Heat and Light Investigation

This is a Heat and Light Investigation.

This small unit is a simple investigation into the sun as a heat source, along with a quick look at other sources of heat. Students will explore the vocabulary attached to the topic, how objects differ when in direct sunlight vs. in the shade, how living things are affected by the sun and its light, mechanical and electrical heat sources, and misconceptions about heat sources. At the end of the unit there is a quiz for you to give your students and there are answer keys wherever possible.

• Explain to students that they will be working in groups to create a set of four movements they feel illustrate the meaning of one of the vocabulary words they’ve learned.

• Separate your students into groups of three or four.

• Give each group one of the Vocabulary Movement Cards.

• As they are making their movements, they will also be verbally incorporating the vocabulary word and its definition.

Example: if their word is ‘machine’, as they are doing their first movement they will say, “machine”. As they do their second movement they might say, “a device made to consume energy.” For the third movement they could say, “to produce another form of energy,” and for the fourth say, “to do some kind of work!”

• Encourage students to USE THEIR SPACE: go high, low, and in between!

• Give students enough time to come up with the movements as a group, practice the movements, and get ready to teach their movements to the rest of the class.

A 15 page printable PDF