Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Hot and cold
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/heat/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/heat/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Heat moves from hot things to cold things.
- Metal lets heat through easily; trapped air slows it down.
- Insulators keep things warm (and cold).
- Compare wraps in a simple fair test.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Hold a metal and a wooden object. Which feels colder? Why? |
| 10 min | Read the text; look at a coat, a foam cup and a metal spoon. |
| 10 min | Set up Keep it warm!; check after 20 minutes. |
| 10 min | Play Keeps warm or lets heat through? |
| 5 min | Quiz together and check the cups. |
Materials for the experiment
- 3 or 4 small jars or plastic cups, all the same
- Warm water from the tap (the teacher fills the cups)
- Wraps: a scarf or sock, bubble wrap, kitchen foil, nothing
- Elastic bands
- A thermometer (or just your finger)
Safety: Use warm water from the tap only, never hot or boiling water. The teacher pours. Mop up spills straight away.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| A coat makes heat. | A coat traps air and slows down the heat leaving your body. |
| Cold moves into things. | Heat moves out of the warmer thing into the colder thing. |
| Metal is colder than wood at the same room temperature. | Both are at the same temperature; metal just takes heat from your hand faster. |
Worksheet answers
- Any warm outfit (hat, scarf, coat, gloves, layers): these trap air and keep the heat in.
- Hot to cold.
- Usually the scarf or bubble wrap, because they trap air and slow down the heat.
Quiz answers
- Which way does heat move? From hot things to cold things. Heat always moves from hotter to colder.[5]
- A metal spoon is in hot soup. What happens to the handle? It gets hot. Heat moves easily through metal.[3]
- Why do fluffy feathers keep a penguin warm? They trap air. Trapped air keeps the warmth in.[5]
- What tells you how hot something is? A thermometer. A thermometer measures temperature.[1]
- What warms the ground on a sunny day? The Sun. The Sun's rays warm the ground.[3]
Going further
Do the test again with ice cubes instead of warm water. Which wrap keeps the ice from melting the longest? (The same wraps work: they slow heat moving IN as well.)
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Physics, 11.1 Temperature and Thermal Energy (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [2] Physics, 11.2 Heat, Specific Heat, and Heat Transfer (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] The Transfer of Heat Energy (NOAA National Weather Service, JetStream): reliability High
- [4] Thermal conduction (Encyclopaedia Britannica): reliability High
- [5] Insulation (Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao, University of Waikato (New Zealand)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/heat/sources/
Privacy: the lesson pages have no ads, no tracking and no cookies. Quiz answers and game scores stay in the pupil's browser. A short video for each age is coming.