Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Evaporate?

Materials:
‘What is the World Made Of?’ by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
BBC Science Simulations 3 Program
Classroom Projector with document camera
Mobile Lab, or access to enough computers for students to pair up on individual computers.
Science Journal or paper and pencil for observational notes
Quick write: Have children create a chart in their science journals for solids, liquids and gases. Have them list as many as they can in two minutes.

Warm Up: Read aloud the story ‘What is the World Made Of?’ by Weidner Zoehfeld. Have students add solids, liquids and gases to their lists as they listen to the read aloud.

Build Background: Remind the students that good scientists discover new things because they ask questions and make good observations. Today’s question is ‘How does temperature affect matter?’

Whole group instruction: Have students make predictions about what will happen to the ice if it is heated or cooled. Using the change of state simulation on BBC Science Simulations 3, begin the interactive experiment by first clicking the QUESTION icon.

Read aloud Question 1. Click on the ALL icon to show the table for observation notes. Explain to the students that notes will appear in the table during the experiment. Model how to observe the experiments by pressing the red thermometer. Pause and discuss the notes that appear in the table. Press the blue thermometer to model cooling the water. Discuss the changes that occur. Ask students if they think that the water could return to ice in exactly the same way as it appeared originally. Click the blue thermometer so that the temperature will return to zero. Have them reflect on their predictions and respond to question in a science journal or on paper.

Read aloud Question 2. Model correct use of the program for the full experiment. Discuss findings from the table with the children as the experiment progresses and observation notes appear in the table. Have students write their observations down in their science journal.

Read aloud Question 3: Allow students to work in pairs on laptops or in a computer lab to continue observation and investigation of the other materials available on the program. Have them write their observations down and respond to the question in their science journal.

Reflection: Have students write down one thing that they learned through the simulation that they didn’t know before. Allow them to turn it in before leaving class for the day.

Florida SSS:
SC.3.N.1.1: Raise questions about the natural world, investigate them individually and in teams through free exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations.
SC.3.N.1.3: Keep records as appropriate, such as pictorial, written, or simple charts and graphs, of investigations conducted.
SC.3.N.1.6: Infer based on observation.
SC.3.N.1.7: Explain that empirical evidence is information, such as observations, or measurements, that is used to help validate explanations of natural phenomena.
SC.3.N.3.2: Recognize that scientists use models to help understand and explain how things work.
SC.3.N.3.3: Recognize that all models are approximations of natural phenomena; as such, they do not perfectly account for all observations.
SC.3.P.8.1: Measure and compare temperatures of various samples of solids and liquids.
SC.3.P.9.1: Describe the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling by using familiar scientific terms such as melting, freezing, boiling, evaporation, and condensation.
SC.3.P.10.2: Recognize that energy has the ability to cause motion or create change.