crayons
Activity

Changing Solids to Liquids

Hands-on experiment to teach children with visual impairments about changing liquids to solids

There are many simple ways to illustrate ways in which solids can change to liquids.  In this activity familiar materials, such as water, crayons, and food items, are used to illustrate the way in which matter changes form.  These ideas can be done over a number of different lessons, depending upon the levels of the students.   For students who are blind or visually impaired, they have not had the benefit of the incidental learning that takes place through informal observation.  In other words, they will not have watched an ice cube melt in their glass and thus may not be aware that nothing was added or taken out of the glass, but that the ice cube changes form in warmer air temperatures.

Materials

Procedure

  1. Depending on the level of the students, this can be done in a series of lessons or in a single lesson.
  2. Discuss with students how things change from one form to another.  Ask if anyone knows what happens to an ice cube if you put it in a cup and leave it on the table or a counter.
  3. Ask students to create a “hypothesis” or prediction about what will happen with the ice cubes.
  4. Give each student an ice cube to place in a cup.  Set the cups on a table and come back to check on them in an hour or so.
  5. Have the students describe what happened.
collage of changing solids to liquids with ice cubes

Variations

collage of crayons melting

By Charlotte Cushman

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