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Topic: 5D Changing state
Major plans are being drawn up to transform a disused shipyard in Belfast into a dedicated heritage centre for RMS Titanic. This task uses this context to explore the changes that occur in the water cycle. Children will plan an investigation into factors affecting the melting of icebergs. They will use their knowledge of icebergs to consider whether the sinking of the Titanic was avoidable. This will form the basis of a poster to be displayed in the new heritage centre.
An Upd8 task designed for CCEA (Northern Ireland) in line with the Revised Curriculum requirements for the World Around Us and Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities.
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· About factors that could affect the process of melting
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 2 successfully
· To plan the various stages of a whole investigation
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 2 successfully
· To apply knowledge of the water cycle and changes of state and properties of water
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 4 successfully
Science:
QCA Unit 5D: Changing State
· to know about reversible changes, including melting, condensing, freezing and evaporating
· to know the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle
Scientific enquiry
· to ask questions that can be investigated scientifically and decide how to find answers
· to think about what might happen when deciding what to do, what evidence to collect etc.
· use observations or other data to draw conclusions
Introducing the activity
· Display page 1 through a projector or as an OHT. Read through the introductory paragraph and ask the children what they know about the story of the Titanic. What do they know about icebergs? :
(List all responses on a whiteboard for future reference - entitle this ‘Iceberg Facts'.)
Read the task and ensure that the children fully understand it. They are to create a poster for display in the new heritage centre. This will allow them to use their knowledge of icebergs to decide whether the accident could have been avoided.
Leading the main activity
§ Display the illustration and text on page 2 through a projector or as an OHT. Using this as a stimulus, discuss with the children the planning of an investigation. Use the illustration and text at the top of page 2 to introduce the ideas that various factors could affect how quickly an iceberg melts. Ask the children to discuss and then explain how each of the factors shown might affect the melting process. Challenge them to come up with any other factors that they think would affect melting.
(Tip: List these factors on a white board and ask the children to use them later when they are planning their fair test.)
§ Ask the children to choose a factor to investigate. They should use the stages shown on page 2 as a basis for the planning process. This task could be given to individuals or small groups with either verbal or written feedback. If wished one or more of the planned investigations could be carried out practically by using ice cubes made, for example, in yoghurt pots as miniature icebergs.
§ Display the illustration and text on page 3 through a projector or as an OHT. Ask individual children to read out each iceberg fact. Refer back to the original list of children's ‘Iceberg Facts' on the whiteboard. Are there any surprises? Could any of the original iceberg facts be disproved as a result of what is now known? Consider what has been learned from the practical investigation.
§ Display the illustration and text on page 4 through a projector or as an OHT. Print off copies for the children. Discuss and review with the children what they know about the water cycle. Emphasise the idea of the water changing state and the vocabulary used to describe this. Ask the children to think about how temperature affects the water cycle. Children may work alone or in pairs to construct their diagram of the water cycle. They may use some or all of the words and images supplied or even add their own descriptions and illustrations. This diagram will form part of their poster.
§ Discuss with the children their thoughts on whether the Titanic's accident could have been avoided. Could the iceberg have been melted before the ship struck? What methods could the crew have used to attempt this? Why would it have been impossible? What do they do now? Children can work in pairs to create a poster describing their thoughts and using their scientific knowledge to make conclusions. Alternatively the children could display their conclusions in a PowerPoint slideshow for the centre.
Write
your online review to share your feedback and classroom tips with other teachers. How well does it work, how engaging is it, how did you use it, and how could it be improved?
Ice bergs ahead Dec 8th, 2006
Reviewer: Anna Che Noh
This was a useful actvity to use at the end of the unit, asit meant revising much of what they had done. Yr5 and Yr 6 were very interested in the Titanic and it created lots of useful discussion, particularly about global warming and its effects on the ice bergs etc. Some did extra research about ice bergs and came up with some fascinating facts!
Icveberg ahead Aug 27th, 2007
Reviewer: Sue Walters
I used this with my y4/5/6 class and was able to invesigate many aspects -eg changing shape of icebergs, comparing length taken to melt of different coloured icebergs - throughtly enjoyed by the children
