What’s the matter?

What’s the matter? addresses AC Science Understanding ACSSU077 Solids, liquids and gases have different observable properties and behave in different ways, through the context of exploring everyday materials.

Explore our new sequences for Year 5 aligned to AC V9

What’s the matter? provides students with hands-on opportunities to:

• explore the properties of liquids, including viscosity
• identify properties of solids and apply their knowledge to determine if powder is a solid or liquid
• investigate air as a gas to find out if it takes up space

Students apply their new learning by:

• planning and conducting an investigation to discover if temperature affects the volume of a gas

Linking science with literacy

In the Primary Connections approach, students are supported to create representations that draw on and strengthen their literacy development. In What’s the matter?, students represent and explain their understanding about how solids, liquids and gases have different observable properties and behave in different ways, by creating these representations:

• Annotated drawing
• Factual text
• Science chat-board
• Data table
• Word wall

This is a classic Primary Connections sequence aligned with the Australian Curriculum V8.4. It is only available as a downloadable package.

The What's the matter sequence package includes all the resources you need to teach this sequence, including:

• The What's the matter unit PDF
• Equipment list
• Australian Curriculum v8.4 alignment
• Student eResource sheets
• Assessment resources:
  • Assessment rubrics
  • Work samples
  • Student self-assessment
  • Achievement standard class checklist

Teacher tools

Our new all-online sequence Communicating matters shares a curriculum content descriptor with this sequence. Communicating matters is aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 and contains embedded professional learning and supplementary teacher advice.