Matter & Kinetic Energy Activities for Middle School Science

The Kesler Science Matter & Kinetic Energy 5E Lesson is a comprehensive middle school chemistry unit focused on how solids, liquids, and gases compare in shape, volume, structure, and kinetic energy. It includes editable presentations, worksheets, assessments, and student-choice projects designed for differentiated, student-led learning. Fully aligned with the 2021 TEKS 6.6A standard, the lesson offers flexible digital and printable formats, Spanish translations, and multimodal learning to engage all students.

Following the 5E Model, the lesson begins with engagement activities, including objectives, word wall cards, and class discussions. The exploration phase features a student-led station lab with nine stations, where students interact with concepts through hands-on experiments, reading passages, research tasks, videos, categorization, writing, and drawing activities. Explanation includes editable PowerPoints, interactive notebooks, and structured note-taking templates. Students elaborate through choice projects on states of matter, while evaluation includes STAAR 2.0-aligned assessments, review questions, and worksheets. 

Designed for both in-class and virtual learning, this low-prep, multiday lesson ensures students actively engage with kinetic energy changes across different states of matter while allowing teachers to focus on student success.

Engage your students with this student-led station lab aligned with the 2021 TEKS 6.6A standard on matter and kinetic energy. Designed for in-class or virtual learning, this interactive lesson guides students as they compare solids, liquids, and gases based on structure, shape, volume, and the kinetic energy of atoms and molecules. 

Students explore new concepts through multimodal input stations, including hands-on activities, videos, readings, and research tasks. Output stations allow them to demonstrate learning by organizing information, illustrating models, writing responses, and completing assessments. A bonus challenge station offers extension activities, and differentiated reading passages in English and Spanish support diverse learners. 

This low-prep, high-engagement resource fosters student autonomy and critical thinking.

The Matter & Kinetic Energy Student Choice Projects align with the 2021 TEKS standard 6.6A, allowing middle school students to demonstrate their understanding in a format that suits them. A project page outlines six student-led options plus a “design your own” project, with an editable rubric for teacher, peer, or self-assessment. 

These flexible, multimodal projects provide creative ways for students to engage with the material. Two versions of the project page support differentiation, with modified options for students needing remediation and challenge opportunities for advanced learners. Teachers can adjust the rubric to fit grading needs.

The projects use standard classroom supplies like paper, markers, and scissors, with many options available for digital completion.