• understand the concepts of chemical and physical change
• apply knowledge of these concepts to real-world examples

chemical change
physical change

Warm Up

• Show students a piece of paper. Have them turn to a partner and take 2 minutes to come up with examples of how this paper could physically change and how it could chemically change.
• Ask students to share their examples.
• Crumple the paper to demonstrate physical change.
• Burn the tip of a piece of paper (or describe this event) to demonstrate chemical change.

Direct Instruction  

• Write and define the terms chemical change and physical change on the board.  Then have the students copy the terms into their journals.
• Give students three examples of chemical and physical changes.  Use guided questions to help students decide which changes are physical and which changes are chemical.

Practice

• Create mixed-ability groups of four students.
•  Distribute 12 cards to each group describing an action such as chewing food, digesting food, destroying a building, sewing a coat, making a ceramic pot, dyeing hair, burning wood, crumpling a piece of paper.
• Have students assign roles for a game: two Contestants, one Reader—the person who reads the card, one Recorder—the person who records the answer.
• Once the Reader reads the card, the Contestants tap a book or another object when they think they know the answer, the Reader calls on the Contestant that tapped the object first, and the Recorder writes down this Contestant’s answer.
• After 6 cards are read, the students change roles and the Reader and Recorder become the two contestants.

 Assessment 

• Have each pair of Contestants review the answer that was given for the 6 cards, and write a paragraph explaining why, upon further consideration, they agree or disagree with this answer.
• Ask students to share their explanations with the whole class.

 Closure

• Applied learning: Ask students to watch for and identify chemical and physical changes that they notice in their everyday lives over the next few days. Ask them to share these events with the class. 
• Remind students that some events involve both physical and chemical changes.