Science standards have you stressed? I completely get it! Very few districts have a science curriculum for special education, yet you are expected to teach all of the standards anyways. Whatever standards you have to follow, my guess is, you are trying to figure out how to tackle the states of matter. For many years, I was in the same boat. It took a lot of trial and error before I had states of matter resources in my tool belt that made me feel like I was doing my students and the standards justice. Here are the activities, I have found most useful over the years for teaching the states of matter!
Don’t spend time trying to figure out what resources to use in your science curriculum for special education when it comes to teaching the states of matter. These are the top 6 resources I use in order to teach this scientific concept!
Cut and Paste
One thing that I have found about teaching the states of matter (or any science concept!) is that my students need hands-on practice and different answering modalities. These are often missing from typical science curriculum. So, I always like to start off my exploration of states of matter with some cut and paste worksheets.
After introducing examples of solids, liquids, and gasses, I give students these cut and paste worksheets to practice the concept of states of matter. I start with errorless worksheets so that I am able to easily reinforce the correct responses and students are not practicing errors with the new concept (more info on errorless learning here!).
Once students have completed the errorless worksheets, I have them complete cut and paste worksheets that have multiple states of matter. This allows them the hands-on visual practice that they need while also testing their understanding of the concept.
Sorting
Cut and paste worksheets are great for having students focus on and identify one concept, such as identifying a solid. The next step is to be able to identify multiple concepts and differentiate between each. That is why I love using sorting activities in my science curriculum for special education!
I set up the activities so that students are still cutting and pasting visuals, but now each concept needs to go in the appropriate column. For example, all of the visuals of gas need to go in the gas column and all the visuals of liquids need to go in the liquids column.
This type of activity allows for differentiation in several ways so that you can provide quality states of matter instruction for all of your students. Here are some ways you can set up sorting activities to teach the states of matter:
- The same visuals from the cut and paste worksheets
- Different visuals from the cut and paste worksheets
- Different visuals for one concept
- Use different visuals of both concepts
- A mix of words and visuals
Matching
Once students are able to correctly identify the different states of matter with visuals. I provide them practice that includes the terms and visual examples. The best way I have found to do this is with matching activities.
Students must now connect the word for example liquid to a visual that shows the concept, a bucket of water. Again, you can tailor these types of matching activities to fit the needs of your students. I typically have students draw lines from the term to the visual, but you could also have them paste the visual next to the term or vice versa. You could cut out the terms and the visuals and have students match by putting the term on top of the visual if writing is difficult or they have trouble with fine motor skills.
Task Cards and Adapted Books
One of the most important aspects of a science curriculum for special education is that it includes multiple ways to practice the concept after initial teaching so that students continue to maintain the skill. Task cards and adapted books are great for this practice!
With task cards, you can easily present different visuals of each of the states of matter and have student identify the state. Depending on your students’ needs, you can set up them up as yes and no questions or have them choose the correct term for the state of matter shown.
Adapted books can serve the same purpose. By adding in manipulatives to help students learn and retain the concepts, they are perfect alternatives to typical science readers. Again, you can set up the books with sentences that students have to fill in with visuals or with simple yes and no questions like the one pictured below.
Science Curriculum for Special Education: Using Videos/Games
When it comes to science curriculum for special education, it is important to have resources that help your students access the information. This is why I make sure to always include videos and games in my states of matter unit!
Reading a chapter on the states of matter from a text book is usually not the best way for our students to learn the information. By showing simple videos, students are able to access the curriculum in a modality that is easier for them to digest.
On the other hand, games are an amazing way to reinforce concepts that keep students engaged and focused. For many students, they enjoy playing digital games. I recommend trying to find a few games that you can use with your students to reinforce the states of matter!
Need Help With Science Curriculum For Special Education?
After so many years of having to pull together my own resources to teach science in my special education classroom, I’ve created done for you science curriculum for special education resources! Easily teach the states of matter with this States of Matter Science for Special Education and Autism resource. Minimal prep for you and maximum results for your students!
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This bundle includes:
- Living and Non-Living Things
- Plant Parts | Plant Life Cycle
- Recycling | Conserving
- States of Matter
- Physical Features of Earth
- Habitats & Environments
- Weather and Seasons
- Force And Motion
- Planets & Outer Space
- Day & Night
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Don’t Forget to Pin These Science Curriculum for Special Education ideas for Later!
