Engaging Chemical Reactions Science Activities for Fifth Grade

Teaching fifth-grade science classes according to the NGSS standards requires extensive preparation. You work hard, but is there something in the standards you overlooked?

How can you be sure?

More than being sure your class learns material that covers the Next Generation Science Standards, you want your students to understand the concepts presented and maintain a love for science. It can be overwhelming!

We’ve got you covered! We developed these fifth-grade Chemical Reactions Science Stations, chockful of chemical reactions science activities, with you in mind. Through eight different science stations, your students will deepen their understanding of chemical reactions, including investigating whether mixing two or more substances together results in a new substance with new properties. All stations meet the Next Generation Science Standards for Fifth Grade (5-PS1-4).

Do we include everything the NGSS standards require? You bet! The science stations cover all the appropriate concepts for Chemical Reactions. Everything your fifth-graders need to know about Chemical Reactions is included. These eight science stations teach and incorporate important skills through labs, experiments, videos, text, and games. Best of all, your students will not only understand the concepts presented, but they’ll also have fun while learning them!

Chemical reactions are part of the 5th grade standards on structure and properties of matter. For the full picture of 5th grade physical science — and how it builds on four years of prior learning — see my physical science guide for elementary students.

Let’s take a closer look to find out what that looks like!

What’s Included in the Chemical Reactions Science Activities Stations

Let’s start by going over what these science stations are actually about. In these stations, students learn about chemical reactions. What happens when two or more substances are mixed? Why do some substances make a new substance when mixed, but others don’t?

Students make observations, construct explanations, use evidence to support a claim, and design solutions to problems throughout the Chemical Reactions unit to find out answers to these questions and more. The science stations contain challenging material for fifth graders, with new words and concepts in easy-to-implement, interactive stations.

Focus on NGSS Standards for 5-PS 1-4

Next Generation Science Standards are written to be “Three Dimensional.”  The three dimensions are Performance Expectation, Disciplinary Core Idea, and Science and Engineering Practices/Crosscutting Concepts.

The Chemical Reactions Science Stations Unit focuses on these standards:

• Performance Expectation 5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances

• Disciplinary Core Idea:
  • 5-PS1.B – Chemical Reactions – When two or more different substances are mixed, a new substance with different properties may be formed

• Science and Engineering Practice: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
  • Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to include investigations that control variables and provide evidence to support explanations or design solutions.
    • Conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, using fair tests in which variables are controlled and the number of trials considered

• Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change

Big Idea Posters for Chemical Reactions

Like all of our science stations, the Chemical Reactions stations come with Big Idea posters that explain the core science ideas students will learn in this unit of study.

Some of the Big Ideas include:

• Substances can go through physical changes or chemical changes.
  • A Chemical Change means a chemical reaction takes place.
  • A Physical Change means no chemical reaction takes place.
• If substances are combined and a new substance forms, a chemical change took place.

There are four Big Idea Posters in this unit. Only the Chemical Reactions Unit Bundle includes the Big Idea Posters. The Posters are not included for each individual station.

Vocabulary Cards

Vocabulary cards are essential and just one of the chemical reactions science activities included in these stations. But let’s be honest, they can be super boring, too. Solution: We made them appealing by adding colorful pictures and to-the-point definitions. Included are two sets of vocabulary cards. One set has pictures with the word and definition. Each card has cutting lines so you can easily turn vocabulary learning into a game! You (or your students) can cut out the three sections of each card. Then, mix all the words, all the definitions, and all the pictures, and let the matching begin!

Hint: You can laminate these, too, and use them year after year, OR have students glue the completed vocabulary cards into their science notebooks.

Oh, they are the perfect size for pocket charts, too!

The second set of vocabulary cards has the word and definition in a larger font. This set is great for a science word wall. Both sets contain the same words, so you pick which one(s) are most suitable for your classroom without having to worry whether or not you’re covering it all.

The chemical reactions vocabulary cards are also only available in the Unit Bundle. They are not available for each individual science station.

Differentiated Responses for Each Science Station

Every classroom is different and every child is different. With that in mind, all our science stations, including the Chemical Reactions Science Stations have a variety of ways for students to interact with the station.  Each station includes five different ways to respond to the experience at the station:

• short answer questions
• fill-in-the-blank questions without a word bank
• fill-in-the-blank with a word bank
• task cards with short answers
• task cards with multiple choice

All the variations are similar to one another, but require a different level of independence. The fill-in-the-blank is the easiest and is perfect for your students who struggle with reading.  The short answer is the most difficult as it requires students to construct their own responses without much support.

Choose the format that best fits your classroom and students. Students are also encouraged to use their science journal task cards.  Answer keys are included.

Some activities also include an activity sheet or worksheet in addition to the differentiated responses.  This activity sheet is the “work” of the station while the differentiated responses require students to think broadly about the topic and concept.

You can find examples of the questions in some of the images below.

Reading Passages

All stations, except the Watch and Play stations, include reading passages. Most of the reading passages are optional, but they do build students’ background knowledge and solidify key concepts. Use them if your students do not have prior knowledge of the topic of the station.

The reading passages come in two formats. You’ll see versions of both of these formats in the below photographs. Both versions have the same text, but different layouts.

• Full-page with color border
• Two-Column with a black border

See examples of the two formats in the images below.

Google Classroom Components

All of our fifth-grade science stations come with components easily integrated with Google Classroom. Google Forms and Google Slides are included for most stations.

• A Google Form™️ with Reading Passage & Differentiated Questions is available for the Watch, Investigate, Diagram, Read, Model, Explore and Sort stations.
• Google Slides™️ with Activity Directions & Worksheets are available for for Investigate, Diagram, Model, Explore, Sort

Most of the hands-on activities still require physical components, but we have provided the directions and recording sheets in Google Slides.

Watch a Video about Chemical Reactions

Get those personal devices ready, or a big screen in front of the classroom. Your students will be watching a video (or two) during this station! There are two videos; one about chemical reactions, and the other about a fizzy soda science experiment. We recommend you pick one, but if you have the time, feel free to do both!

After watching, students will answer questions about the video. This station contains several worksheets with open-ended, short-answer questions, fill-in-the-blank sentences, and more. Task cards are also included.

There are two videos included in this science station. One of the videos is pictured here.

Play a Game About Chemical Reactions

One of students’ favorite stations (of course…): The Play A Game Science Station! In this station, students will play a board game or complete a crossword puzzle or word search puzzle to reinforce what they have learned about chemical reactions.

During the board game, students work together to answer questions and move along the board. Hello, cooperative learning!

Also included are a crossword puzzle and word search. There are two versions of the crossword puzzle; one with a word list, and one without. The crossword puzzle and word search also come in digital formats. The digital form changes each time the page is loaded so each student can work on his or her own versions of the puzzles.

Investigate Chemical Reactions

In the Investigate Chemical Reactions station, students read about chemical reactions and investigate a substance to identify it based on observed chemical reactions. Like all of our science stations, differentiated questions are included. What you see in the image below are the short answer task cards.

Students conduct and investigation to identify the substance(s) formed through chemical reactions.

Diagram Chemical Reactions

In the Diagram station, students will read about chemical reactions. They will use manipulatives to make diagrams of chemical reactions. What are reactants? What are products? How is a chemical equation written?

Read About Chemical Reactions

In this science station, students read a passage about chemical reactions. Students then answer questions about the reading passage.

Model Chemical Reactions by Making a Ball

Have you ever played with a bouncy ball? Your students probably have, and now they can make one! In this Model Science Station, students read about chemical reactions. They will use common chemicals and make a bouncy ball to model chemical reactions.

Explore Chemical Reactions vs. Physical Reactions

In the Explore station, students read about chemical reactions. They will record reactions and determine if a chemical or physical reaction has taken place. They will answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned.

Sort Chemical Reaction or Not

For the Sort Science Station, students read about chemical reactions. They will sort scenarios into two categories: Chemical Reaction, or Not a Chemical Reaction.

Here are a few examples. Can you determine which is a chemical reaction and which isn’t?

• Sugar is added to the water. The result is sugary water.
• When hydrogen molecules combine with oxygen molecules, water is formed.
• When wood burns, the carbon in the wood combines with oxygen molecules in the air. They form carbon dioxide, water, and ash.
• Salt and sugar are combined. The result is a sugar-and-salt powder.
• Ice melts and becomes water.

How to Purchase the Fifth-Grade Chemical Reactions Science Stations

The Chemical Reactions Science Station Unit can be purchased on my website or on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Other Fifth Grade Science Stations

We have fifth-grade science stations for all of the NGSS Standards. Click below for information about each one!