5-PS1-1
The standard
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to use a model to show that matter is made of tiny pieces we cannot see. They do not need to name atoms or molecules. They should connect everyday evidence, like air filling a ball or sugar disappearing in water, to the idea that invisible particles still take up space and are still there.
Mastery looks like a labeled drawing, diagram, or physical model that explains the evidence. Students often think dissolved sugar is gone, air has no matter, or particles shrink and grow. Push them to explain what changed and what stayed the same.
Ways to teach it
- Hands-on activity: Have students compress air in sealed syringes and draw before-and-after particle models showing space between air particles.
- Prompt: Explain where the sugar goes when it dissolves in water, using the words particles, too small to see, and evidence.
- Quick assessment: Show a basketball before and after pumping air into it, then ask students to draw and label what changed inside.
- Real-world connection: Discuss why you can smell popcorn from across the room, even though you cannot see anything moving.
Plan a lesson for 5-PS1-1
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- MS-PS1-4
Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
- HS-PS3-2
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields.
- MS-PS3-2
Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the syst...
- 5-LS2-1
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.