Unit/Lesson Plan Title: Energy
Primary Subject
Integrated Subjects
Grade Level(s)
Length of Unit
Material and
Resources
Science
reading, writing, language arts
3rd grade
2-3 weeks
“Discovering Science through Inquiry: Energy” Published By: Teacher Created
Materials Publishing (kit includes inquiry handbook, student inquiry cards, and
teacher’s guide)
Let’s Explore Sciene Energy by: Tim Clifford
First ScienceEnergy by: Kay Manolis
Energy by: Christine Webster
The Transfer of Energy by: Christine Zuchora-Walske
Venier Lab Quests and temperature probes
Teachers Pay Teachers
Unit Summary
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/energy-andmatter.htm (great video)
In this unit students will be involved with inquiry based lessons to explore how
energy is transferred from one object to another.
Key Vocabulary
energy, friction, transfer, movement, release, absorb, movement, insulator,
conductor, temperature, heat, kinetic energy, potential energy
NC Essential
Standards For
Science
3.P.3.1 Recognize that energy can be transferred from one object to another by
rubbing them against each other.
3.P.3.2 Recognize that energy can be transferred from a warmer object to a cooler
one by contact or at a distance and the cooler object gets warmer.
Common Core
RI3 Describe a relationship between a series of scientific ideas or concepts, in a
Standards for ELA text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/ effect.
& Literacy
RI4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
RI10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including
history/ social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3
text complexity band independently and proficiently.
W2 Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
W2a Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations
when useful to aiding comprehension.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Essential Questions
How are objects affected by energy?
Activities/
Procedures
• Essential
Question
• Explore/
Engage
• Explain
• Elaborate
(Inquiry)
• Evaluate
Day 1 Accessing Prior Knowledge
Students will be given a pre-assessment to gauge prior knowledge about energy and
energy transfer.
The teacher will use the “Energy” unit flip chart for each lesson in the unit. This flip
chart includes all activities, links and vocabulary.
Slide #2 on unit flip chart - The teacher will pose the question- “What is energy?”
Students will be given sticky notes to record their responses and place into a KWL
chart (slide 3). They will come to the white board and stick their notes in the
appropriate place and share responses. The teacher assist the kids to group and
categorize their responses in order to create a focus and purpose. This will help the
kids create questions, which is the second part of the KWL chart. Have kids divide
into pairs and create questions for the unit by writing on sticky notes and post on the
white board and share questions. Adhere sticky notes to an anchor chart to refer to
throughout the unit as misconceptions are corrected.
Assessments- pre-test, KWL
Differentiation- Students could use ichat, Today’s Meet, or Edu 2.0 instead of the
KWL to respond to the posed question “What is energy,” if the technology is
available and the students are familiar with it.
Day 2 What is Energy?
Open with a review from yesterday; what is energy? This may be accomplished
through direct instruction using the slides for the lesson (slides 5-15). Discuss the
slides.
Slide 16 has an excellent video clip on energy embedded http://
studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/energy-and-matter.htm .
Have kids show examples of energy using their own bodies. Have kids work in
pairs to generate examples of when and where energy can be found in the
classroom and at home. Each group will display their examples on chart paper for
everyone to see. Afterwards, have the kids quietly walk around the room and view
the responses of the other teams. Students will return to their seats and add to their
lists (gallery walk).
Assessment - Students will complete the exit ticket question (slide 18 ) in their
journals. The responses can be evaluated using a rubric .
Differentiation Students with writing or verbal deficiencies can draw pictures rather
than completing their exit tickets in an expository paragraph.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 3 -Potential and Kinetic Energy
Slides 20-33 - begin with a review of the definition of energy. Play vocabulary game
4 corners with the words potential and kinetic. If you know what the word potential
energy means and you can explain it to someone else go to corner number 1, if you
have heard the word but unsure of the definition, go to corner 2, if you have never
heard of the word go to corner.....etc... Next, go over definitions of potential and
kinetic using slides and play game red light, yellow light.
Students will work in small groups, one group reading a passage about kinetic
energy and one group reading a passage about potential energy from “Discovering
Science though Inquiry Energy Kit.” The groups will then get together and teach the
other group about what they read, making sure five sentences are recorded about
what they learned.
Assessment Students will write on an exit ticket telling what potential and kinetic
energy is.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 4 - Energy Transfer
Demonstration #1- The teacher walks around the room allowing each child to feel
one of the metal rods you will use in this demonstration. Fill two clear cups, one
with hot water and the other with ice water. She will place the copper rod or any
type of metal rods into each cup. The students will think pair share, predicting what
the metal rods will feel like after being placed in the water.
Show energy transfer slides on the slideshow (slides 34-46) . Have kids think pair
share once again and have them revise their thinking based on the presented
material.
The teacher will show the energy ball ( available for check out at Horizons ) and
how when she touches each side with one hand the energy ball will move energy.
Have students form a circle holding hands to complete a circuit and the ball will
light up. Have someone step out and leave a space to see what happens.
The teacher will have small groups use a battery, buzzer, and light (electricity kit at
Horizons) to show energy transfer. The students will need to touch both wires of
the light to the battery. Afterwards, do the same thing with the little buzzer.
The teacher will read the book Energy Makes Things Happen by Kimberly
Brubaker Bradley.
Assessment Students will create an alpha box for the topic of energy transfer.
Differentiation The demonstrations from today’s lessons may be placed into
stations and centers with the directions written in kid friendly terms. This would
require that the students have previous experience with doing demonstrations on
their own.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 5 Energy Transfer
In this lesson students will be engaged in an inquiry based experiment using the
LAB QUEST.
Absorption of Energy Experiment
Color affects the absorption of radiant energy. Students can use the results of this
experiment to better dress for the season—to keep cooler in the summer and
warmer in the winter. In this experiment students will monitor temperature change
due to radiant energy absorption.
• Calculate temperature changes.
• Interpret your results.
PROCEDURE
1. Tape two Temperature Probes to the table surface in the arrangement shown
in Figure 1.
2. Place a piece of white paper over Temperature Probe 1 and a piece of black
paper over Temperature Probe 2 as shown in Figure 1.
3. Position a light bulb directly over the boundary between the two pieces of
paper and about 10 cm above the paper pieces. The bulb should be the same
distance from both probe tips.
4. Connect Temperature Probe 1 to Channel 1 and Temperature Probe 2 to
Channel 2 of LabQuest. Choose New from the File menu. If you have older
sensors that do not auto-ID, manually set up the sensors.
5. Have students record the beginning temperature form both pieces of paper.
This will serve as the baseline for the experiment.
6. Switch on the light bulb. After one minute the teacher will instruct students to
record the temperatures displayed on the probe. Students will record their
temperatures in a chart provided by the teacher. Continue this procedure each
minute at least five times.
7. When data collection is complete, turn the light bulb off and return all materials
to the places directed by your teacher.
8. Students will subtract the differences between the white and black papers.
Have children highlight the piece of paper with the highest temperature at each
interval. This will help students when calculating so that they will use the
greater number first.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 6 Transfer of Energy
In this lesson students will conduct an experiment to gain a better understanding of
conductors and insulators.
Baggie Mittens
Humans create their own body heat by eating and then converting food and body
fat into other forms of energy, including heat energy. Our bodies are also affected
by the temperature of our surroundings. In a process called conduction, heat
always travels from a warmer area to a cooler area. Sometimes our body is the
warmer area; sometimes it is the cooler area.
This effect of the external temperature explains why we wear different types and
amounts of clothing in different seasons. To minimize the loss of heat from our
bodies during the winter, we wear warm clothes and lots of layers. To help us
eliminate heat from our bodies in hot weather, we wear clothes made of light, thin
material.
Insulators minimize the flow of heat from warmer areas to cooler ones. The better
the insulator, the less the temperature will change over a certain time period
because it takes longer for the heat to be conducted through the insulator.
OBJECTIVES
In this activity, students will
• Compare mittens made of plastic baggies containing different types of
insulation.
• Determine how long would it take for a person’s hand to get cold wearing
different kinds of mittens
• Use graphs to get information about the different materials’ performance
•
PREDICTION
Look at the kinds of insulation your teacher has provided and choose two baggie
mittens made out of different materials. Decide which material you think will best
hold in the heat, or, in other words, would be the best insulator. Write down the
name of the material in the first space of the Insulator column. Write down the type
of material of the other baggie mitten in the second space in the Insulator column.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
PROCEDURE
1.
Make sure the Temperature Probe is connected to LabQuest. Don’t touch it until you’re told
to do so in a later step.
2.
Choose New from the File menu.
3.
On the Meter screen, tap Length. Change the data-collection length to 120 seconds. Select
OK.
4.
Do the following to find the temperature of the room:
a. Make sure the Temperature Probe is still on the table and hasn’t been touched.
b. Look at the temperature displayed in the digital meter on the screen.
c. The temperature readings should be constant: that is, they should stay just about the
5.
same as you read the meter. This temperature is important because the Temperature
Probe must be at room temperature before each test you do with the mitten.
d. Record the temperature as the room temperature
in the Data Table, above.
Now you will follow these steps to collect data for your
first baggie mitten:
a. Get one of the baggie mittens and place your left
hand inside it.
b. Now, put the Temperature Probe in the bag so the
c.
6.
tip of the probe is touching your palm.
Watch the temperature on the screen and keep the
probe in the same position until the temperature
stays the same for about 5 seconds. (This will take
about a minute.)
When the temperature of the probe is constant (stays the same), collect data by doing the
following:
a. Get an ice pack from your teacher and place it on the table.
b. Have a teammate start data collection.
c. With your hand still in the bag and the tip of the Temperature Probe touching your
palm, put your hand, palm down, on the ice.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
7.
When data collection ends, do the following to find the change in temperature during data
collection:
a. Choose Statistics from the Analyze menu.
b. Find the Minimum (min) temperature and the Maximum (max) temperature of your data
c.
8.
and record these values in the Data Table above, on the line for the type of baggie you
were using.
Subtract the Minimum value from the Maximum value to find the change in temperature.
Now follow these steps to collect data for your other baggie mitten:
a. Tap the Meter tab and make sure the Temperature Probe is at the temperature of the
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
9.
room.
Get the next baggie mitten and place your right hand inside it. You are changing hands so
that when you collect data this time, your beginning hand temperature will be the same
temperature as it was in the first run.
Now, put the Temperature Probe in the bag so the tip of it is touching your palm.
Keep your hand in the bag until the temperature in the meter stops changing very much.
Start data collection.
Put your hand, palm down, on the ice.
When data collection ends, do the following to find the change in temperature during data
collection:
a. Choose Statistics from the Analyze menu.
b. Find the Minimum (min) temperature and the Maximum (max) temperature of your data
c.
and record these values in the Data Table above, on the line for the type of baggie you
were using.
Subtract the Minimum value from the Maximum value to find the change in temperature.
ANALYZE YOUR DATA
1.
What insulation material did you predict would be the one that would hold the heat the
longest? What reasoning was behind your choice? What might help you make a better
prediction?
2.
Which insulation material actually did retain the heat the longest? Why do you think this was?
3.
Which of the materials that you tested surprised you the most? Why?
Assessment Students will summarize what they learned form the experiment in their science
journals.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 6 - Balloon Friction
To gain prior knowledge, in science notebooks students will write what they know
about static electricity. Have students share their journal entry with a neighbor.
Teacher will pose these questions to spark a discussion on static: Have you ever
been shocked after you walked across a rug? Have you seen clothes stick to each
other after you remove them from the dryer? Have you stuck a balloon to a wall
after rubbing it on your hair? All of these things have to do with static electricity, but
what is it and how does it happen?
Students will work with a partner and experiment with a balloon and hair and see
how many rubs it will take to make the balloon stick to wall and using a stop watch
time how long it stays on the wall. Guide students through the experiment using
the scientific method. Be sure students make a hypothesis before starting
experiment. Students will record results in chart below in science notebook.
After activity, discuss with students the science behind static electricity. Everything
is made of matter and atoms are the basic building blocks of matter. Atoms have
teenier pieces called electrons. Atoms wear electrons like coats and sometimes
they take off their coats. Explain that static electricity is the build-up of an electrical
charge in an object. You can create static electricity by rubbing one object against
another object. The rubbing produces friction which releases negative charges,
called electrons, that build up to produce a static charge. When you rub a balloon
on your head the friction causes opposite static charges to build up in your hair and
in the balloon. You can see these two opposite static charges attracting each other
when you pull the balloon slowly away from your head making your hair stand up.
Assessment
Performance assessment rubric
Extentions
Using friction, students can use the balloon to move a soda can and use the
balloon to pick up confetti.
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET
Day 7 & 8- Review and Respond
The teacher will use the flip chart to review and help children retrieve key concepts
acquired in this unit. Allow for discussion and interactions between students.
The teacher will have children create a Graffiti wall about energy. Pass out three to
four large pieces of bulletin board paper. divide the children into groups. The
students will write on the paper anything they learned pertaining to energy and
energy transfer. As with al graffiti the responses do not need to follow grammatical
rules. Response can be a single word. Hang these products in the room to serve
as a reminder for all children as they continue through the lesson.
Students will then be allowed to create a project that displays and conveys the
knowledge they have acquired. This may be a specifically assigned format or
better yet the kids will choose format. For example, the students may choose to
produce a mini-book, poster, cereal box report, pop up book, flip book, comic life
piece , keynote presentation, or video.
Assessment- The projects will be graded using a rubric of the teachers choice.
Differentiation- Some children will need more guidance during this project time.
The teacher may want parent volunteers in the classroom during this time. Some
children might benefit form working in pairs.
Day 9- Sumative Assessment
The teacher will administer the post test. The teacher will need to compare the pretest scores and the post- test scores to evaluate growth. The students will return to
the KWL flip chart and add the “L” section as a final activity.
Created by
Email
Laura Zimmerman-Clark zimmerlb@rss.k12.nc.us
Ashley Dohme dohmeae@rss.k12.nc.us
Leigh Yelton yeltonlg@rss.k12.nc.us
Supporting
Documents
Energy flipchart, pre/post test
Zimmerman-ClarkLaura
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:24:46 AM ET