Sensational states

Produced by FunKids Radio and the RSC, this short snippet uses Kareena and her superhero friend K-Mistry to introduce children to changes of state.

This podcasts can be used as a ’hook’ when introducing the topic to your students, or at the end of a lesson to stimulate discussion about what they have learnt.

If you teach primary science, see the headings below to find out how to use this resource:

Skill development

Children will develop their working scientifically skills by:

• Selecting and planning the most appropriate ways to answer science questions, including:
  • Grouping and classifying things.
• Using appropriate scientific language and ideas to explain, evaluate and communicate their methods and findings.
• Asking their own questions about scientific phenomena.

Learning outcomes

Children will:

• Compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases.
• Observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius.

Concepts supported

Children will learn:

• That a material’s characteristics allow it to be classified as a solid, liquid or gas.
• That materials can change state and that these are reversible changes.

Suggested activity use

This activity provides a quick hook into exploring states of matter: solids, liquids, gases. After listening to the recording, children could be invited to explore different materials, and then group them accordingly. They might also begin to look at what happens to some materials when they are heated or cooled and describe these processes in terms of changing states, using accurate scientific language.

Practical considerations

A range of materials will be required for children to sort into whether they are solids or liquids, with gas examples provided as pictures.

Examples of different changes of state, such as melting ice cubes or chocolate, will be required for the children to observe and explore