Hot Spot/Cool Spot

Black and White photo of a sunny child's playground with a curved slide and an arched bridge between two platforms.
Lesson Phenomena: Melting ice & solar heat on the playground

Students will begin this lesson by being shown a time-lapse video of an ice cube melting, and observe the relationship of hot and cool areas on a playground with sunlight.

Learning Goals:

  1. Students will consider and pose questions about what type of energy source can cause an ice cube to melt.
  2. Students will explore how the sun affects the Earth’s surface on the playground.
  3. Students will analyze data to understand how the sun affects the earth’s surface on the playground.
  4. Students will link the idea of sun/shade to hot/cool.
Materials List

Handouts

Classroom Supplies

  • Markers – red for hot, blue for cool
  • Paper for drawing
  • Drawing materials

Important Links

Lesson 1 of 7 / Time: 30 Mins

Students will investigate the effect of sunlight on the earth’s surface (K PS3-1). The students will observe a video of an ice cube melting as the anchoring phenomenon for the unit. In this first lesson, students will explore the playground areas to observe hot and cool areas, and how they correlate to sun and shade.

Keeping it Cool with Solar Unit

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