6.4: Radiation, conduction, and convection distribute energy (an early…

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.

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.

• Why do bike tires go soft in winter? 45–60 min

  Students stretch a balloon over a bottle, move it between warm and ice water, and find out what happens to air particles when they cool down. Then they explain a cyclist's 'flat' tire on the first cold morning.

• Why does food colouring spread faster in hot water? 45–60 min

  Two cups, two drops, one race. Students drop food colouring into warm and ice-cold water at the same moment, then explain what the moving colour tells us about particles they can't see.

• How does a thermometer know? 50–60 min

  Teams build a working thermometer from a bottle of coloured water and a clear straw, then calibrate it against a real thermometer. At the end, they explain how any liquid thermometer 'knows' the temperature.

• Why do sidewalks have cracks on purpose? 50–60 min

  Students loosen a stuck jar lid with warm water, then go on a gap hunt around the school to find and measure the joints engineers build into sidewalks, walls and railings. They explain why solid things need room to grow and shrink.

• 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.

Power Up: Where Electricity Comes From Grade 6

Where does the electricity in our classroom come from, and why is it made differently in different places? Students trace the wires, build a wind machine that does real work, and weigh up solar power like an energy planner.

• Where does our classroom's electricity come from? 50–60 min

  Students trace the classroom light switch back to a power plant, then look up the real mix of energy sources for their own province or state and turn it into a 100-square chart. They explain why different places make electricity in different ways.

• Can the wind power our school? 55–65 min

  Teams build a paper wind machine that winds up a string and lifts paper clips, then test one change to the blades to see which design does the most work. They use their results to explain what a real wind farm needs.

• Why don't we use solar power everywhere? 50–60 min

  Students shine a flashlight onto grid paper at different angles and through 'clouds' to see why sunlight is weaker in winter, then compare day lengths for their own town. They weigh solar power's strengths and limits like an energy planner.

Printable practice for 6.4

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to 6.4 is partial.

• Power Up: Where Electricity Comes From workbook included with the unit

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

• Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up 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.

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.