| Primary Connections

Making sense of changes

View Sequence overview

Students will:

observe and compare the viscosity of a variety of liquids.
add or remove heat to/from the liquids and measure the change in viscosity.

Students will represent their understanding as they:

predict, with reasoning, which liquid will flow the fastest or slowest.
record their observations and explanations.
discuss liquids of different viscosity and how adding and removing heat changes the viscosity.

Lesson

Re-orient

Use the class science journal to review what was learned and discussed about liquids in the previous lesson.

Estimated time

5 minutes

Lesson type

Class

Fast or slow?

Look at some samples of liquids viewed in the last lesson, and some that will be used in the upcoming investigation.

Discuss how easily the liquids ‘flow’, and demonstrate by shaking them in their container or pouring/squeezing some out. Ask students if they think some liquids flow more easily than others and why or why not.

Pose the question: Which liquid will flow the fastest, and which will flow the slowest?

Estimated time

10 minutes

Lesson type

Class

The great race

In this step, students will compare the viscosity of different liquids by racing them down a slope. They will compare the ‘flow’ of the liquids before and after heating and cooling.

Explain that a blob of each liquid will be placed along one end of a tray. Then the tray will be raised to create a slope, to see which liquid will flow down the slope the fastest.

Discuss the meaning of the term ‘room temperature’—the liquid is the same temperature as the room—and how students can be sure that all the liquids are at room temperature.

Using the Race 1: Room temperature race row on their The great race Resource sheet, students Predict which liquid they think will flow the fastest and which will flow the slowest, and give a Reason for that.

Set up the race, following the steps below.

Nominate a student to video the race so it can be re-watched at a later stage.
Nominate a student/s to time the race using a stop-watch or timing device.
Attach a sheet of greaseproof paper (the race sheet) to a large flat surface such as a tray, large book or tub using pegs, blu-tac etc. The race sheet should already be marked with:
- a Start and Finish line.
- the distance between the Start and Finish line.
Place a blob of each type of liquid on the starting line. Try to ensure that each blob is the same size.
- Optional: Discuss why using the same amount of liquid in each blob is important to keep the test fair.
Raise one end of the tray/book/tub to a set height to create a slope, for example by propping it on some books.
As soon as the end is raised, begin timing how long it takes each liquid to cross the finish line.
Students who are timing should announce the time it took each liquid to cross the finish line.
Record the results.

On The great race Resource sheet, students record their observations, determine if their predictions were correct, and Explain what they think happened by comparing the ‘flow’ of each liquid (which finished first, which last, and was it what they expected).

Explain to students that you are going to complete the race two more times, using the same liquids, but in one race the liquids will be heated so they are above room temperature and in the other they will be cooled so they are below room temperature. Discuss what students think about how changing the temperature of the liquids might affect their 'flow'.

Students write their predictions on The great race Resource sheet for Race 2: Warmed up race and Race 3: Cooled down race.

Heat one set of liquid samples to above room temperature using a warm water bath or other method. Cool another set of samples to below room temperature by placing them in a refrigerator, ice-bath, or similar.

Follow the race steps outlined above for the heated and cooled liquids, with students recording their observations and explanations in the appropriate sections on The great race Resource sheet.

Estimated time

25 minutes

Lesson type

Class and individual

Pedagogical tools

Predict, Reason, Observe, Explain (PROE)

What is PROE and how does it support my students with science inquiry?

PROE is a tool to engage students in the investigative process and support deep thinking. It affords students experience with developing argumentation skills through science inquiry, and supports you, the teacher, to monitor their thinking in order to guide the inquiry.

At this stage, student predictions will be based on their everyday experiences with the materials they are working with. They will likely be able to predict that liquids will flow down the ramp or they may have seen a parent heat honey in a microwave to remove the last dregs from a container. Students may find it more difficult to make predictions about materials that they have less experience with, or might compare an unfamiliar material with a more familiar one. These are valid ways of making predictions.

Science content

Viscosity

What is viscosity, and how does heating and cooling liquids change their viscosity?

Viscosity is a measure of a liquid’s resistance to movement or flow. A liquid with high viscosity flows slowly, while one with low viscosity flows more easily. For example, honey is highly viscous because it flows slowly, whereas water has low viscosity and flows readily.

Students might describe viscosity in simpler terms:

Viscous—thick or not runny (e.g. honey)
Not very viscous—thin or runny (e.g. water)

In general, the viscosity of most liquids decreases as temperature increases (i.e. a hot liquid becomes more ‘runny’).

When heat energy is added to a liquid, each of the particles gains energy to move (the heat energy is transferred to the particle and is transformed into movement energy). This means the particles can overcome the intermolecular forces that resist flow more easily; that is, they are able to flow over one another more easily.

When heat energy is removed, the particles lose movement energy and cannot flow over each other as freely.

For instance, oil in a hot frying pan is less viscous than the same oil when it’s cold. Similarly, honey flows more easily (is less viscous) at room temperature than when it’s stored in the fridge.

Illustrations of practice

Link to Mathematics

How can I link learning about viscosity to Mathematics?

The statistics content of the Australian Curriculum (V9) requires students to:

acquire data for categorical and discrete numerical variables to address a question of interest or purpose by observing, collecting and accessing data sets; record the data using appropriate methods including frequency tables and spreadsheets (AC9M3ST01)
create and compare different graphical representations of data sets including using software where appropriate; interpret the data in terms of the context (AC9M3ST02)
conduct guided statistical investigations involving the collection, representation and interpretation of data for categorical and discrete numerical variables with respect to questions of interest (AC9M3ST03)

By using the data collected about the time it takes for liquids to ‘cross the finish line’, students have the opportunity to collect and represent numerical data and create and compare different graphical representation in order to answer questions of interest directly related to their learning in science.

The Making Decisions with Data lesson sequence by reSolve provides excellent guidance on how you might explore the mathematics content in depth alongside students’ learning in science.

In this sequence students first construct stories and explanations to interpret information shown of unlabelled graphs. In doing so they have the opportunity to think about the data represented by a graph in a different way, considering the many questions it may be answering, what the scale might be, and the type of information a bar graph is suitable to represent.

Next students collect, organise, represent and interpret data about the viscosity of various liquids.

During your Science lesson you might focus simply on the fastest and slowest liquids, and students’ understanding for the reasons for that. This can then be followed up with a more detailed analysis during a Mathematics lesson.

Please note that the lesson linked to above was originally written to suit the Australian Curriculum V8.4 at a Year 5 level. However, with guidance it is easily accessible by Year 3 students, and aligns will with the Statistics content at Year 3 of the Australian Curriculum V9.

Race analysis

In this Integrate step, guide students to link their experiences in the investigation to the science concept being explored—in this instance, the observable properties of liquids and how adding or removing heat can change their properties.

Through questioning and discussion, students should come to a consensus that:

some liquids flow more easily than others.
adding or removing heat can affect how easily a liquid flows.
this is called viscosity.

Discuss the race results, how each liquid ‘flows’, and if heating and cooling the liquids changed the race times or the order they crossed the finish line.

Introduce the term ‘viscosity’, in relation to liquids: how much a liquid resists flowing.

Determine which liquids were viscous/not viscous, and jointly construct sentences using the data collected as evidence. Record these sentences in the class science journal. For example:

Honey is considered viscous because it doesn’t flow easily. It flowed slowly, taking 180 seconds to cross the finish line.
Water is not viscous because it flowed easily, crossing the finish line in just a few seconds.

Discuss whether heating or cooling changed the viscosity of the liquids.

Optional: View the video What is viscosity? (1:29).

Using the think-pair-share strategy, students consider how they might use what they have learned about viscosity, heating and cooling liquids in the sensory experience they design. Record ideas in the class science journal. Some examples to prompt thinking might include:

How might tomato sauce in an ice bath feel different/flow differently from tomato sauce in a warm water bath?
What could we pour quickly between our hands, and what might pour slowly?
How would different liquids feel if we pushed our hands into them? Would the feeling change if they were heated or cooled?
How could we use what we’ve learned to create a sensory experience?

Reflect on the lesson

You might:

add to the class word wall any vocabulary related to liquids, viscosity, and how adding heat changed the viscosity of the liquids, for example, viscous, thick, sticky, syrupy, runny, thin, pourable, adding heat, removing heat.
re-examine the intended learning goals for the lesson and consider how they were achieved.
construct a joint explanation about viscosity, including examples of the liquids explored in the lesson.
write a list of other liquids whose viscosity students would like to test.

Estimated time

Variable

Lesson type

Collaborative team and class

Science content

Language use—adding and removing heat energy

Why do we use the terms adding/removing heat energy rather than heating and cooling?

Scientifically speaking, cold is not a phenomena in and of itself, but rather is the absence of heat energy.

A day might be described as ‘cold’ when there is less solar radiation (the heat from the sun) reaching the Earth's surface. Similarly, on a ‘hot’ day there is an abundance of thermal radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Note that there are many factors involved in this that are not specifically relevant to this teaching sequence.

To make something ‘hot’ heat energy needs to be added. To keep it ‘hot’, the object’s heat energy is conserved in the object. To make something ‘cool’ or ‘cold’, heat energy needs to be transferred elsewhere.

An object or substance with more heat energy will always transfer its heat energy to an object or substance with less heat energy when they come into contact.

For example, when you put food into a hot oven, the heat energy circulating in the air in the oven will heat the food until the food is the same temperature as the oven air.

Similarly, when you place something into a refrigerator, the heat from that item will be transferred into the air inside the fridge. The mechanisms in the fridge remove this heat from inside the refrigerator and dissipate it into the atmosphere outside. Specifically, the low-pressure gas contained in the evaporator coils absorbs heat from the air inside the fridge. This, now warm gas, then moves to the compressor where the pressure is increased, increasing the temperature further. This now very hot gas is transferred to the condenser, which moves the hot gas to the back outer surface of the fridge. The condenser gas then transfers the heat energy to the atmosphere outside the fridge. This is why the back of the fridge can increase the heat energy in a room.

Using the term ‘adding heat energy’ or ‘removing heat energy’ provides an opportunity to reinforce the core science concept that heat energy is transferred and transformed, and cannot be created or destroyed. It also avoids potentially reinforcing any alternative conceptions students might have. This is especially important in Year 3 as the Physical sciences content covered is specifically about heat energy.

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Our design decisions

Select a lens below to see the design decisions behind each step. Understanding our decisions can give you insight to teach, adapt, and differentiate this task.

Science content

Pedagogical tools

Illustrations of practice

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Making sense of changes

View Sequence overview

Students will:

explore water in its solid/frozen state (ice) and its liquid/melted state (water), and what it looks like in between those states (melting).
observe sensory experiences that use a variety of solids, liquids, melting and freezing.

Students will represent their understanding as they:

predict changes that will occur to the ice monster over time.
draw a labelled diagram of their ice monster.
contribute to discussions about melting and freezing.

Lesson

Ice monsters

This activity is best completed over the course of a school day. Working in collaborative teams, students will create ‘ice monsters’ by decorating ice cubes with various solid materials (see Materials list). The ice monsters will then be placed in clear plastic containers and stored around the classroom and students will periodically observe their monsters over the course of the day, until they are completely melted (or as close to as possible).

Before creating the ice monsters

Show students the various materials available for decorating their ice monsters. Teams plan how they will decorate their ice monster/s and each student draws a labelled diagram on their Ice monster Resource sheet. Remind students to include a pair of eyes on their ice-monster so you can ensure that all students have one identical point of reference to compare.

Each team selects a place in the classroom where they will leave their ice monsters for the day, giving a reason for their choice. Each student makes a prediction about the changes they think might happen to the ice monsters over time and why they think that, and records this on their Ice monster Resource sheet.

Creating the ice monsters

Teams collect the required equipment and make/decorate their ice monsters. If their ice cubes contain small solids or food colouring (that were added before freezing), students should add these to their diagrams.

Students make their first observation of their ice monsters by drawing a diagram and writing notes to record what they see, hear, feel and smell, and what, if any, changes they think are happening to it, and why they are happening.

They place their ice monsters in a clear container or resealable bag, label it with their names and place it in their chosen location in the classroom.

Optional: Photograph the ice monsters with iPads, to document their starting state.

Observing the ice monsters

As a class, discuss students’ predictions about how the ice monsters will look in half an hour and at the end of the day, and why they think that. Record their ideas in the class science journal.

Over the course of the day, students return to make further observations about the changes happening to their ice monsters. Select observation intervals as appropriate for the current context—on a hot day, or in a warm location (e.g. windowsill on a sunny day), the ice monsters will melt more rapidly and intervals between observations will need to be shorter.

Optional: Undertake an observation walk to allow students to view other teams’ decorated ice monsters and consider their chosen location in the classroom.

Optional: Take photographs of the ice monsters during each observation and create a time-lapse to show the changes that occurred over the course of the day.

Once the ice monsters are fully melted (or have been left for as long as possible), continue by sharing and discussing students’ observations.

Estimated time

25 minutes

Lesson type

Collaborative team and individual

Science content

Core concepts and key ideas

Where does this sequence fit into the larger picture of science and the science curriculum?

When planning for teaching in your classroom, it can be useful to see where a sequence fits into the larger picture of science. This unit is anchored to the Science understanding core concepts for Chemical sciences.

The chemical and physical properties of substances are determined by their structure at a range of scales.
Substances change and new substances are produced by rearranging atoms; these changes involve energy transfer and transformation.

By Year 3, students have already recognised that solid objects can be made of different materials and have described the observable properties of those materials, such as colour, hardness, texture and flexibility (Foundation). They have also explored how materials can be changed physically without changing their material composition, through actions such as bending, twisting, stretching and breaking. See our Year 2 teaching sequence Take, shape, and create.

In Year 3, students also learn about heat energy and how temperature changes when it is transferred from an object/substance containing more heat energy to one that contains less heat energy. See our Year 3 teaching sequence Scorching swings and slides. If students have already undertaken this learning, their depth of knowledge may be greater than if they have not.

In this teaching sequence, students explain the observable properties of solids and liquids and how adding or removing heat energy leads to a change of state.

This core concept is linked to the key science ideas:

Heat energy can be transferred between objects. (Energy and Matter)
The observable form of non-living things can change over time, as a result of energy and forces. (Form and Function)
Change is described and measured in terms of differences over time. (Stability and change)
Standard units of measurement are used and can enable comparisons to be made. (Scale and Measurement)
Similarities and differences can be used to sort and classify solids and liquids. (Patterns, order and organisation)

When your students next progress through this core concept, they will explore how the properties of natural and made materials influence their use (Year 4), and how the motion and arrangement of particles are different for solids, liquids and gases (Year 5).

Science content

Alternative conceptions

What alternative conceptions might students hold about solids, liquids and change of state? How does this sequence address them?

Solids

Students are strongly influenced by everyday language and may use the term ‘solid’ to denote something as hard or large. They tend to use ‘solid’ as an adjective rather than to classify a set of substances. They might have difficulty understanding that the same material can be solid or liquid depending on the temperature. ‘Solid’ is also recognised as an adjective denoting something ‘good’ or ‘great’ in some Australian English dialects.

Crushed solids

Students might have difficulty recognising crushed or powdered solids as being solids, particularly since they might identify liquids as substances that are ‘pourable’. Pouring is a consequence of flowing, which is the property of a fluid, but it is also possible to ‘pour’ small solids (e.g. beans) or powders. The difference is that when powders are poured, they land in a heap and need to be shaken to settle, whereas liquids flow under the effect of gravity to take on the shape of the bottom of the container.

Liquids

Some students identify all liquids with water, and the most common liquids identified by students are water-based, such as dishwashing liquid, milk, seawater, cordial and lemonade. More viscous liquids, such as oil, paraffin, and honey, are less commonly identified as liquids. Students might also assume that all liquids contain water and that melting involves a substance turning to water.

Change of state

A change of state occurs when heat energy is added to or removed from an object.

Some students might associate melting with ‘turning to water’. When an ice cube melts, it is not turning into water—it is solid water changing into liquid water. The water (H₂O) is changing state. Any molten substance has the same chemical composition as its solid substance, just in a different state of matter.

In this sequence, students explore solids and liquids and determine the properties that make them different, specifically that solids hold their shape and liquids take the shape of the container base they are in. Students also explore how adding and removing heat from liquids and solids can affect their properties and change their state, and that these changes are reversible.

Everyday melting & freezing

Display the words ‘solid’ and ‘liquid’ and invite students to share their knowledge about them. Record their ideas in the class science journal.

Display the words ‘melt’ and ‘freeze’ and invite students to share their knowledge about them. Record their ideas in the class science journal.

Estimated time

15 minutes

Lesson type

Class

A sensory experience

Discuss the five primary senses—sight, touch, hearing, sound and taste—and which senses the students used during the ice monster activity. Describe what the senses involve and any vocabulary students know that relate to them, and record these in a table in the class science journal.

Ask students to describe what they think or understand a ‘sensory experience’ is, including any they may have taken part in. If necessary, explain what a sensory experience is—an experience where we use multiple different senses to interact with and interpret the environment.

Ask how an ice monster could be part of a sensory experience. What senses would people be using as they observed an ice monster? What would they see, feel, smell etc.?

Using short reels as stimulus, discuss the senses used in each of the following videos and whether the sensory experience would be enjoyable. Some examples include:

painting yellow curves on canvas (sight, touch)
ice sensory play (sight, touch, hearing)
playing at a sand table (sight, touch, hearing)
bubble wrap (sight, touch, hearing)
slime (sight, touch, hearing)
person with flowers (sight, smell, touch)

Explain to students that at the end of the sequence they will design and create a sensory experience that involves a combination of solids, liquids, things that melt etc. Watch some more reels that include these and discuss the senses used in those and if they would be enjoyable.

Discuss when it is and isn’t safe to taste items during a science investigation, and determine why it would not be appropriate to include taste as a part of the sensory experience they will be designing.

Optional: Introduce the idea of a sensory table to the students, and invite them to bring along items that provide an interesting sensory experience, such as rice through a funnel, squishy toys, sand.

Note: If there are interesting and relevant questions that lead to a suitable investigation, consider adding it to the sequence.

Place the ice monsters, still inside their resealable bags/containers, into the freezer. The re-frozen ice monsters will be used in the next lesson.

Ask students to share the prediction they made on their Ice monster Resource sheet about what they think will happen when the ice monsters are placed back into the freezer.

Reflect on the lesson

You might:

begin a class word wall related to solids, liquids, melting, freezing.
take a walk around the school and collect items to begin a sensory table such as safe solids and liquids including water, leaves, flowers, stones and twigs.

Estimated time

20 minutes

Lesson type

Class

Illustrations of practice

Building a sensory table

What is a sensory table and why should you build one?

A sensory table contains samples collected by students and teachers that provide a sensory experience, involving touch, hearing, sight or smell (excluding taste for safety reasons). Items can vary but might include pourable small solids such as dried beans, sand and Lego, liquids of varying viscosity such as water and vegetable oil, or other interesting items such as clay, playdough, flowers or perhaps scent tubs with slit lids containing cotton balls dripped with vanilla essence.

Sensory tables can be intriguing to many students and something they can all experience success contributing to. They provide an opportunity for students to:

explore using multiple senses.
notice similarities and differences in materials.
develop an appreciation that in science we use all our senses to learn about the world around us.
share their knowledge and experiences, reinforcing that we value them and their understandings.

In this sequence, the building of a sensory table will also link directly to the Act phase, where students use their understanding of solids, liquids, and adding or removing heat from materials to design a sensory experience for junior students. The collection of materials on the sensory table provides inspiration to expand on.

Special items may need to be returned to students—a collection of small boxes/tubs/trays can help to keep those items sorted and named while on the table.

As a class, ensure everyone knows which items they are allowed to touch. It can be simpler to only permit items onto the table that can be touched by everyone, to encourage free exploration.

Science content

Sensory experiences

What are the benefits of planning and participating in sensory experiences?

All living things use their senses to gather information about the world around them by detecting and interpreting external stimuli.

Primary school students will be familiar with 5 primary senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Sight: Our eyes perceive light and colours, which our brain interprets as shapes, shadows, and movement.
Sound: Our ears perceive sound waves and can interpret different noises, including pitch, volume, and tones.
Smell: Our nose perceives the presence (odours) of airbourne chemicals.
Taste: Our tongues perceive different flavours by detecting chemicals in food. The main tastes are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
Touch: Our skin contains receptors that can detect changes in pressure, temperature, and pain.

Sensory experiences can strengthen neural pathways that are crucial for learning and development, enhance the ability to retain information and lay the groundwork for future learning experiences.

Planning and participating in a sensory experience relating to solids, liquids and what happens to them when heat is added and removed provides students with an opportunity to build a solid foundational understanding about these concepts. This could in turn support students in later years as they learn more complex chemical sciences concepts.

By considering solids, liquids and change of state in light of the 5 primary senses students have the opportunity to look at different things in ways they might never have considered, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the properties of solids and liquids. For example, students might consider the difference, if any, in the taste of water and ice, or the difference between how they sound when shaken inside a container. They may consider how melted chocolate is not as pleasant to eat, but when combined with liquid, like milk for example, it is pleasant to drink.

Next lesson

Our design decisions

Select a lens below to see the design decisions behind each step. Understanding our decisions can give you insight to teach, adapt, and differentiate this task.

Science content

Pedagogical tools

Illustrations of practice

Share this page

Image	Attribution
Pink ice cream melting and spilling from the waffle cone	iStock photo ID: 1362489449
Iceberg in the Arctic with its underside exposed	AWeith, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Melted Ice Cream	Enesse Bhé, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr
Oko - detail	Topi Pigula, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
One melting chocolate bar	Shutterstock photo ID: 24990889
Honey	Dino Giordano, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
Opened oven seen with thermal camera with frozen pizza in it	LaserlichtCC, BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Melting Ice Cubes	~jar{}, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
Bombs Away! A melting Bomb Pop on a sidewalk means one thing....hot weather!	Lorie Shaull, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
Goo or "oobleck"	Victor Wong, CC 4.0 via Flickr

Sub-strand	Content descriptor	AC code	Achievement standard	How the sequence addresses this content
SHE: Use and influence of science	Consider how people use scientific explanations to meet a need or solve a problem	AC9S3H02	Identify solutions that use scientific explanations	Consider how size affects melting rate. (Lesson 5) Design and create a sensory experience using solids, liquids, melting or freezing. (Lesson 7)
SHE: Nature and development of science	Examine how people use data to develop scientific explanations	AC9S3H01	Describe how people use data to develop explanations	Use scientific explanations, supported by data, to describe the viscosity of liquids and melting rate of different sized chocolate pieces. (Lessons 3 & 5) Explore how the different melting points of everyday materials affect their use. (Lessons 1-7)
SU: Chemical sciences	Investigate the observable properties of solids and liquids and how adding or removing heat energy leads to a change of state	AC9S3U04	Classify solids and liquids based on observable properties and describe how to cause a change of state	Investigate and describe the observable properties of solids and liquids and how adding or removing heat energy leads to a change of state. (Lessons 1-7)
SI: Questioning and predicting	Pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations	AC9S3I01	Pose questions to explore patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations	Students generate questions to differentiate between the properties of solids and liquids. (Lesson 6) Students make a claim about solids or liquids and support the claim with evidence. (Lesson 6)
SI: Planning and conducting	Use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment	AC9S3I02	Use scaffolds to plan safe investigations and fair tests	With assistance students plan and conduct a safe and fair test on melting. (Lesson 5) Students consider if materials listed for the sensory experience are safe and comfortable to handle. (Lesson 7)
SI: Planning and conducting	Follow procedures to make and record observations, including making formal measurements using familiar scaled instruments and using digital tools as appropriate	AC9S3I03	Use familiar classroom instruments to make measurements	Explore how to use equipment such as timers and take accurate readings with guidance. (Lessons 3 & 5)
SI: Processing, modelling and analysing	Construct and use representations, including tables, simple column graphs and visual or physical models, to organise data and information, show simple relationships and identify patterns	AC9S3I04	Organise data and information using provided scaffolds and identify patterns and relationships	Record and represent data showing liquid flow times and solid melting times. (Lessons 3 & 5)
SI: Evaluating	Compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusions	AC9S3I05	Compare their findings with those of others, explain how they kept their investigation fair, identify further questions and draw conclusions	Compare findings of investigations, and identify further questions based on observations, differences, or new ideas. Discuss factors that make investigations fair and evaluate the fairness of an investigation. Draw conclusions based on their own and others’ findings. (Lessons 1-7)
SI: Communicating	Write and create texts to communicate findings and ideas for identified purposes and audiences, using scientific vocabulary and digital tools as appropriate	AC9S3I06	Communicate ideas and findings for an identified purpose, including using scientific vocabulary when appropriate	Students draw a labelled design of their sensory experience, stating the materials used and if/how they will change, then participate in a gallery walk to share and explore design ideas with peers. Students describe the sensory experience in an audience-appropriate way and invite them to the experience. (Lesson 7)

External evaluation survey

Lesson 6 • Mystery matter

Making sense of changes

Key learning goals

Assessment advice

List of materials

Whole class

Each group

Each student

Lesson

Re-orient

Solid or liquid?

Adapting to your context—Mystery substances

Generating questions and testing

What is it?

The science of candy making

Potential discussion prompts

Reflect on the lesson

Our design decisions

For you

Materials

Lesson 5 • Breaking up with chocolate

Making sense of changes

Key learning goals

Assessment advice

List of materials

Whole class

Each group

Each student

Lesson

Re-orient

To melt or not to melt?

Melting investigation

Using a variables grid to plan a fair test investigation

Discussing results

Potential discussion prompts

Potential discussion prompts

Reflect on the lesson

Heat transfer

Our design decisions

For you

Materials

Lesson 4 • Cool liquids

Making sense of changes

Key learning goals

Assessment advice

List of materials

Whole class

Each student

Lesson

Re-orient

Freezing liquids

Potential discussion prompts

Freezing point

Observing liquids

Potential discussion prompts

Bringing it together

Potential discussion prompts

Potential discussion prompts

Reflect on the lesson

Our design decisions

For you

Materials

Lesson 3 • Racing liquids

Making sense of changes

Key learning goals

Assessment advice

List of materials

Whole class

Each student

Lesson

Re-orient

Fast or slow?

The great race

Predict, Reason, Observe, Explain (PROE)

Viscosity

Link to Mathematics

Race analysis

Potential discussion prompts

Reflect on the lesson