Mrs. Reichardt's fifth grade science students recently completed a lab where they used their senses to identify materials based on observable properties. Students used sight, touch, sound, and smell to observe several different properties of cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and alum. They also stated claims based on their data explaining which substances can be identified based on observations and which cannot. For example, a student wrote, "We think we can identify Alum because it is a hard crystal that moves easily and makes a loud sound."
