Marvellous Materials - Ice Observation

Objectives

To understand that water is a material and that ice is water in a different state.

To begin to understand what happens to particles in ice when it starts to melt and turn to water.

Resources

Vocabulary

Today's Lesson

What to Get Ready

Ahead of the lesson, freeze water in the two bowls. You might like to cover your working space with a towel to catch any water that might drip! Keep one block of ice spare for later (to put salt on).

Introduction

Ask your student just to look at the ice at first, without touching the block of ice. Encourage them to be quiet and to just observe what they see. It may be nice to play the Piano on the ice video at this point.

WATCH - Piano on the ice (YouTube)

Main Activity

Say:

‘Just look at the ice in the bowl and think of words in your head to describe what you see.’
‘Think about how the ice makes you feel and what it reminds you of.’

Then encourage your student to share some of their words and feelings about the ice. Give them time to write some of these words down on their clipboard or on sticky notes to stick by the ice block. Explain to your student that they are going to observe the ice block changing during the session. Ask them what they think they will need to do this activity. (Answer: timer, clipboard, paper.)

Practical

Set a timer so your student can see it and say:

‘Let's start our observations now, whilst we are still talking about it. Look carefully at the ice and tell me what you see.’

Write down your student's observations on a large strip of card.

Ask your student to predict what their ice will look like in 5 mins, 10 mins or at the end of the session. Continue to point out the time, at regular intervals, and for them to record what they see and any changes in the ice.

Ask questions such as:

‘What will the ice turn into when it melts?’
‘What was ice before it went into the freezer?’
‘What sort of things could we do to the ice to make it melt faster? Or how could we slow down the melting?’

Invite your student to touch the ice and to describe what they feel, but not to hold or pick up the ice block.

Then ask:

‘What do you think will happen if we put salt on it?’

Put salt on the ice block that you have kept aside. Encourage your student to watch what happens to the ice where the salt touches it (it will melt more quickly because salt lowers the freezing point of the water). You may also want to take photographs to record the changes.

Finally, watch the video Why does ice melt?

WATCH - Why Does Ice Melt? - Science for Kids (YouTube)

This video will help show your student the science behind why ice melts.

Citations

[1] www.youtube.com [2] www.youtube.com [3] www.youtube.com [4] www.youtube.com