Hot, cold, and in between

Which is hotter, the window or your hand?

ScienceAges 3–412 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Not drawn yet

I can feel the difference and put things in order.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

Two cups only: cold and warm.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Three cups, then order six pictures.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Predict which picture is coldest BEFORE touching anything.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

Ice, cold water, room water, warm water, warm bread, sunshine, but their felt order is the valid one, and 'warm' is subjective.

If they get stuck

Two cups at the extremes only. In-between is a later idea.

Common mistakes

Guessing from the picture instead of touching. Insist on the cups.
Using genuinely hot water. Warm only, this must be safe or it teaches fear instead of temperature.

When they finish early

Feel the floor in three rooms. Report which is coldest.