6 Measuring Matter Activities for Middle School (Mass, Volume & Density)

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:47:59 +0000

Measuring the mass, density, or volume of something can be super tricky for students. It’s easy for students to confuse the various formulas or even when to measure the mass vs. density. That’s where practice comes in. These six activities will help you do that in an engaging and effective way!

#1 Mass, Volume, and Density Stations

Stations are a simple way to get students familiar with measuring matter. My mass, volume, and density stations include seven low-prep activities to make your measuring matter unit a breeze. Each station takes between 8 to 10 minutes, and students will practice with activities like measuring the density of a chocolate bar and creating a rainbow liquid density tower. Try out the mass, volume, and density stations here.

#2 Practice Calculations

This might sound straightforward, but sometimes the best you can do is practice…and then practice some more! Measuring the mass, density, and volume of items can take time to get right. Give students problems to solve in class. Display problems around the room and have a gallery walk. Choose labs where students will need to apply their knowledge of measuring matter. And you can even use digital games like Kahoot! to practice. The more ways we can find to reinforce these calculations, the more students will remember them!

#3 Mass, Volume, and Density Task Cards

Task cards might seem outdated, but they can be really useful for skills like measuring density. My mass, volume, and density task cards are editable and self-grading (when used digitally)! I love setting up task cards as a gallery walk for added engagement.

#4 Practice Measuring the Density with Rainbow Towers

Add some engagement to measuring density with this rainbow towers activity. When I make these towers with students, I like to use water, dish soap, syrup, and rubbing alcohol with food coloring, but you can choose other substances based on what you already have available. The liquids will form different layers based on their density, and it’s a cool way to help students visualize the concept.

#5 Water Displacement Experiment

This experiment is simple because you can do it with objects that are already in your classroom. With any measurable container, like a beaker or a test tube, add a small amount of water and measure. Then, add an object and measure again. Have students note the difference between the starting point with just water and then once the object was added. This measurement will determine the density of the object. Allow students to practice by putting a variety of objects into the beakers or other containers.

#6 Measuring Matter with Mystery Blocks

For this activity, give students blocks of various metals or substances (like wood, plastic, or metal) with identical dimensions or volumes. Don’t reveal what the objects are made of (that part is the mystery). Then, ask students to measure the volume, find the mass, and calculate the density. This hands-on experiment gives them the opportunity to practice measuring a variety of materials, and in the end, you can have them guess what the materials are.

While measuring the mass, density, or volume of matter can be tricky, I hope these activities make the task enjoyable for both you and your students!

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Coral Reefs and Human Impact PBL for Middle School

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 18:23:59 +0000

One of the best parts of teaching science is being able to talk about real-world issues. We can help our students see how the world is impacted by our actions (the good and the bad). In this specific unit, we dive into why coral reefs are important, as well as human impact on coral reefs and how plastic pollution affects them.

This isn’t some scientific theory that is hard for students to grasp – it’s happening right now. And through units like this, we can help students understand our world better and maybe even become advocates for change! To make this unit interactive and hands-on, I like to use project-based learning.

Before starting the PBL

Before you jump right into the project, you want to introduce the topic with a whole group lesson and guided notes. During this lesson, you can cover essential vocab like biome, biodiversity, microplastics, etc. Having this whole group lesson at the beginning really lays the foundation for a successful PBL experience. The importance of introducing this is to build background knowledge and help students understand why coral reefs are important.

Next, I like to have students practice the information with task cards and a food lab. During the food lab, students make an edible coral polyp with Twizzlers, sprinkles, gummy worms, fruit rolls ups, frosting, and Rice Krispy treats. It’s messy, but a fun way to represent the structure of coral polyp anatomy. After students have practiced, we’re ready to dive into the actual PBL experience!

PBL for Coral Reefs and Human Impact

For this project-based learning activity, students will answer the question: how does plastic pollution affect the biodiversity of the Coral Reef? Using their background knowledge on why coral reefs are important and the essential vocabulary, students are ready to dig deeper!

Here’s how I structure the PBL:

Introduce the project. This really sets the tone for the unit and keeps students on track with a goal in mind. I like to write the question on the board and come back to it throughout the project.
Create a sketch. Have students create a sketch of what they think a healthy, biodiverse coral reef looks like. They can apply what they know about coral reefs here.
Research. Students will begin researching the coral reef and the current state of things. This can be done individually, with a partner, or even in small groups depending on your class size and dynamics.
Create a new sketch. After researching, have students create another sketch that represents the “true” state of coral reefs based on what they learned.
Create a PSA. Now that students know why coral reeds are important and what is happening with coral reefs – they can inform others! Put students into groups to create a PSA about biodiversity and how plastic pollution has affected coral reefs.
Create an Action Plan. Finally, have students create an action plan that gets the school or community involved in efforts to reduce the plastic in the oceans. Their action plan will focus on why coral reefs are important and what the average citizen can do to help.

Want to bring this Coral Reef PBL to your classroom? Check out the Coral Reef Project-Based Learning resource. This PBL is done for you, so you can easily implement the project in your classroom. The resource includes paper and digital resources to help students illustrate, research, create, and reflect!

Grab the Coral Research PBL

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