Anne Goldsworthy, ‘Teaching the Tricky Bits,’ 2010 Scottish Science Education Conference
Splat Game - Burning Candle
The splat game is a strategy to allow learners:
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to feel confident in sharing their initial ideas around a context due to the
safety of the decision belonging to a group and not an individual
to begin to develop an understanding of the tentative nature of science, in
the sense that scientists make predictions and hypotheses and often
change their mind after investigation and evaluation of evidence
to understand that not knowing the answer from the outset is part of the
scientific process as we find out more when we investigate and can
change our minds based on what we discover.
The splat game strategy allows teachers:
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an insight into learners initial thinking and understandings
to identify misconceptions
to plan for explore and investigate activities that allow learners to come to
new understandings
to see whether their thinking has changed as a result of activities.
How does it work?
To play this game the teacher makes up some statements that relate to a
scientific concept and posts them around the room. Some of the statements
could contain common misconceptions that learners may have in a given area,
some could be partly correct, some false and some give the correct scientific
explanation. Information on common misconceptions that learners may hold
around subjects such as gravity, burning, friction etc can be found online but if
you are working in an area of science you do not feel confident with it is worth
asking for the advice and help of your secondary science department.
The teacher asks the learners to think about what they know about a given
situation, for example, when a candle is alight what is burning? The possible
statements are then read out and in groups the learners are asked to decide
which statement they think is closest to what is actually happening. When they
are ready a member of their group stands up with a post it and when all groups
have their runner ready the teacher shouts splat and the runners run to the
statement and stick their post it on it.
This can be repeated for a few big questions relating to the area the learners are
finding out about.
The class then carries out explore activities to discover more.
Anne Goldsworthy, ‘Teaching the Tricky Bits,’ 2010 Scottish Science Education Conference
Finally, the groups are given the opportunity to change where they have placed
their post its at the end based on their new understandings and the scientific view
of what is going on is presented to them.
Example
By contributing to investigations into familiar changes in substances to produce other substances,
I can describe how their characteristics have changed.
SCN 2-15a
When exploring the chemical change of burning the teacher could use the splat
game at the beginning to get an insight into learners understanding. The teacher
wants to help the learners come to an understanding of what is going on when a
candle burns. A common misconception relating to candles burning include: that
it is just the wick that is burning. The teacher wants to find out what the learners
understanding is and to provide an opportunity for any misunderstandings to be
challenged. Below are examples of splat questions and related explore activities
to help learners understand more about the chemical change of burning.
Please note the correct, scientific answer is in bold type.
Splat question -When a candle is alight, what is burning?
Splat options - Just the wick, melted wax and the wick, evaporated wax and the
wick.
Explore activity related to this question
What to do
• Dip burnt out match in melted wax and put in flame
When it burns they realise through discussion that it must be wax that is
burning
Splat question -What happens to the wax?
Splat options - Melts, melts and burns, melts evaporates and burns
Explore activity related to this question
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Bring lighted match down towards, but not touching, wick of a recently
blown out candle
Through discussion help them to realise that it can’t be the wick that is
burning so it must be gas that is burning
Splat question -When a candle burns what, if anything, is made?
Splat options - Carbon dioxide and water vapour, nothing, carbon dioxide.
Anne Goldsworthy, ‘Teaching the Tricky Bits,’ 2010 Scottish Science Education Conference
Explore activity related to this question
•
Hold upturned jar over candle but with a gap at the bottom
Through discussion help them to realise that there must be water vapour
produced and other products due to the condensation that appears on the
jar and the blackening or the glass
For Older Pupils
What %age of nitrogen is in the air?
10%, 40%, 78%
What happens to the nitrogen in the air during burning?
Nothing, makes nitrous oxide
Wax molecules are made of what?
Hydrogen and carbon, oxygen and carbon, carbon and hydrogen and oxygen,
carbon
Must be another gas/gases made during burning
Introduce the scientific view of what is going on.
Remind the learners that everything is made up of atoms and show them
a picture of an atom. Remind them that one or more atom chemically
bonded together is called a molecule.
Explore activity
Get them to heat sugar on a metal spoon over a candle. Remember to
hold the spoon with tongs to avoid burning fingers. Before they actually do
it ask them to say what they think will happen. Discuss what they notice.
What is going on? Ask them to discuss in groups what they think might be
going on?
Introduce the scientific view that heating is overcoming the attraction
between the molecules and new products are made. If they hold a glass
beaker carefully over the flame they should notice condensation on the
glass. What does this mean?
Can they go back to having the sugar? No this is a chemical change with
new products including water.
Anne Goldsworthy, ‘Teaching the Tricky Bits,’ 2010 Scottish Science Education Conference
Is everything safe to burn? Ask them to discuss and share their ideas.
They could research for homework whether everything is safe to burn and
bring back their findings.