3.PS3.1: Make observations of sound, light, heat, and motion to collect…

Keep It Cool: Ice, Insulation and Staying Comfortable Grades 3–5

Why salt makes ice melt faster, which wrap keeps a drink coldest, how a seal and a fennec fox each keep their body temperature steady, and how to build a cool box that beats the heat. Four hands-on lessons that start from a freezer and work in any climate.

• Which wrap keeps a drink coldest? 50–60 min

  Teams wrap jars of chilled water in wool, cotton, foil or nothing, and read a thermometer every 5 minutes to see which lets heat in slowest. Then they explain what a wrap really does, and why 'cold' doesn't leak in or out.

• How do animals stay warm in the sea and cool in the desert? 50–60 min

  Students put a hand into ice water inside a 'blubber glove' made of fat between two bags, then cool a thermometer with a wet cloth in front of a fan. They use both results to argue how fur, blubber, big ears and panting help animals keep a steady body temperature.

• Can you build a cool box that beats the heat? 75–90 min, or build in one session and test in the next

  Teams design and build a cool box from recycled materials, test it against a plain tub with the same ice, and measure the meltwater after 40 minutes. They find the weak spots, explain how insulation slows heat, and plan one improvement.

Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up Grade 4

Light a bulb with one wire, hunt for materials that let electricity through, find out why string lights all go dark at once, and build a burglar alarm. Four hands-on lessons on closed loops, safe and cheap.

• Can you light a bulb with one wire? 45–60 min

  Teams get one AA battery, one wire and one small bulb, and keep trying until the bulb lights, drawing every setup that works and every one that doesn't. Then they explain why a bulb only lights when electricity can travel in a complete loop.

• What lets electricity through? 45–60 min

  Teams build a circuit tester with a gap in it, then bridge the gap with coins, foil, pencil graphite, an eraser, paper clips and plastic. They sort the results into conductors and insulators and explain why electrical wires are metal on the inside and plastic on the outside.

• Why do some string lights all go out at once? 45–60 min

  Teams wire two bulbs in a single loop, then in two separate loops, unscrew one bulb each time and compare brightness. They explain why one loose bulb can darken a whole string of lights, and why a house is wired so it doesn't.

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.

• 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 3.PS3.1

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to 3.PS3.1 is partial.

• Keep It Cool: Ice, Insulation and Staying Comfortable workbook included with the unit

  4 practice pages, 4 readings, 3 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up workbook included with the unit

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

• Winter Science: Ice, Snow and Staying Warm workbook included with the unit

  4 practice pages, 4 readings, 3 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe workbook included with the unit

  1 reading, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

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