Stage 3 ScienceEnglishMaths Member

The Ice Lolly and the Missing Puddle

Everyday story · Teaches: States of matter (solid, liquid, gas) and changes between them · Featuring Emily · Story 9 of 12 on the Stage 3 path

On a hot day, Papa gave Emily an orange ice lolly (a frozen ice treat on a stick). It was hard and cold, a solid (something that keeps its own shape).

Emily was slow to eat it. Drip… drip… The hard lolly began to turn into a sticky orange liquid (something runny that pours and takes the shape of its cup). “It’s melting (changing from solid to liquid)!” she cried.

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Next on the path The Shape of the Lantern → Naming 2D and 3D shapes and their properties (faces, edges, corners)

This story teaches

States of matter (solid, liquid, gas) and changes between them

ScienceEnglishMaths

Answer guide, for grown-ups

Ask each question, then compare. A child’s own words are perfect as long as the idea is right.

1. Name the three states of matter.

Solid, liquid and gas.

✓ Understood if the child names all three states.

2. What made the solid lolly melt? Where did the spilled puddle go?

The heat of the sun made the solid lolly melt into a liquid, and the spilled puddle evaporated into a gas (water vapour) that floated away in the air.

✓ Understood if the child links the heat to melting and says the puddle evaporated into the air.

3. Explain, in your own words, the difference between a solid and a liquid.

A solid keeps its own shape, like the frozen lolly, while a liquid pours and takes the shape of whatever holds it, like the juice.

✓ Understood if the child says a solid keeps its shape and a liquid pours or takes the container's shape.

4. Find one solid, one liquid and one gas in your home right now.

For example, a book is a solid, water is a liquid, and the air around us is a gas.

✓ Understood if the child names a sensible example of each state.

Maths Moment: 2 minutes to start dripping plus 8 more minutes to melt: 2 + 8 = 10 minutes altogether.

For parents, Cambridge curriculum

Mapped to these Cambridge Primary objectives. Open a framework to verify.

Science

Stage 3 · States of matter
Know that matter can be solid, liquid or gas, and describe changes of state such as melting, freezing and evaporating.
Verify in Cambridge Science (0097) ↗

English

Stage 3 · Vocabulary
Use context to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Verify in Cambridge English (0058) ↗