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

Ice melting race: compare melting times

States of matter

CCSS NGSS.2-PS1-4CCSS NGSS.K-PS3-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS2 Y4 States of matterEngland: KS1 Working scientifically

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Ice melting race: compare melting times.

  • 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: What happens when we heat it?

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 (What happens when we heat it?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What happens when you heat this: butter in a hot pan? (turns brown and crunchy / melts into a liquid / rises and becomes a spongy solid / turns white and firm) → melts into a liquidPrompt: Picture it cooking or warming in the kitchen.
  2. Why should you never leave a chocolate bar on a sunny car seat? (It will turn into a cake. / The heat will melt it. / It will freeze. / It will disappear.) → The heat will melt it.Prompt: How warm does a car get in the sun?
  3. True or false? Heating can cook food and change it for good. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Some heated things melt, some cook. Can they change back?

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: Ice melting race: compare melting times. 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: How could you keep an ice cube frozen longest on a picnic?
  • Step 1: Shade, insulation and a cool box all slow the warming.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Wrap it in a cloth and keep it in a cool box in the shade.
  • Answer: Wrap it in a cloth and keep it in a cool box in the shade.
  • 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. In the ice race, why must every ice cube be the same size? (So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test. / It does not matter at all. / Because big ice cubes never melt. / So they look nice in a row.) → So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test.Prompt: What if one cube was twice as big?
  2. Glaciers around the world are melting faster than they did 50 years ago. What does the ice race help explain? (Ice melts only at night. / Ice melts faster in the cold. / Warmer surroundings make ice melt faster. / Glaciers are made of wax.) → Warmer surroundings make ice melt faster.Prompt: Earth's average temperature has been rising.

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. Glaciers around the world are melting faster than they did 50 years ago. What does the ice race help explain? (Ice melts faster in the cold. / Ice melts only at night. / Glaciers are made of wax. / Warmer surroundings make ice melt faster.) → Warmer surroundings make ice melt faster.Prompt: Earth's average temperature has been rising.
  2. In the ice race, why must every ice cube be the same size? (Because big ice cubes never melt. / So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test. / It does not matter at all. / So they look nice in a row.) → So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test.Prompt: What if one cube was twice as big?

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: What happens when we heat it?.
  • 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

  • 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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Ice melting race: compare melting times

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    In the ice race, why must every ice cube be the same size?

    • A. Because big ice cubes never melt.
    • B. So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test.
    • C. So they look nice in a row.
    • D. It does not matter at all.

  2. Question 2

    Four ice cubes of the same size were put in different places. The chart shows how many minutes each took to melt. Where did the ice last LONGEST?

    Minutes to melt02040608010012014016018016sunny windowsill36classroom table60shady porch161fridge
    • A. sunny windowsill
    • B. classroom table
    • C. shady porch
    • D. fridge

  3. Question 3

    How many minutes longer did the ice take to melt on the classroom table than on the sunny windowsill?

    Minutes to melt02040608010012010sunny windowsill26classroom table36shady porch118fridge

    Answermin

  4. Question 4

    What pattern do the ice race results show?

    • A. The warmer the place, the faster the ice melts.
    • B. The colder the place, the faster the ice melts.
    • C. Ice melts at the same speed everywhere.
    • D. Ice never melts in sunlight.

  5. Question 5

    Four ice cubes of the same size were put in different places. The chart shows how many minutes each took to melt. Where did the ice melt FASTEST?

    Minutes to melt02040608010012014016019sunny windowsill31classroom table55shady porch160fridge
    • A. sunny windowsill
    • B. classroom table
    • C. shady porch
    • D. fridge

  6. Question 6

    How many minutes longer did the ice take to melt on the shady porch than on the sunny windowsill?

    Minutes to melt02040608010012014016018020sunny windowsill31classroom table54shady porch161fridge

    Answermin

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Answer key: Ice melting race: compare melting times

  1. 1. B. So the only difference is the place, making it a fair test.

  2. 2. D. fridge

  3. 3. 16 min

  4. 4. A. The warmer the place, the faster the ice melts.

  5. 5. A. sunny windowsill

  6. 6. 34 min