# Lesson 140: Water changing states

🔬 SCIENCE (40 Lessons) • 🟡 C. Materials and Matter

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## Objective

I can tell how water can change between ice, liquid water, and steam. I can say what happens when water gets colder or warmer using simple words like freeze and melt.

## Materials

- Small ice cube on a plate (or picture of ice)
- Clear cup with cold water
- Picture or simple drawing of steam from a kettle or hot drink
- Two labels or sticky notes: cold and warm
- Pencil and notebook or scrap paper

## Mini-lesson — How water changes

Water is a special material. It can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas. When water changes, we say it is changing state.

Water as a solid — ice

- When water gets very cold, it can freeze.
- Frozen water is called ice.
- Ice is hard and keeps its shape like a little block.

Water as a liquid

- When ice warms up, it melts and turns back into liquid water.
- Liquid water can be poured and takes the shape of a cup or bottle.
- We drink liquid water.

Water as a gas — steam or water vapour

- When liquid water gets very warm, tiny drops can go into the air.
- This is called water vapour. When we see it, we call it steam.
- Steam is a kind of gas made of water and can rise up and spread out.

The water cycle idea

- In nature, water can freeze (ice and snow), melt, and become vapour in the air.
- Even when we cannot see water in the air, it can still be there as water vapour.

We can think of water going on a journey: ice (solid) → water (liquid) → steam (gas), then back again when it cools.

Picture strip: Ice, water, steam

Cold — ice

Cool — water

Warm — steam

## Guided Practice — Follow water on its journey

You will look at ice, liquid water, and steam (or a picture of steam) and talk about how water changes when it gets colder or warmer.

1. Look at the ice: Touch the ice cube carefully. How does it feel? (Cold, hard). Say, "Ice is solid water."
2. Watch it melt: Leave the ice on a plate for a few minutes. What happens? Drops of water appear. Say, "The ice melts and turns into liquid water."
3. Look at the water: Gently tilt the plate or cup. The water moves and can be poured. Say, "Water is a liquid."
4. Think about steam: With an adult, think of a time you saw steam (from a kettle, shower, or hot food). Say, "Steam is water as a gas in the air."
5. Draw three pictures: On your paper, draw ice, water in a cup, and steam above a mug. Under each, write "solid", "liquid", or "gas".
6. Use the tracing pad: Choose words like ice, water, steam, freeze, or melt and trace them. Say each word as you write it.
7. Finish with a sentence: Write one sentence such as "Ice melts into water" or "Steam is water in the air".

Tracing Pad
Lines
Trace
Pen

## Practice 1 — Sort water states

Decide if water in each example is a solid, a liquid, or a gas.

1. Draw three boxes on your page and label them: "Solid water", "Liquid water", and "Water as gas".
2. Think of examples, such as: ice in a drink, snow on the ground, water in a bottle, rain, steam from a kettle, foggy bathroom mirror.
3. Write or draw each example in the box you think fits. For example, "ice in a drink" goes in "Solid water", and "rain" goes in "Liquid water".
4. Talk with an adult about your choices. Use the words freeze, melt, warm, and cold in your talk.

## Practice 2 — A day with water

Think about different times in the day when you see water in different states.

- On your paper, draw three small scenes: morning, afternoon, and evening.
- In one scene, show ice (for example, ice in a drink or frost on a window). Label it "solid".
- In another scene, show liquid water (for example, water in a glass or rain). Label it "liquid".
- In the last scene, show steam or water vapour (for example, steam from a hot drink or a steamy bathroom). Label it "gas".
- Write one short sentence under your drawings, such as: "Water can be solid, liquid, or gas during my day."

## Practice 3 — Freeze and melt story

Tell a short story about a piece of ice that changes state.

1. Draw a small ice cube in the freezer. Then draw the same ice cube melting in a cup. Finally, draw steam rising from a warm mug.
2. Use arrows to show the order: "ice" → "water" → "steam".
3. Write one or two sentences, such as: "The ice cube melts into water when it gets warm. The water can turn into steam when it gets very hot."
4. Share your story with someone and tell them how water changed in your pictures.

## Quick Check — Water changing states

Answer each question about ice, liquid water, and steam. Think about what happens when water gets colder or warmer.

1) Which list shows three forms of water?

Milk, juice, tea. Ice, liquid water, steam. Rock, sand, soil.
Ice, liquid water, and steam are all forms of water.

2) What is ice?

Water as a gas. A kind of rock. Water that has frozen and become solid.
Ice is water that has frozen into a solid when very cold.

3) What happens when an ice cube is left in a warm room?

It melts and turns into liquid water. It turns into a rock. It becomes bigger and colder.
Warmth makes ice melt into liquid water.

4) Which word means water turning from liquid to solid because it is very cold?

Melt. Freeze. Pour.
When water freezes, it becomes solid ice.

5) Which word means ice turning into liquid water because it is warmer?

Freeze. Blow. Melt.
When ice melts, it becomes liquid water again.

6) Which is a good example of liquid water?

Water in a glass. Ice on the road. Snowman in the yard.
Water in a glass can be poured, so it is a liquid.

7) What is steam?

A kind of rock. Water as a gas in the air when it is hot. Only smoke from a fire.
Steam is water as a gas that goes into the air when water is very hot.

8) Which picture would show water as a gas?

Ice cubes in a tray. Raindrops on a window. Steam rising from a hot mug.
Steam rising from a mug is water as a gas.

9) Which sentence about water is true?

Water can be solid, liquid, or gas. Water is only ever a liquid. Water is always a gas we cannot see.
Water can be ice, liquid water, or steam depending on temperature.

10) Where might you see water freezing in everyday life?

In a hot kettle. In an ice tray in the freezer. In a warm bath.
Water in an ice tray freezes in the cold freezer.

11) Where might you see water melting?

Ice growing bigger in the freezer. Steam rising from a kettle. An ice lolly dripping on a hot day.
On a hot day, the ice lolly melts and turns into liquid.

12) A child says, "When water gets very cold, it can freeze into ice." What do you think?

That is a good idea. That never happens. Water only freezes when it is very hot.
Freezing happens when water gets very cold.

13) A bathroom mirror is covered in tiny drops after a hot shower. What does this show?

The mirror turned into water. Steam in the air cooled down and became tiny drops of water. The shower made ice on the mirror.
Steam (water vapour) cools and turns back into liquid drops.

14) Why do we learn about water changing states?

To understand how one material can look different but still be water. So we never drink water. So we think ice and water are not related.
Knowing water's states helps us understand the world and weather.

15) Which sentence shows a good understanding of water changing states?

"Ice, water, and steam are three different materials." "Water can only ever be a liquid." "Ice, liquid water, and steam are all water. They change when it gets colder or warmer."
This sentence correctly shows that all three forms are water and depend on temperature.

## Assessment (parent/teacher)

Student can name ice, liquid water, and steam as three forms of water. Student can say that water freezes into ice when it is very cold and melts back into liquid when it warms. Student can say that steam or water vapour is water as a gas in the air. Student can use simple words like freeze, melt, cold, warm, solid, liquid, and gas in short sentences. Student can answer worded questions about water changing states with a short explanation.

## Exit ticket (student)

😀 I can explain how water can be ice, liquid water, and steam. 🙂 I know some facts about water changing states but still need more practice. 😅 Water changing states still feels a bit tricky to explain.

#### Next time I will practise…

Sorting examples of water into solid, liquid, and gas Talking about freezing and melting in my own words Using the words ice, water, steam, freeze, and melt in sentences
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