station lab aligned with the 2021 TEKS 5.6C standard on the properties of solutions. This physical science lesson allows students to compare substances before and after they form a solution and demonstrate how matter is conserved, fostering independent learning through interactive, hands-on activities.

The lab features nine differentiated stations that promote personalized learning and critical thinking. Input stations introduce concepts through various formats: Explore It! offers hands-on activities, Watch It! presents video content with comprehension questions, Read It! provides passages with vocabulary practice (available in English and Spanish), and Research It! uses facts, images, and graphs to explore conservation of matter. Output stations allow students to demonstrate their understanding by organizing information, creating illustrations, writing responses, and completing assessments. A bonus Challenge It! station extends learning with crosswords, games, and mini-projects for early finishers.

This flexible resource supports both in-person and virtual learning environments, offering an engaging, low-prep way to promote active learning and scientific inquiry.

The Properties of Solutions Student Choice Projects align with the 2021 TEKS standard 5.6C, offering 5th-grade students various ways to demonstrate their understanding through creative, student-led options. A project page outlines six choices plus a “design your own” project, accompanied by an editable rubric for teacher, peer, or self-assessment. This resource is also included in the Properties of Solutions Complete Lesson for TEKS 5.6C.

These flexible, multimodal projects allow students to showcase their knowledge in personalized ways. Teachers can adjust the rubric to meet grading needs, and two versions of the project page support differentiation—offering modified options for students needing extra support and more challenging tasks for advanced learners.

The project set includes nine choice board options, teacher directions for guidance, and editable rubrics assessing vocabulary, concepts, presentation, clarity, and accuracy. Designed for convenience, the projects use standard classroom supplies like paper, markers, and scissors, with many options available for digital completion.

The Solutions Science and ELA Integrated Writing Activity engages 5th-grade students in a creative interview-based exercise to showcase their understanding of solutions. Aligned with TEKS, this activity helps students explore changes in the physical properties of solution ingredients, such as dissolving salt in water or adding lemon juice to water. Designed for both in-person and virtual learning, it encourages scientific reasoning while enriching writing skills.

This low-prep, student-centered resource includes teacher directions with an answer guide, project ideas, and rubrics. It offers a projection version for easy display, full-sized and half-sheet handouts for student use, and a digital interactive version compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Ideal for cross-curricular activities, pre-test assessments, student choice projects, early finisher tasks, extra credit, make-up work, TELPAS samples, or differentiation exercises, this engaging writing prompt is perfect for showcasing student work on bulletin boards or collecting in an anthology. It is intended for students with prior knowledge of the topic or access to research materials.

WIKI Tickets© formative assessments are a fun and engaging way to check student understanding of physical science concepts for 3rd–5th grade. This set includes 37 assessments, each available in five formats: a full-screen projection version, three printable handout sizes, and an interactive digital version compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides. Designed to align with NGSS and TEKS standards, every standard is covered with at least one ticket, and some topics include multiple assessments for deeper exploration. A helpful table of contents is also included to show the alignment with specific standards.

These assessments cover a wide range of topics, including forces and motion, forms and transfers of energy, states and properties of matter, electrical circuits, magnetism, gravity, and waves. Additional concepts such as conservation of mass, mixtures and solutions, reflection and refraction, and the Sun’s energy are also addressed. WIKI Tickets© can be used as exit tickets, bellringers, or quick comprehension checks and are adaptable for in-person, 1:1 digital, or virtual learning environments. Whether projected, printed, or assigned digitally, they offer a flexible, ready-to-use tool for assessing student progress.

Year-Round Resources

These year-round activities will increase your students' understanding of many middle school science topics. All of these activities are also included in the Kesler Science Membership.

Visual Data & Graphing

You're not alone if your students struggle with understanding graphs, charts, and tables. It's a skill that takes an enormous amount of practice. This resource will help students build a strong foundation in analyzing data and creating their own data visualizations.

Learn More

Bell Ringers and Warm-Ups

These middle school science bell ringers are an excellent way to engage your students as soon as they walk into your classroom. This comprehensive FULL YEAR resource includes everything you need to start off each science class with an interesting warm-up activity.

Learn More

Review Board Games

Each game board has been carefully designed to keep students engaged. There are 10 different action spaces on each board and dozens of question cards. All of the actions are related to science concepts and keep the students motivated throughout the game.

Each game is ready to play. Simply print out the board and the cards and let the students enjoy reviewing nine different units.

Learn More

Essential Questions and Standards

Below are the essential questions and standards associated with the lessons and activities included in the atoms unit. This topic is only one of more than 100 middle school science topics included in the Kesler Science Membership.

Essential Questions

How do you compare the properties of substances before and after they’ve been combined in a solution?
What evidence demonstrates that matter is conserved when combined to make a solution?

Standards

TEKS Science - 5.6C Properties of Solutions