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Hot n' Cold (Grades 2-3)

Master Teacher

Catherine Musgrove

Overview

This lesson will allow students to explore the concept of temperature. By practicing measurement of temperature, students will achieve more accuracy in reading a thermometer. The concept of temperature can easily be related to everyday situations, such as the weather.

SC Math/Science Standards Met

Math Achievement Standards

Area V—Measurement
Strands: A, F, G
Science Achievement Standards

Area III—Matter and Energy
Strand 2 Interactions: A, B
Strand 3 Change: A

Learning Objectives

The students will be able to:

read temperature to the nearest degree
determine temperature changes during time intervals from a Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometer.

Materials

per partnership:

recording sheet
5 thermometers with Celsius and Fahrenheit scales
cup of ice
cup of water
cup of sand
clock/timer
color weather map of U.S. from USA Today

ITV Series

Math Cycle, Lesson #11 "Measurement: Time and Temperature"

Previewing Activity

1. Introduce the lesson by displaying a colored weather map of the U.S. from USA Today. Engage students in a discussion about what kinds of information we can get from that map. Lead into the definition of temperature. "The temperature is a measurement of how hot or cold something is. When talking about the weather, the temperature is a measurement of how hot or cold the air is. We can also measure the temperature of other materials, even our own bodies. When we want to find the temperature of something, we use a tool called a thermometer."

Focus for Viewing

To give students a specific responsibility while viewing, ask them to look for different things a thermometer can measure. Also count the number of different thermometers you see in the video clip.

Viewing Activity

Start video at end of "Time" segment, where narrator Madeline Frick is outside on a bike parked beside a tree. Play through her introduction of temperature and the different places one could find a thermometer. Stop when you see the narrator in the kitchen beside a stove-top.

Ask students, "What does a thermometer measure? How many different thermometers were shown?"

Say to students, "Watch in this next segment for specific temperatures when water will freeze and boil."

Play the video through the segment featuring the boiling point demonstration, two thermometer graphics, a freezing point demonstration, and two more thermometer graphics. This segment also features an up-close graphic of a thermometer and lines of degrees. Stop after the narrator gives ending remarks, again outside by the tree.

Post-Viewing Activities

1. Ask students, "What does the small circle symbol mean that is beside a temperature? (Degrees.) How many degrees are between two lines on a thermometer? (Two.) At what temperature does water boil? (100 F/ 212 C.) At what temperature does water freeze? (32 F/0 C.)"

2. Instruct students to place their five thermometers flat on their desktops. Tell students to observe that the Fahrenheit scale is read on the left and the Celsius scale is read on the right side of the glass tube. Caution students to handle thermometers carefully. Have students do Activity 1 (see Activity 1 - Teacher Directions).

3. After students complete Activity 1, follow up with a lesson focusing on the uneven heating of the earth's surface and finding the differences of those temperatures. Pass out the Activity 2 worksheet to students. As a lab project, have the class work in pairs to measure and record the temperature of the items listed on the worksheet.

Action Plan

1. Have students keep a daily weather log for a week. Have them record time of day, temperature, and a brief description of the day's weather. Encourage them to also make drawings of the types of clouds they see each day.

Extensions

1. Technology: As an extension of the tem-perature activities, explore "Windows on Science," a laser disc teaching series by Optical Data Corp. This series offers another use of technology to effectively present the material. Refer to Earth Science Volume 2—"Air and Weather."

2. Social Studies/Math: Using a national newspaper, such as USA Today, find the city with highest temperature of the day and the city with the lowest temperature of the day. Then find the difference between these two temperatures. Gather data for a couple of weeks. Make observations about the data and identify any patterns in the data.

The following Web site can be used for temperature information:
USA TODAY Weather

Activity Sheets (PDF)