Experimenting with Solids and Liquids

First graders are learning about solids and liquids and why they "matter" (or rather what the properties of these states of matter are)! Our class has been doing lots of science reading and discussion and today we started to experiment. We created Oobleck (which we named for Dr. Seuss' book Bartholomew and the Oobleck, which we read today) which is a liquid mixture of corn starch and water (and a little green food coloring to make it more like the book) that seems to have both properties of a solid and a liquid! We experimented with our Oobleck throughout the day, describing its characteristics and how it changes. In addition to connecting the Oobleck to our science unit, we took the opportunity to write "How to Make Oobleck" during our writing block, where our current focus is on procedural writing. Below are some photos of our Oobleck exploration and our "recipe" if you want to try this out at home.

Oobleck:

Mixing Bowl (works best when mixed with your hands, not a utensil)
Wide pan for exploration
7 cups of corn starch
4 cups of water
3 drops of food coloring

A photo slideshow by Smilebox