Teacher/Grade/Room: Ms.

Topic: Heat
Lesson # 1 in a series of 3 lessons
Howard/5/25
Brief Lesson Description/Connection to Other Disciplines: Students practice use of independent,
dependent, and controlled variables in an experiment of heating earth materials. Students will analyze patterns
and relationships and interpret data (math). They will use evidence to support their analysis and reasoning
(ELA).
Rationale: This lesson is done as an inquiry so that students can compare the heating of soil and water based
on their ideas.
Learning Objective: Students identify the independent and dependent variable in their experiment. Students
make conclusions about the cause/source of different levels of heat for the soil and water.
Differentiation Strategies:
ELLs: Instructions will be provided in written and verbal form with visual supports. Key vocabulary will be
reviewed and recorded in science notebooks for review.
Visually Impaired: All instructions will be provided in Braille. The students aide and group members will assist
with setting up materials. During Head Banz, an aide or group member may whisper the other group members
word to them.
Struggling Students: Instructions will be provided in written and verbal form with visual supports. Students will
be put in groups with students who can provide peer support.
GATE/Fast Finishers: Students who finish quickly will support peers throughout this experiment.
Narrative / Background Information
Prior Student Knowledge: Students have completed experiments on the effect of heat and location on
evaporation of water in their previous unit. They have not done any other inquires using earth materials.
Science & Engineering
Practices:
Developing and Using Models

Modeling in 35 builds on
K2 experiences and
progresses to building and
revising simple models and
using models to represent
events and design
solutions.

Develop a model using an

example to describe a
scientific principle. (5-ESS21)
Using Mathematics and
Computational Thinking

Mathematical and
computational thinking in
35 builds on K2
experiences and progresses
to extending quantitative
measurements to a variety
of physical properties and
using computation and
mathematics to analyze
data and compare
alternative design solutions.

Describe and graph

quantities such as area and
volume to address scientific
questions. (5-ESS2-2)

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

ESS2.A: Earth Materials and
Systems

Earths major systems are

the geosphere (solid and
molten rock, soil, and
sediments), the
hydrosphere (water and
ice), the atmosphere (air),
and the biosphere (living
things, including humans).
These systems interact in
multiple ways to affect
Earths surface materials
and processes. The ocean
supports a variety of
ecosystems and organisms,
shapes landforms, and
influences climate. Winds
and clouds in the
atmosphere interact with
the landforms to determine
patterns of weather. (5ESS2-1)
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in
Earths Surface Processes

Nearly all of Earths

available water is in the
ocean. Most fresh water is
in glaciers or underground;
only a tiny fraction is in
streams, lakes, wetlands,
and the atmosphere. (5ESS2-2)

Crosscutting Concepts:
Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Standard units are used to

measure and describe
physical quantities such as
weight and volume. (5ESS2-2)
Systems and System Models

A system can be described

in terms of its components
and their interactions. (5ESS2-1)

Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions: Students may think that soil heats fastest because it is dark and
can absorb more sunlight. THye may think the sun reflects hwen it hits water and absorbs when it hits soil.
They may think that water is clear so sunlight goes right through, and it doesnt absorb as much energy. They
also may think that water is natural cold so it fight heat.
LESSON PLAN 5-E Model
ENGAGE (10 minutes): Opening Activity Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate
Questions:

Prior to this lesson, the students took I-Check 3. We will review that first.

Tell students: today we will start another investigation. We observed evaporation. Liquid water turned
into gas, water vapor, and went into the air. Water is evaporating all over Earth. The change from liquid
to gas requires energy. Where does the energy to evaporate all that water come from?
o Confirm: energy from the sun, called solar energy, provides the energy to change liquid water
into water vapor

Review the term earth material: nonliving substances that make up or come from earth
o Ask for examples (water, rocks, minerals, sand, gravel, air)
o Hold up samples of dry solid and water.

Ask students:
o What do you think will happen to these earth materials, water and soil, when they are placed in
the sun? [They will heat up]
o Will the temperature change be the same in both materials?
o What will happen when they are placed in the shade? [They will cool down.]

Show students the materials: container with slotted lid through which a thermometer can be inserted,
syringe with a 50 ml stop, and a plastic cup with a 100 ml measuring line.

Inquiry question (after showing students the available materials): How can we use these materials to
design an experiment in which we can find out at what rate our earth materials heat up and cool? Have
students discuss in groups for 5 minutes.
EXPLORE (45 minutes day 1, 35 minutes day 2): Lesson Description Probing or Clarifying
Questions:

Day 1

Distribute copies of notebook sheets 14 and 15. Read through the headings together, discussing the
kinds of information students should include in each section:
o Question
o Materials
o Procedure Ask students to suggest elements of a procedure

Use equal volumes of the two materials in liter containers (100 ml is good)

Record starting temperature

Place two containers in the sun. Record temperatures at regular intervals (every 3
minutes) for a period of time (15 minutes)

Move containers to the shade. Continue recording temperatures at the same intervals
for an equal period of time
o Data Table

Students should set up a table with three columns: time (independent variable), water
temperature (dependent variable 1) and soil temperature (dependent variable 2). Enter
the values for the independent variable in advance.

Show students how to set up the thermometer: the bulb end of the thermometer should e below the
surface of the material in the container, but not resting on the bottom of the container

Getters will collect materials and groups will setup their containers.

Introduce the cardboard surface by explaining: We are conducting these experiments to find out what
happens to soil and water when they are placed in sunshine. We dont want heat from the ground to
affect our results. We can use a piece of cardboard to keep heat from entering the system from the
ground. When we go outside, plan to set up your two containers on a cardboard pad.

Store the setups for Day 2.

Day 2:

Review Experimental Procedures. Remind them that they will record temperatures every 3 minutes in
the sunshine for 15 minutes, and then every 3 minutes in the shade for 15 minutes. Each group will
have two containers side-by-side on a sheet of cardboard. I will time the 3 minute intervals.
o In between these intervals, while students are waiting, they will be playing Head Banz with
science terms they have already learned.

o Once we go outside, one student will place one thermometer in the sun and one in the shade.
Move outdoors to the sun. When everyone is settled, call out time 0 and have them record the starting
temperature. Call the elapsed time every 3 minutes (3, 6, 9 minutes) until it has been 15 minutes
have students record the temperature.

Move to the shade after 15 minutes. The temperature should be noted before moving to the shade, not
after. Continue calling out 3 minute time intervals. The first reading for the cool down will take place 3
minutes after the students are in the shade (18 minutes). At this point, have someone read the
temperature of the thermometer in the shade have students record this as air temperature in their
science notebook.

At the end of 15 minutes, students take the final temperature reading. Return dry soil, recycle water,
and clean the setups.
EXPLAIN (20 minutes): Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:

Day 2/3: students will graph and analyze their results on sheet number 16 Graph of Earth Materials
Temperatures. Students will draw both graphs on the same grid, using two different colored pencils.

Discuss the graphs:

o What was the dependent variable in this experiment? [temperature]
o What variables did you control in this experiment? [volume of earth material, experimental
container, kind of thermometer, surface under the containers, intensity of solar exposure]
o Which material heated up more in the sun? [dry soil]
o How many degrees did the dry soil heat up while it was in the sun?
o How many degrees did the water heat up while it was in the sun?
o What happened to the soil and water when they were moved to the shade? [their temperatures
went down]
o Which material heated up and cooled down faster? [dry soil]
Vocabulary:

Earth material

Solar energy

Reflected

Heat sink

Intensity

Uneven Heating
ELABORATE (30 minutes total): Applications and Extensions:

Introduce the concept of energy transfer: Sunshine is solar energy. Solar energy comes to earth in the
form of light. Solar energy travels through space and through earths air, hits the earth materials in the
containers, and heats them up. This process is called energy transfer. In this activity, light energy from
the sun is absorbed by the water and soil in the containers. When solar energy transfers to soil and
water, the water and soil get heated.

Discuss Solar Exposure: Solar-energy exposure is the amount of sunshine that falls on an object. Solarenergy exposure depends on the intensity (brightness) of the light and the length of time it falls on the
object.

Ask students to discuss these two questions in their groups:

o Which earth material was exposed to more solar energy? [neither, they were exposed to solar
energy of the same intensity for the same length of time]
o Why do you think the soil got so much hotter than the water?

Explain that water has an interesting property: it takes five times more energy to raise water 1 degree
than it takes to raise dry soil 1 degree. If both soil and water are exposed equally to solar energy, the
soil will heat up faster than the water. Energy is absorbed by the water, but the temperature does not
go up as fast as it does when soil absorbs the same amount of energy. It takes longer for water to heat
up but it also takes longer to cool after the sun goes down.

Any material that can absorb heat is called a heat sink. Water is a very good heat sink because it can
hold a lot of heat. Soil is not a good heat sink, as it heats up and cools down quickly.

Reading: 198-201, and answer questions. on Day 3

EVALUATE (10 minutes):

Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion): Student understanding of each type of variable and
experiment results will be evaluated through discussion in this investigation. I will circulate throughout student
discussion periods so that I can hear what students who may not participate in discussions are contributing in
their groups.

Summative Assessment (Quiz / Project / Report) (15 minutes): Students will complete a graph and have
an I-check at the end of this unit.
Elaborate Further / Reflect: Enrichment (15 minutes):

How can we apply this experiment to our lives?

What are osme other experiments we could do with earth materials?

Required Materials
For each group:
Science books

Piece of Cardboard

Liter Containers

Lids for Containers with slits

Thermometers, Numbered

Sticky Notes

Colored Pens/Pencils

For each student:

Heating Earth Materials, No 14, 15,
16
For Class:

Bag of Potting Soil

1-Liter Containers

50 mL syringes

Plastic cups

Sharpie

Rolls of Transparent Tape

Water
Clock or Watch