Children's understanding of the notions of solid and liquid in relation to some common substances

The nature of matter is a central theme both scientifically and culturally and thus is included as an area of study in most primary school science curricula. The theme apparently lends itself to the relatively easy provision of direct, purposeful experiences for beginning students. However, because of prior practical and linguistic experience from everyday life, children have already developed notions and language which may interfere with their efforts to understand scientists’ notions and language. Children's understanding of solid and liquid has been inferred from data collected from individual interviews and from questionnaires to children (n=137) aged 7 to 12 years in Hobart, Tasmania. Children's responses to questions about the forms of matter vary considerably according to the substances in question and some children appear to use language registers which give correct answers from invalid arguments even for what might appear to be non‐problematic exemplars. The findings highlight the need for teachers to listen more carefully and to respond to the alternative perceptions of their students, to be more aware and accepting of the dialectical nature of learning and to be aware of the theoretical limitations of many fundamental classificatory schemes in science.