MS-PS3-3 lessons
Design, build and test a device that slows down (or speeds up) the transfer of thermal energy.
The Next Generation Science Standards code MS-PS3-3 asks students to: “Design, build and test a device that slows down (or speeds up) the transfer of thermal energy.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move Grade 6
- 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.
Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling Grade 9
- How do you keep a drink hot for the longest? 90–100 min, or two periods (a 30-minute cooling run sits in the middle)
Teams test a black can against a shiny can under a lamp to see radiation at work, then design, build and test a drink keeper on a budget that fights conduction, convection and radiation. They compare designs by the energy each one loses and decide which differences are bigger than their uncertainty.
Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe Grades 5–6
- 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.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code MS-PS3-3 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for middle school
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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