6.ETS1.2: Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or…
Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer by combining solutions or parts of solutions to solve a problem that can be communicated and explained to others.
The Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (2022) outcome 6.ETS1.2 (Physical Sciences) for Grade 6 says: “Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer by combining solutions or parts of solutions to solve a problem that can be communicated and explained to others.” These 2 Fieldbook units teach it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (2022).
Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move Grade 6
Why tires go soft in winter, why sidewalks have gaps, and how a thermometer knows. Five lessons on what heating and cooling do to the particles in everything around us.
- Can you keep an ice cube frozen the longest? 60 min, plus a 40-minute wait (teach something else while the ice sits)
A design challenge with insulation, a budget and a class leaderboard. Teams build an ice cube keeper, measure how much melted, and explain why the best designs slow down heat moving in.
Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe Grades 5–6
Science and English together, for English learners (CEFR A2–B1). How does a felt yurt keep a family warm when it's −30 °C outside? Students test insulators around jars of warm water, graph the results and design a winter wall, using the real science of the Kazakh kiiz üy.
- How does a felt yurt keep a family warm at −30 °C? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR A2–B1. Teams wrap jars of warm water in felt, cotton, foil and paper, measure how fast each one cools, and graph the class results. Then they use the evidence to design a winter wall for a kiiz üy.
Printable practice for 6.ETS1.2
These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to 6.ETS1.2 is partial.
- Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move workbook included with the unit
3 readings, 2 practice pages, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe workbook included with the unit
2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 practice page, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling workbook included with the unit
1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
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Compared with NGSS: MS-PS3-3 (partial).
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