ICE CUBE MELT RELAY P-W14A2 !Children!will!develop!science!skills!during!this!activity!as!they!!pass!ice!cubes!to!one!another!and!compare!how!quickly!the!ice!!melts!when!in!their!hands!versus!in!a!cup.!!,,STREAM FOCUS

!

CORE SKILL OBJECTIVES INTENTIONAL TEACHING PRACTICES!

! Children(will:( Teachers(will:(

THINK - SCIENCE!

!! Observe!and!Describe!Observable!Phenomena!

!! Develop!Understanding!of!How!Water!Freezes!and!Melts!!

!! Narrate!and!Encourage!In9The9Moment!Observations!

!! Promote!Predictions!!

!!

RELATE!

!! Develop!Sense!of!Empathy!!

!! Narrate!and!Label!Empathy!!! Prompt!Children!to!Consider!the!

Needs/Feelings!of!Others!!!

GET READY,

MATERIALS !! Ice!cubes!(the!size!you!would!get!from!a!typical!ice!cube!

tray)!!!Plastic!cups!(one!per!team)!!!Hand!towels!or!paper!towels,!ideally!one!per!child!!!!Know9Wonder9Learned!(K9W9L)!Chart!(See!sample!in!

Additional!Resources)!!!Optional:!Cozy!blankets,!one!per!team!

(

PREPARATION !! Think!ahead!about!how!to!group!the!children!into!even!teams,!if!possible.!!

TEACHING TIPS

KNOW THE DEVELOPMENT BIG PICTURE SET THE STAGE

The!science!focus!for!this!activity!is!to!promote!children’s!scientific!thinking!and!encourage!them!to!practice!the!inquiry!skills!of!predicting,!observing,!and!describing!what!they!observe.!!For!young!children,!engaging!in!the!process!of!scientific!thinking!lays!the!foundation!they!will!need!for!later,!more!complex!

science!learning.!

By!having!children!work!in!teams!and!encouraging!them!to!take!the!ice!cube!from!a!friend!once!it!

becomes!uncomfortable,!you!are!promoting!empathy!(the!ability!to!understand!and!share!someone!

else’s!feelings),!and!helping!children!see!how!their!actions!can!affect!

others!(i.e.,!make!them!feel!better).!

Though!relays!are!typically!races!between!teams,!be!sure!to!keep!the!

focus!on!the!children!racing!against!the!ice!cube!in!the!cup!as!opposed!to!racing!against!other!teams.!!This!will!ensure!that!the!focus!remains!on!empathy!and!

support!instead!of!competition!between!children.!

!

EXPLORE USEFUL VOCABULARY:,melt,!cold,!friend,!team,!help,

,1. INTRODUCE AND BRAINSTORM !! Say,!“Today!we!are!going!to!be!scientists!as!we!investigate!ice.”!!! Introduce!K9W9L!Chart!and!brainstorm!together!to!fill!in!the!first!two!columns!9!what!they!know!about!ice!and!melting,!

and!what!they!wonder!about!ice,!or!wonder!about!the!relay.!!You!will!come!back!to!the!final!column!after!the!relay.!!

2. ICE CUBE MELT RELAY

!! Divide!the!children!so!they!are!standing!in!two!lines.!!!,!! Hand!the!first!child!in!each!line!a!cup!with!two!ice!cubes!in!it.!,!! He/she!will!start!the!relay!race!by!holding!and!squeezing!one!of!the!ice!cubes!in!his/her!hand!until!it!gets!too!cold!to!be!

comfortable.!!He/she!will!tell!the!next!child,!“It’s!too!cold!now!”!!And!the!next!child!will!say,!“I!can!help!”!and!take!the!ice!cube.!!The!relay!will!continue!like!this!(traveling!back!and!forth!as!necessary)!until!the!ice!cube!melts!completely.!,

!! Optional:!Children!can!huddle!together!under!a!cozy!blanket!when!their!ice!cube!has!melted!,!

Narrate(and(Encourage(InWTheWMoment(Observations,

“I!see!water!dripping!from!your!hand!”!!

“What!do!you!notice!about!the!ice!cube?”!

!

Narrate(and(Label(Empathy,

!“I’ll!bet!you!are!feeling!really!grateful!that!your!

teammate,!(Child)!saw!that!you!were!ready!to!pass!the!ice!cube!”!

!

,

Promote(Predictions,

Cover!the!cup!with!the!remaining!ice!cube.!!!

“The!ice!cubes!in!our!hand’s!melted.!!What!do!you!think!is!happening!to!the!ice!cubes!we!left!in!the!cup?”!

!

!

Prompt(Children(to(Consider(the((Needs/Feelings(of(Others(

“Look!at!your!friend’s!face!!!She!looks!so!cold.!How!do!you!think!her!hand!is!feeling?!!You!could!ask!her!if!she’s!

ready!for!help.”!

!

3. REVIEW AND DISCUSS WHAT CHILDREN LEARNED!!! Say,!“Today,!you!were!scientists!as!you!investigated!melting!ice!”!!!! Review!first!2!columns!in!the!K9W9L!chart.!!! Prompt!children!to!retell!or!summarize!what!they!learned.!!Write!what!they!say!in!the!3rd!column!of!the!K9W9L!chart.!,

ADAPT ,MORE(CHALLENGE:!!You!can!challenge!children!by!using!a!stopwatch!to!track!the!time!it!takes!for!the!two!ice!cubes!to!melt.!!Support!them!in!using!the!stopwatch!to!gather!more!detailed!information.!!

MORE(SUPPORT:!!If!a!child!finds!holding!the!ice!too!uncomfortable,!provide!extra!ice!on!a!table!for!them!to!observe,!or!encourage!them!to!make!observational!drawings!of!what’s!happening!to!the!ice!in!the!race!or!cup.!!

Additional Resources: P-W14A2 (Ice(Cube(Melt(Relay((Listed!below!are!additional!resources,!steps,!or!ideas!for!implementing!this!activity.!(Sample(Know,(Wonder,(Learned((KWWWL(Chart)(