G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
2/9/2016 9:37:00 AM
Science Essential Objectives
Students will be able to:
 Compare and describe interactions of ice with various materials that
accelerate or slow melting.
 Draw conclusions based on observable evidence about which
materials interact with ice to accelerate melting.
 Draw conclusions based on observable evidence about which
materials are good insulators.
Teacher Background:
An insulator is a material that is a poor conductor of heat and, thus,
keeps ice from melting or slows down the melting process. The purpose
of this lesson is for students to determine that an insulator is necessary
to keep the ice in their bowl from melting. The investigation will assist
students in determining an insulator material to use with their ice.
It may be difficult for students to determine if a cup has more or less
water than another during the investigations. A graduated cylinder can be
used for the teacher to assist students with measuring the water.
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
Teacher Preparation:
 This lesson will take two days to compete.
 Have six ice cubes for each group of four students readily accessible
so they do not melt before they are needed.
 Display the unit problem and the “Know-Need-to-Know-Learned”
(KWL) charts.
 Copy, cut and laminate insulator cards, TRG p. 29-36.
 Obtain cold water from a cold water fountain or refrigerator.




Tear up two Styrofoam cups for each group of four students and
put in a plastic bag.
For each group of four students, label six 3.5 oz. cups with one of
each of the following: cold water, paper, cotton, foil, Styrofoam,
and plastic wrap.
Prepare a tray for each group of four students with six labeled 3.5
oz. cups, six 20 oz. cups, 30 cotton balls, one 8” x 12” piece of
plastic wrap, one 8” x 12” piece of foil, 10 oz. cold water, one sheet
of 8 ½ “ x 11” piece of paper, and two Styrofoam cups.
Put students in groups of four for the exploration and in groups of
two for the extension.
Materials
Needed For:
Provided in
the KIT:
Teacher
Consumables To
be ordered from
Science
Resource Center
Located in your
SCHOOL

One 10 mL
graduated
cylinder
Group of 4 or 5
Students



Six 20 oz.
cups
Six 3.5 oz.
cups
30 cotton
balls



Six ice cubes
the same size
One sheet of
8 ½ “ x 11”
paper
Ten ounces of



Pair of Students
8” x 12”
piece of foil
8” x 12”
cold water
piece of
plastic wrap
Two torn up
8 oz.
Styrofoam
cups
1. Hot and
Cold by
Karen
Bryant-Mole
Individual
Students
2. Pencils
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
Engagement – Day One
1. Invite students to the discussion area and distribute Hot and Cold by
Karen Bryant-Mole.
2. Invite students to partner read or use a read aloud strategy to read pages
18-19.
3. Discuss the following questions:
 What could Jonathan put his soup in if he did not want it to cool
down? (thermos)
 If a thermos keeps things hot, what could you use to keep cold
things cold? (A cooler. Note: Some students may realize that a
good thermos will keep things cool.)
4. Tell students that thermoses and coolers are called insulators which keep
cold things cold and hot things hot. Write the word insulator on the
chalkboard.
5. Share with students that today they will be investigating different
materials to see if they are effective insulators so that they can design a
cooler to keep ice from melting at the iced tea booth.
6. Have student cut out their prediction cards and glue them in the order
they predict the ice cubes will melt (least effective insulator to most
effective insulator).
7. Distribute Student Resource Packets and have students turn to SRP pp 13, “Insulation Investigation,” and discuss the following:
 What is our purpose for reading to perform a task? (read all
directions first, perform directions in order, look at diagrams, collect
materials before beginning)
 What are some strategies that the author used to make the
directions easy for readers to understand? (title, diagrams,
subtitles, numbered steps, and materials list)
8. Use a guided reading or read aloud strategy to read all the directions
together.
9. Distribute trays of materials.
10. Direct students to set up the investigation by following the directions
on SRP pp 1-3.
11. Have students place all materials on a science tray and save for Day
Two.
Exploration – Day Two
1. Distribute Student Response Booklets and have students cut out result
cards on SRB p. 10. These cards should be placed on their desks for later
use.
2. Distribute science trays from Day One and ice cubes.
3. Share with students that they will be placing one equal-sized ice cube in
each cup at the same time. Ask students why this is important.
(Everything must be in the cup at the same time in the investigation
except for the insulator material so that it is a well-designed
investigation.)
4. Direct students to place the ice cubes in all six cups at the same time.
5. Wait 15 minutes. During this time, have students come to the discussion
area. For each pair of students, distribute one of the insulator picture
cards.
6. Invite students to discuss with their partners whether or not the item in
their picture would eve need to be insulated.
7. Display the thermos on the chalkboard and ask who has a picture of
something that could be insulated by a thermos. Place the pictures of
coffee and soup under the thermos. Discuss why the coffee and soup
need to be insulated.
8. Repeat step 12 for the coat (students and man), freezer (ice cream and
popsicle), and attic insulation (house and school).
9. Have students who have not placed a picture on the chalkboard, lace the
remaining pictures in a separate area of the chalkboard. (clock, pencil,
radio, and shoe)
10. Discuss with students why these remaining pictures do not need to be
insulated.
11. After 15 minutes, direct students to return to their investigation areas
and remove the small cups from the insulators.
12. Direct students to observe the cups and order the cups from least
effective insulator (most melted ice) to the most effective insulator (least
melted ice).
13. Direct students to order their results cards in the same order as the
ups and glue them on SRB p. 9.
Explanation:
1. Invite students to the discussion area with their Student Response
Booklets.
2. Ask students to share their results as the teacher manipulates the teacher
EPR cards on the chalkboard.
3. Discuss the following questions using TPS:
 Can you tell in your own words what you did today with the ice





cubes?
How do your predictions compare to your results? Did any of
the results surprise you?
How do you know that ___ is the most effective insulator?
How do you know that ___ is the least effect insulator?
Why are the results from each group similar, but not exactly the
same?
Why do you think this information might be important for people to
know in their everyday life? (keep food cold, keep themselves
warm, keep home cool)
4. Display the KWL chart and record student ideas about what they have
learned from this lesson in the “Learned” column. Also record any further
“Need-to-Know” questions.
Extension – Day Three
1. Direct students to open their Student Response Booklet to SRB p. 11,
“Designing Your Own Cooler.”
2. Use guided reading strategy to read the directions with students.
3. Direct students to look at the different materials found in the garage at
the top of the page and guide them to make connections to the materials
that were used in the investigation (metal bowl – foil, cardboard box –
paper, plastic cup – plastic wrap, Styrofoam peanuts- Styrofoam cup,
cotton shirt – cotton balls).
4. Direct students to draw their design for a homemade cooler with labels.
5. Set an appropriate time limit.
6. When appropriate time has passed, put students into pairs and have
them describe their designs to their partners and receive feedback.
7. Invite students to the discussion area and display a sheet of chart paper.
8. Read the directions for the caption and have students brainstorm stems
for their sentences. (My cooler is made by ___. I chose these materials
because __. From the investigation, I learned __..
9. Direct students to return to their desks and write a caption for their
design.
(Optional Language Arts/Home Connection) Read The Mitten by Jan
Brett**. Have students measure the temperature of their hands with
and without mittens (see TRG p. 39-41) and discuss clothing as an
insulator. This activity could be used as a home investigation. (Students
can write to Jan Brett at Post Office Box 366 Norwell, Massachusetts
02061. She will write back and send a packet of activities about her
books.
(Optional Language Arts Connection) Read Mama, Do You Love Me? by
Barbara Joosse*** or Eskimo Boy by Russ Kendall**** and discuss
examples of warm clothing worn by the Inuit characters in the story.
Students could also make a cut out figure of an Eskimo, dress him or her,
draw an appropriate setting and write about clothing as an insulator.
Evaluation:
1. SRB p. 9, “The Great Insulator Contest”
2. SRB p. 11, “Designing Your Own Cooler”
3. Students’ oral responses
*Bryant-Mole, Karen. Hot and Cold. Des Plaines: Heinemann, 1998.
**Brett, Jan. The Mitten. New York: Putnam Publishing, 1996.
***Joosse, Barbara. Mama, Do You Love Me? San Franscisco: Chronicle
Books, 1998.
****Kendall, Russ. Eskimo Boy. New York: Scholastic.
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
The Great Insulator Contest!
Student predictions will vary.
results may vary slightly
Cold Water
Insulator
Paper
Insulator
Plastic
Insulator
Cotton
Insulator
Foil
Insulator
Styrofoam
Insulator
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
Designing Your Own Cooler
These are the materials you and your parents found around the
house that can be used to insulate ice.
Metal Bowl
T-Shirt
Styrofoam Peanuts
Cardboard Box
1.
Circle one or more materials that you would use to design
your own cooler.
2.
Draw your cooler design in the box. Be sure to label each
part.
Water
Other designs are
acceptable if supported
adequately
box
Styrofoam
Answers will vary but should include
• materials used
• summary of what student learned about effective insulators
• connection of results of investigation to choice of material
3. Write a caption on the lines above explaining your diagram and
why you chose these materials. Be sure to use evidence from the
insulator investigation to support your ideas.
G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
9. Are mittens insulators? Give support from the investigation.
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G2Q3 - Interactions
Lesson 5 – The Great Insulator Contest!
HCPSS Elementary Science Office
Optional Parent Letter for
“Are Mittens an Insulator?
Home Investigation Optional
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Our science class has been studying some interactions of matter.
The students are using ice cubes, tea bags, and other materials to identify
interactions. They have also learned how to use insulators to slow an
interaction, such as ice melting.
The students are being encouraged to complete the attached home
investigation to extend their knowledge about insulators. Students may
need some parental assistance to complete the activity.
We hope you enjoy participating in the excitement of your child’s
discoveries!
Scientifically yours,
__________________