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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes

What makes water evaporate faster?

States of matter

CCSS NGSS.5-PS1-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 3England: KS2 Y4 States of matter

Objective and success criteria

Students will: What makes water evaporate faster?.

  • 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: Melting, freezing, evaporating and condensing

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 · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Melting, freezing, evaporating and condensing). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which change of state is this: a bathroom mirror steaming up? (melting / freezing / evaporating / condensing) → condensingPrompt: What state does it start in, and what state does it end in?
  2. What is the name for a change from gas to liquid? (melting / condensing / freezing / evaporating (or boiling)) → condensingPrompt: Heating makes solids melt and liquids evaporate.
  3. Changes of state: which statement is true? (Water only evaporates when it boils. / Melting makes a substance lose mass. / The water on the outside of a cold can leaks through the metal. / Water evaporates faster on a warm, windy day.) → Water evaporates faster on a warm, windy day.Prompt: Where does the water on a cold can come from?

Hook · 5 min

  • Show an ice cube melting and a kettle steaming and ask what is the same and what is different.
  • Share the objective: What makes water evaporate faster?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: In a fair test of whether wind speeds up drying, what must stay the same?
  • Step 1: Keep everything else the same so only the wind can explain the difference.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: the amount of water, the cloth and the temperature
  • Answer: the amount of water, the cloth and the temperature
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 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. Puddles in a wide, shallow tray dry faster than the same water in a tall, narrow glass. Why? (More water surface is touching the air. / The glass makes water. / Water in glasses never evaporates. / The tray is heavier.) → More water surface is touching the air.Prompt: Evaporation happens at the surface.
  2. True or false? Water evaporates faster when it is warmer. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Warmth, wind and surface area: what does each do?

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Puddles in a wide, shallow tray dry faster than the same water in a tall, narrow glass. Why? (The tray is heavier. / The glass makes water. / More water surface is touching the air. / Water in glasses never evaporates.) → More water surface is touching the air.Prompt: Evaporation happens at the surface.
  2. True or false? Evaporated water is destroyed. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Warmth, wind and surface area: what does each do?

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: Melting, freezing, evaporating and condensing.
  • 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-4.

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

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What makes water evaporate faster?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Four identical wet towels were hung in different places. Where did the water evaporate fastest?

    Hours for a wet towel to dry02468101sunny and windy4sunny, no wind6shady, no wind9cold cupboard
    • A. sunny and windy
    • B. sunny, no wind
    • C. shady, no wind
    • D. cold cupboard

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Spreading water out makes it evaporate faster.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

    In a fair test of whether wind speeds up drying, what must stay the same?

    • A. only the colour of the pegs
    • B. nothing
    • C. the amount of water, the cloth and the temperature
    • D. the wind

  4. Question 4

    How many hours longer did the towel take to dry in the shade than in the sun (both with no wind)?

    Hours for a wet towel to dry024681012141sunny and windy4sunny, no wind5shady, no wind13cold cupboard

    Answer

  5. Question 5

    True or false? Evaporated water is destroyed.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    Salt farmers let seawater sit in wide, shallow ponds in the sun. Why?

    • A. To keep fish in.
    • B. The water evaporates quickly, leaving the salt behind.
    • C. Shallow water freezes into salt.
    • D. The sun makes more salt.

  7. Question 7

    True or false? Wind helps wet things dry faster.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  8. Question 8

    True or false? Puddles dry faster on cold, still days.

    • A. True
    • B. False

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Answer key: What makes water evaporate faster?

  1. 1. A. sunny and windy

  2. 2. A. True

  3. 3. C. the amount of water, the cloth and the temperature

  4. 4. 1

  5. 5. B. False

  6. 6. B. The water evaporates quickly, leaving the salt behind.

  7. 7. A. True

  8. 8. B. False