Thomasville third graders find tasty way to learn chemical change

By Carolyn Drinkard

Special to The Watchman

From a ripe, juicy apple to some tasty applesauce, Thomasville Elementary School’s third graders got to see firsthand the difference between a physical change and a chemical change of matter.

Third-grade teachers used the very familiar apple to teach a complicated science concept. Teachers and volunteers first peeled the apples to show a physical change. Teachers demonstrated that the fruit was still an apple, even though it looked different after going through a physical change.  However, when the students put the apples into a crockpot, the apples changed, becoming soft and mushy. This chemical change made the apples look and taste different from the original fruit.

Students then made a T-chart and described the various properties of both apples  and applesauce. After tasting red, yellow, and green apples, they made a graph charting their class’s favorites. The students then used the data to collect additional information. Finally, they wrote three things that they noticed about their data.

This popular activity was part of an AMSTI unit on chemicals. AMSTI and TES partner to provide many manipulatives for teachers so that students can better understand science and math concepts.

In this exercise, students were able to use both science and math. According to some students, the best part was eating the apples, apple juice, juice and applesauce that they had created.