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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: frying an egg? (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 CAN be undone. Which one is different? (butter softening in a warm kitchen / water freezing into ice cubes / popping popcorn / candle wax melting) → popping popcornPrompt: Think about melting and freezing versus cooking and burning.
  3. Ice cream is left in the sun and melts. Then it is put back in the freezer. Is it the same as before? (It freezes solid again, though it may be icier and harder than before. / It burns. / It turns into milk powder. / It stays a liquid in the freezer.) → It freezes solid again, though it may be icier and harder than before.Prompt: Is melting a change that can be reversed?

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: water in a kettle? (boils and turns to steam / turns white and firm / burst open and puff up / melts into a liquid) → boils and turns to steamPrompt: Picture it cooking or warming in the kitchen.
  2. Why should you never leave a chocolate bar on a sunny car seat? (It will freeze. / It will disappear. / The heat will melt it. / It will turn into a cake.) → The heat will melt it.Prompt: How warm does a car get in the sun?

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. A clay model is soft. How can you make it hard and strong for good? (Bake (fire) it in a kiln. / Squash it. / Put it in the fridge. / Leave it in water.) → Bake (fire) it in a kiln.Prompt: Bricks and plates are made this way.
  2. True or false? Toast can be turned back into bread by cooling it. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Some heated things melt, some cook. Can they change back?

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: water in a kettle?

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

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Heating can melt some solids.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

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

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

  4. Question 4

    What happens when you heat this: popcorn kernels in a pan?

    • A. boils and turns to steam
    • B. burst open and puff up
    • C. turns white and firm
    • D. melts into a liquid

  5. Question 5

    True or false? Heating always makes things go hard.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    Why do cooks put butter in a warm pan before frying?

    • A. Heat turns butter into ice.
    • B. Heat melts the solid butter so it can spread over the pan.
    • C. Butter cools the pan.
    • D. Butter turns into a gas straight away.

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Answer key: What happens when we heat it?

  1. 1. C. boils and turns to steam

  2. 2. A. True

  3. 3. A. Bake (fire) it in a kiln.

  4. 4. B. burst open and puff up

  5. 5. B. False

  6. 6. B. Heat melts the solid butter so it can spread over the pan.