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Science lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 30 minutes

What happens when we heat it?

States of matter

CCSS NGSS.2-PS1-4England: KS1 Y2 Uses of everyday materialsEngland: KS2 Y4 States of matter

Objective and success criteria

Students will: What happens when we heat it?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Heating and cooling: can the change be undone?

Leads to: Ice melting race: compare melting times

Materials: Ice, water and a kettle (teacher demo), Particle diagrams, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Heating and cooling: can the change be undone?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Can this change be undone: popping popcorn? (can change back / cannot change back) → cannot change backPrompt: Could you get the starting material back by warming it or cooling it?
  2. Three of these changes CANNOT be undone. Which one is different? (popping popcorn / burning a log on a fire / candle wax melting / toasting bread) → candle wax meltingPrompt: Think about melting and freezing versus cooking and burning.
  3. Can you turn a fried egg back into a raw egg by putting it in the fridge? (Yes, but only for brown eggs. / No, cooking made a change that cannot be undone. / Yes, cooling always undoes heating. / Yes, if you wait a day.) → No, cooking made a change that cannot be undone.Prompt: Is a cooked egg white still see-through and runny?

Hook · 3 min

  • Show an ice cube melting and a kettle steaming and ask what is the same and what is different.
  • Share the objective: What happens when we heat it?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: What happens when you heat this: butter in a hot pan?
  • Step 1: So the answer is: melts into a liquid
  • Answer: melts into a liquid
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. What happens when you heat this: cake batter in the oven? (burst open and puff up / boils and turns to steam / melts into a liquid / rises and becomes a spongy solid) → rises and becomes a spongy solidPrompt: Picture it cooking or warming in the kitchen.
  2. Why do cooks put butter in a warm pan before frying? (Butter turns into a gas straight away. / Heat turns butter into ice. / Heat melts the solid butter so it can spread over the pan. / Butter cools the pan.) → Heat melts the solid butter so it can spread over the pan.Prompt: What does heat do to many solids?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. What happens when you heat this: popcorn kernels in a pan? (burst open and puff up / rises and becomes a spongy solid / boils and turns to steam / melts into a liquid) → burst open and puff upPrompt: Picture it cooking or warming in the kitchen.
  2. Why should you never leave a chocolate bar on a sunny car seat? (The heat will melt it. / It will turn into a cake. / It will freeze. / It will disappear.) → The heat will melt it.Prompt: How warm does a car get in the sun?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Heating and cooling: can the change be undone?.
  • Use concrete materials: ice, water and a kettle (teacher demo).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Ice melting race: compare melting times.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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What happens when we heat it?

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    What happens when you heat this: a raw egg in a pan?

    • A. rises and becomes a spongy solid
    • B. melts into a liquid
    • C. turns brown and crunchy
    • D. turns white and firm

  2. Question 2

    Steam rises from a boiling pot of pasta. What is the steam?

    • A. melted metal
    • B. air that turned white
    • C. smoke from burning pasta
    • D. water that has turned into a gas

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Heating water enough makes it boil.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Heating can melt some solids.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    What happens when you heat this: butter in a hot pan?

    • A. boils and turns to steam
    • B. rises and becomes a spongy solid
    • C. melts into a liquid
    • D. turns white and firm

  6. Question 6

    A clay model is soft. How can you make it hard and strong for good?

    • A. Leave it in water.
    • B. Bake (fire) it in a kiln.
    • C. Put it in the fridge.
    • D. Squash it.

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Answer key: What happens when we heat it?

  1. 1. D. turns white and firm

  2. 2. D. water that has turned into a gas

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. A. True

  5. 5. C. melts into a liquid

  6. 6. B. Bake (fire) it in a kiln.