AC9S3U04: Investigate the observable properties of solids and liquids and how…

Winter Science at Home Grades K–5

Make frost on the outside of a can, race ice cubes with salt and sugar, lift an ice cube with a piece of string, and look inside a real snowflake. Three kitchen-table winter experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.

• Can you make frost in a can? 40 min

  Children crush ice, pack it into two cans, add salt to one, and watch water and then frost appear on the outside. They finish able to explain that the water and frost came out of the air, not through the can.

• Why does salt melt ice? 40 min

  Children race three ice cubes covered in salt, sugar and nothing, then use a pinch of salt to lift an ice cube out of a glass with a piece of string. They finish able to explain that salt melts ice by mixing into the water, and that it makes the ice colder, not warmer.

• What's inside a snowflake? 45 min on a snowy day, or 40 min plus overnight without snow

  Children catch falling snowflakes on a chilled dark cloth and look at them with a magnifier, or, with no snow, look at freezer frost and grow crystals on a pipe-cleaner snowflake overnight. They finish able to explain that a snowflake is an ice crystal grown from water vapour, and why it has six sides.

Winter Science: Ice, Snow and Staying Warm Grades 3–5

Why roads get salted, which mitten really works, how a seal stays warm in icy water, and why a mouse is cosier under the snow than on top of it. Four hands-on lessons on ice, heat and insulation.

• What melts ice fastest? 50–60 min

  Teams sprinkle salt, sugar and sand on identical ice cubes, leave one plain, and measure the meltwater after 20 minutes. Then they use their evidence to explain why road crews spread salt, and why salted ice actually gets colder.

• Which mitten keeps a hand warmest? 50–60 min

  Teams wrap jars of warm water in wool, cotton, foil or nothing, and read a thermometer every 5 minutes to see which loses heat slowest. Then they explain what a mitten really does, and why it doesn't make any heat of its own.

• How do animals stay warm in winter? 50–60 min

  Students put a hand into ice water inside a 'blubber glove' made of shortening between two zip bags, measure the difference with thermometers, and compare a lone cup of warm water with a huddle. Then they argue how blubber, fur, feathers and huddling help animals survive the cold.

• Can snow keep things warm? 60–75 min, including about 40 min outdoors

  Teams build a 'den' for a jar of warm water, leave one on top of the snow and bury one underneath, and compare temperatures after 30 minutes. They also probe the snow with thermometers, then explain why voles, grouse and bears spend winter under the snow. A no-snow version uses a freezer and a snow stand-in.

Printable practice for AC9S3U04

• Winter Science at Home workbook included with the unit

  3 practice pages, 3 readings, 2 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Earth and Sky at Home workbook included with the unit

  2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.