Project Title: Hydrophobic & Hydrophilic
Lesson Title: The Floating “M”
Curriculum Area: Science
Grade Level: 3
Estimated Time Required: 30 minutes max
Instructional Groupings:
This will be a science experiment that will be done in small groups (6 groups; so the number of
students in each group will vary on the class size), and the groups will be made by counting off
the students in the class. Once the groups have been divided up they will get together and then
each person in the group will be given a job. They will do their jobs that they are given by the
teacher, and then they will all wait for the next round of instructions. The experiment will be
conducted as a whole group, but the small groups are there so everyone will have a chance to
participate, but more importantly they will have a chance to be up close so they can observe what
is happening during the experiment. Once the experiment is complete the groups will be given
time to discuss their observations with one another, and to predict what caused the experiment to
go the way that it did. After the small group discussion there will be a whole class discussion that
will then lead into the lesson of hydrophobic and hydrophilic.
Description:
This is a lesson where students will be able to learn about the terms hydrophobic and
hydrophilic. In the lesson they will be able to use materials that are familiar to the students;
M&Ms and warm water. With those well-known materials they will see science unfold in front
of them, and the students will be amazed. By the end of the lesson students should be experts at
explaining what hydrophobic is and what hydrophilic is.
Standards:
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3.1.3: Records, charts, journals, observations, and tools. Record observations.
3.1.5: Work cooperatively, communicate, respect ideas and make conclusions.
3.5.5: Use a familiar thing to explain something unknown.
3.6.5: Changes are slow, fast, and not always easy to observe.
Materials:
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6 clear plastic cups (the cups need to be clear so the students can see what is happening)
Warm water
Bag of M&Ms (each group will get three M&Ms to put in their cup)
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Science notebooks (to record their observations)
Overview: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the idea of the two terms hydrophobic and
hydrophilic. They are pretty advanced concepts, but this is a pretty good way to simplify it in a
fun experiment.
As a result of this lesson/unit students will…
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Be able to understand the terms hydrophobic and hydrophilic
Pre-Assessment:
The pre-assessment for this lesson would be just a simple question that they fill out on a piece of
paper as an exit slip before they leave the day prior to the experiment/lesson. The question would
be; when you add oil to water what happens? This is just a simple question, but some students
don’t even know what happens when you do that so it gives a good spectrum of what the
students know in the class.
Emotional Hook:
Have you ever had an M&M? Was it tasty? Did you know that the white “M” on top is a mystery
to us all? Would you like to discover the mystery behind the “M”? These questions are a good
way to bring kids in because (1) most kids love chocolate and will be excited that they are doing
an experiment with M&Ms and (2) by asking them if they want to discover the answer to a
mystery engages and excites them and they will be ready to find out the answer.
Procedure:
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Divide the class into six different groups with an even (or as close to even as possible)
amount of students.
Once the class is divided into the six groups have each group designate people with the
following jobs;
o Someone fills up the clear plastic cup about half way full with WARM water
o Someone goes and picks out three M&Ms from the bag at the front of the class
o Assign someone as discussion leader; they will facilitate the conversation that will
be occurring while watching what is happening during the experiment
o Everyone has the job of observing and writing down in their own science
notebooks what is happening
The students will observe what is happening after they fill the cup up half way with
warm water, and after they have placed the three M&Ms in the cup
What the students will observe:
o The “M” on the M&Ms will start to separate from the actual M&M and then it
will float at the top of the water
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After this starts to happen for all the groups the teacher will start to ask them the question
that they will all be thinking “How does this happen?”
Each group will have a turn to share their observations (important because even though
each group observed the same thing they will have different ways of expressing what
happened and what they saw)
This question and discussion will lead to the point of the experiment; learning the terms
hydrophobic and hydrophilic
After discussing what hydrophobic and hydrophilic is then the ending question of the
lesson will be once again; “How does this happen?”
o The goal of asking the question again will be to see if the students can explain
what happened using the more scientific terms that were talked about
Closure Activity/Wrap Up:
The closing activity will be similar to the pre-assessment. They will be given a piece of paper
with three questions on it:
1. What does hydrophobic mean?
2. What does hydrophilic mean?
3. If the “M” on the M&M is hydrophobic what ingredient is it made out of?
After they answer the three questions they will then turn them in and will be able to get a handful
of M&Ms if they would like. You can’t have a lesson based around them, and then not give them
any.
What will I differentiate?
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For Joe who has Down syndrome I will differentiate the pre-assessment and post
assessment for him. I feel as if he would be able to watch and observe with the other
students without any problems, but when it comes to comprehending the terms
hydrophobic and hydrophilic he might struggle. The pre-assessment question will just be
“What is on the top of an M&M?” I will choose this question because it still will give Joe
an insight into what the experiment the next day might involve without making it too
complicated with the oil and water question. The post-assessment would then instead of
being three questions just be a simple question for him to answer; what happened to the
“M” on the M&M? By asking this question it allows him to think back to the experiment
just like the other students, but he doesn’t have to worry about trying to comprehend or
remember the more complicated terms (that are difficult for all third graders).
For Mike who has ADHD I will differentiate some, but not with the whole lesson. I
wouldn’t assign Mike to a specific group, but I would have him be my helper. I would
have him walk around the room and help me inspect and observe every groups
experiment. This would allow him the chance to be up and moving, and when he can’t
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concentrate on a single group any longer he could move along to another one. I feel like
if he were to have to just sit and watch one cup for the whole time he would get distracted
and wouldn’t use the experiment to his full potential of learning.
For Kim who is selectively mute I would differentiate how she shares her observations. I
would give her a journal that she could write down the observations she is making and
what is happening in the experiment. It could also be beneficial to make her the class
recorder as well, and have her go around to all the groups and take a few pictures with the
class camera of what is happening in each group. She needs a chance to be involved and
say what she wants to say in ways other than words, and she could do that through
writing. Since 3rd graders aren’t always the clearest of writers or the best spellers when it
comes to harder words I could go back to the pictures and use them as another way to
help decipher what she was trying to articulate to me through her writing in the journal.
After the experiment I would also find a time to sit down one-on-one with her and see if
she would be willing to talk to just me about what she noticed and ask her about what
hydrophobic and hydrophilic is that way I know she was understanding what was going
on since she might not tell me with the whole group around.
Why will I differentiate?
I will differentiate my lesson to the specific needs of the students listed above because every
student deserves an equal opportunity in learning what the experiment teaches. They shouldn’t
be hindered by their disability, and I don’t think they will be with the way I plan on
differentiating the lesson plan for them. There is no doubt in my mind that neither one of them
would be able to grasps the terms for this lesson, but I do know that they will need some
assistance to reach their full potential. This is why I will differentiate the lesson in the way that I
did for Joe, Mike, and Kim.
How will I differentiate?
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Joe I am differentiating the pre/post assessments. There isn’t really a need for assistive
technology in this. He will just have simpler questions to answer about the lesson.
Mike I am differentiating by allowing him to move from one group to another and
observing what is happening in each group. I said he would be my little helper, so I
would be the one writing down what I was hearing him say. This allows him to only have
to focus on watching what is happening to the “M” and not worry about having to write
down what he sees.
Kim I am differentiating the way she communicates what she is noticing and observing.
This will be done with a journal and a camera. The technology part of it will also then
benefit the class as a whole, and me as the teacher. The pictures she takes that were
helping her communicate what she was seeing could then also be put on the class blog for
parents and other teachers to see what we were up to in class that day.