Culturally Responsive Lesson – Mexican Culture for the Properties of Water Solubility

Jiyoon Yoon

2 Culturally Responsive Lesson – Mexican Culture for the Properties of Water Solubility

Grade 5: Mixtures and Solutions

TEKS Standards:

5.5B: Demonstrate that some mixtures maintain physical properties of their ingredients (e.g., iron filings and sand; sand and water).
5.5C: Identify changes in the physical properties of ingredients of solutions (e.g., dissolving salt in water, adding lemon juice to water).

Target Questions

Are all mixtures the same? Why or why not?
How could you demonstrate that a mixture’s ingredients retain their physical properties?
What makes a solution a unique type of mixture? How could you demonstrate this?

Background Concepts

Concept 1: Mixtures That Maintain Physical Properties

Some materials, when combined, retain their original physical properties. Examples include:

Iron filings and sand
Sand and water

Matter can be a pure substance or a mixture:

Pure substances consist of one type of molecule (e.g., oxygen gas [O₂], water [H₂O]).
Mixtures are physical combinations of substances without chemical changes.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Use examples from students’ everyday experiences (trail mix, salad, tea blends) to connect science to their lives and communities.

Concept 2: Solutions and Physical Property Changes

Some mixtures undergo changes in physical properties when combined:

Salt dissolving in water
Lemon juice added to water

Students should distinguish between:

Heterogeneous mixtures (parts are visibly separate, like trail mix) → TEKS 5.5B
Homogeneous mixtures (solutions) (ingredients evenly distributed at a microscopic level, like saltwater) → TEKS 5.5C

Examples of solutions in different states:

Solid dissolved in liquid: Salt water
Gas dissolved in liquid: Carbonation in soft drinks
Solid dissolved in solid: Brass (copper + zinc)
Gas dissolved in gas: Oxygen + nitrogen in air

Culturally Responsive Tip: Encourage students to bring examples from their homes or cultural foods to illustrate mixtures and solutions.

Concept 3: Separating Solutions

Solutions: One substance (solute) dissolves in another (solvent) and requires processes like evaporation to separate.
Example: Salt in water → evaporate water to retrieve salt.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Highlight examples from everyday life such as sweetened tea, soup preparation, or traditional beverages to make the science relevant.

Engage Activity (30–40 mins)

Activity Title: Color Changing

Overview:
Students will interact with tools, items, and pictures to observe mixtures and solutions. They will use a See, Think, Wonder chart to record observations, ideas, and questions.

Procedure:

Set up items around the room gallery-style (or display color pictures).
Give students 15–20 minutes to walk around, touch, and observe the items.
Students record observations on their See, Think, Wonder sheet. Encourage:
- Predictions about the purpose of each item
- Questions about what they might learn
- Conversations with peers to share ideas

Teacher Support Tips:

Ask probing questions:
- “What do you think this tool is for?”
- “Have you seen or used one before?”
- “What do you think we will learn from this item?”
After the activity, discuss student findings.
Create a class unit See, Think, Wonder poster to collect responses.
Most students should conclude that the upcoming topic is mixtures and solutions. Support those who struggle to make the connection.

Items to Display

Pitcher of water
Soda
Pitcher of tea, Kool-Aid, or colored syrup
Sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon
Sand, iron filings
Coffee filters
Spoons
Strainers, sieves
Pictures of trail mix, salad, etc.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Include food or drink items familiar to students from diverse backgrounds to make the lesson engaging and relatable

Explore (60 mins)

Activity Title: Let’s Mix It Up!

Overview:
In this hands-on activity, students will observe how some mixtures maintain the physical properties of their ingredients, while solutions show changes in physical properties. Students will explore both heterogeneous mixtures (parts remain separate) and homogeneous mixtures (solutions where substances dissolve).

Culturally Responsive Tip: Invite students to share examples from their homes or cultural foods that illustrate mixtures or solutions, such as spice blends, teas, traditional sauces, or beverages.

Materials (per group)

Bag with sand and iron filings
6 small Dixie cups
1 beaker
Sand, sugar, salt, syrup, pepper, lemon juice
Plastic spoons and clear cups
Forceps or tweezers
Duct tape
Plastic BBs and metal BBs
Water
Hand lens
Paper plates
Student Journal sheet

Part I: What’s in There?

Open the bag containing a mixture of five solids.
Using your hand lens, carefully observe, identify, and record the physical properties of each solid on your Student Journal.
Empty the mixture onto a paper plate.
Use the tools provided (spoons, tweezers, etc.) to separate each solid into individual cups or piles.
Record:
- The names and physical properties of each material
- The tools and strategies you used to separate them

Teacher Tip: Encourage students to explain their process to peers. Ask: “Which property helped you separate each material?” This promotes scientific reasoning and collaborative learning.

Part II: Solution or Not?

Observe the materials already in your cups using your senses and record observations in your journal.
Prepare five mixtures in clear cups:
- Lemon juice + water: 20 mL lemon juice + 200 mL water
- Salt + water: 20 mL salt + 200 mL water
- Kool-Aid + water: 20 mL Kool-Aid + 200 mL water
- Pepper + water: 20 mL pepper + 200 mL water
- Sand + water: 20 mL sand + 200 mL water
Stir each mixture and observe any changes in physical properties.
Determine if each mixture is a solution (homogeneous) or heterogeneous mixture. Record your reasoning in your Student Journal.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Encourage students to compare mixtures with foods or drinks from their cultural backgrounds, like hot chocolate, tamarind drinks, or rice-based beverages.

Explain

Activity Title: Let’s Connect

Overview:
Students will review findings from the Explore activity, analyze patterns, and deepen understanding with academic vocabulary and guided discussion.

Students respond to prompt questions based on Explore:
- “How did you complete challenges 1–3?”
- “How were challenges 1–3 different from challenge 4?”
Teacher leads a discussion connecting student observations to key concepts:
- Mixtures that retain physical properties vs. solutions
- How dissolving changes the properties of a substance
Introduce academic vocabulary using a three-column notes method:
- Column 1: Term
- Column 2: Definition
- Column 3: Example (student-generated, ideally from familiar cultural or home contexts)
Students complete Vocabulary Cards and Three-Column Notes Recording Sheet.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Encourage students to provide examples of mixtures and solutions from foods, drinks, or household items in their own lives to make the vocabulary meaningful.

Videos

Video Prompt: Reflect and Connect

As you watch the following videos, think about this reflection prompt:

“I used to think ___________ about mixtures and solutions, but now I think ___________.”

You will write your reflections in your science journal after watching each video. This helps you notice how your thinking changes as you learn.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Invite students to connect the video content to examples from their own lives (e.g., food and drinks at home, community cooking practices, traditional practices involving mixtures or dissolving). This makes the science personally meaningful.

Video List and What to Watch For

1. Study Jams: Mixtures

Watch here: https://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/mixtures.htm

About this video:
This animated video introduces mixtures using everyday examples like trail mix and salad. It explains how in a mixture, the different ingredients keep their own physical properties and can often be separated by simple methods.

Watch for:

Examples of mixtures that do not dissolve
How scientists observe and describe mixtures
Questions you have about mixtures that you want to explore further

Reflection Prompt (to write in your journal):

“I used to think all mixtures were the same, but now I think ______________ because ______________.”

2. How Solubility and Dissolving Work

Watch here: https://youtu.be/JGkmGQ89_SE

About this video:
This video explains how substances dissolve in liquids and what it means for something to be soluble. It shows what happens to particles when a substance becomes a solution.

Watch for:

How dissolving changes physical properties
What makes a solution different from a mixture that does not dissolve
Real‑world examples of solutions (like sweetened drinks or teas)

Reflection Prompt (to write in your journal):

“I used to think solutions were just like mixtures, but now I think ______________ because ______________.”

Teacher Support and Reflection Extensions

Before Watching:
- Review the prompt with students and model a short example using a familiar food or drink (e.g., mixing salt into water).
- Ask: “What do you notice when sugar dissolves in tea at home? Does it look the same afterward?”
During Watching:
- Students can jot quick notes about new ideas or surprises they hear.
- Encourage students to write down questions they want to explore after the video.
After Watching:
- Students write their reflections in their science journals using the sentence frame provided in the prompt.
- Facilitate a turn‑and‑talk so students share one thing they changed their mind about.
- Collect a few student reflections and post examples on a shared chart titled “Before & After Thinking” to demonstrate growth in understanding.

Culturally Responsive Tip: Allow students to include examples from their own culture (foods, drinks, preparation methods) in their reflections. This honors student identities and connects science learning to their lived experiences.

Elaborate

Activity Title: Traditional Mexican Market Drinks – Aguas Frescas

Overview:
In this activity, students will explore both the science and cultural history of traditional Mexican drinks called Aguas Frescas. They will apply their understanding of mixtures and solutions while connecting to a culturally meaningful practice.

Steps:

Students will select a fruit and use a combination of sugar, water, and fruit purée to create their own Agua Fresca.
Using their notes from the previous activities, students will explain why their drink is a solution, describing how the sugar dissolves and spreads evenly throughout the liquid.
After making the drink, students will read a short selection about the history of Aguas Frescas and discuss how these beverages became part of traditional Mexican cuisine.

Link to History Video:
The History of Agua Fresca

Culturally Responsive Connections:

Students connect science concepts to real-life cultural practices.
Encourages hands-on learning with culturally authentic foods and ingredients.
Promotes discussion about the role of traditional foods and drinks in cultural identity.

Evaluate

Activity Title: Show Me Your Thinking

Overview:
Students will demonstrate their understanding of mixtures and solutions using EduPuzzle, an interactive online platform. This activity includes multiple-choice questions, short answers, and reflective writing prompts.

Link to EduPuzzle:
EduPuzzle – Mixtures and Solutions

Reflection Prompts:

What challenges did you encounter while identifying mixtures and solutions?
How did you determine which mixtures were solutions?
How does your Agua Fresca illustrate the concept of a solution?

Culturally Responsive Connections:

Students apply science learning to traditional Mexican culinary practices.
Incorporates culturally meaningful examples, connecting classroom science to students’ real-world experiences.
Supports multilingual learners: all worksheets and instructions are available in students’ native languages; videos and multimedia include subtitles.
Ingredients are culturally relevant (traditional fruits and flavors), with names translated into both English and students’ home languages.

Teacher Reflection Questions:

What challenges did you encounter, or do you anticipate, when implementing this Learning Cycle? How could you address those challenges?
How did this lesson support culturally responsive teaching?
- Students actively connect science concepts to their cultural experiences.
- The lesson blends hands-on experimentation with cultural history, enhancing engagement and understanding.
How were non-English speaking students supported?
- Translated handouts and worksheets
- Subtitled videos and multimedia
- Use of culturally relevant examples and bilingual ingredient names