What is the three states of water?

Water in the three states of matter is an easy way for young children to learn about the changes between

1. Solid
2. Liquid
3. Gas

We refer to the three states of matter in water as three completely different things. Water is what we call the most common state of the substance which is its liquid form. When water is in its solid form, we say “ice” instead of “solid water.” When it is in its gas form, we refer to it as steam or vapor. Consequently, young children may know this vocabulary without realizing that all three forms are actually water. Therefore, helping them to make this discovery can be an exciting lesson.

The first step is to help a child understand that water is made of something called molecules. We cannot see these because they are way too small. Water is also called H2O because the water molecule consists of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. Typically the model is pictured with the oxygen atom being red and the hydrogen atoms being white or blue. The oxygen atom is larger because it has electrons. While explaining electrons, hydrogen, and oxygen may be more information than necessary at this stage, using the correct shape will serve them well later in life.

You may want to build a molecule model with them using gumdrops and toothpicks. You may also have building toys that you can use too. For example, see the links provided below.

Water in Three States of Matter – Liquid

In the liquid state, the molecules are packed together and move freely. When children are playing in a pool or pouring water, talk with them about how the liquid moves. It will take the shape and fill whatever container it is in. Similarly, if it does not have a container, it moves freely. This can occur if they spill their water.

Water in Three States of Matter – Solid

When water is in the solid state the molecules are packed together. They are fixed and cannot move. This is why solids have their own shape. Freezing ice cubes in different shape containers will help a child to see that once the water becomes solid, the shape will not change.

Water in Three States of Matter – Gas

When water is in the gas state the molecules separate even more and fly around very fast. Boiling water and watching the steam rise will help the child see water in this state. Humidifiers can also be a great way to show children what the gas state of water looks and feels like.

What Causes Water to Change?

Ask your child what they think caused the water to change from a liquid to a solid and a liquid to a gas. Why is the solid water, or ice, cold? What happens to it once it is not in the freezer and gets warmer? Putting the liquid water over a fire or on the stove causes what? What do they think the humidifier is doing to the liquid water inside the machine? Once you think the child has an understanding of water in the three states of matter, ask them to explain to you.

Lyrics to Jack and Jill

The nursery rhyme of Jack and Jill is a great way to teach about water in the three states of matter.

In this creative teaching resource, Jack and Jill go up a mountain to fetch a pail of ice and snow. When they return, however, the ice has melted and is now in liquid form. They discover it is the temperature that changes the states of matter. By applying even more heat, they are able to create steam.

If you searching for easy-to-read text that can help your preschoolers, kindergarteners, or first-grade students learn about water, you will want to have this book. Dawn Stephens has masterfully created a resource that contains new lyrics to the Mother Goose rhyme of Jack and Jill. Your students will memorize the text with ease and then be able to track the words in the book. Therefore, this printable guided reading book and PowerPoint eBook Show will help students learn to read too. You can purchase it here or in our TpT store.

After sharing these books with teachers and home-school parents, we discovered a need for a teacher’s guide and additional activities to help teach about the three states of water. Subsequently, we created the teacher guide that includes spiritual, social, and academic growth sections.

Little Pot’s method to grow the fruit of the Spirit

Little Pot is a vessel that grows fruit for the potter. It believes that children should be holistic thinkers. Therefore, the teacher’s guide includes spiritual, social, and academic growth sections. These three areas lead to growing the fruit of the Spirit. You see, Little Pot follows a fruit-bearing cycle as its strawberries grow. That process mirrors how we can grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

This process is better explained in the 7 steps to become a fruit-bearing vessel. Sign up below to receive the steps. Additionally, you’ll receive a fruitful Friday email each week with more creative teaching resources.

After the lesson, reinforce the information with this video.

Resources to go with the lessons

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