Kōkiri Learn

Week 1 of 5

Where is our heat going? Notice the problem and meet the particles

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Session 1 · VOICE: Validate the Problem

Hunting for cold spots

  1. 10 minHook: touch test. Hands on metal, wood, plastic and wool that have all been in the room overnight. Which feels coldest? Vote, then hold the thought.
  2. 20 minRoom survey in groups: measure temperature near a window, a door, the floor, the ceiling (standing on nothing: use a pole-mounted thermometer or a tall student at arm's length), and the middle of the room. Mark each reading on a floor plan.
  3. 15 minShare maps. Which places are coldest? Who looks after this space and why might it matter to them? List the questions we could test.
  4. 5 minChoose a class focus question, for example: 'Which material best slows heat escaping from a warm container?'

Session 2 · VOICE: Observe

Solids, liquids and gases up close

  1. 10 minLook at three sealed syringes: one with air, one with water, one with sand. Push each plunger. What do you notice? Record observations, not explanations yet.
  2. 15 minParticle role-play: be a solid (tight rows, jiggling on the spot), a liquid (close but sliding past each other) and a gas (spread out, zooming). What changes when the 'teacher heater' turns up?
  3. 15 minDraw particle pictures for ice, water and steam. Label: spacing, movement, attraction. Particles do not grow or melt; their movement and spacing change.
  4. 10 minExit card: explain the syringe results using particles.

Getting started

Use the picture bank of particle diagrams and sort them into solid, liquid and gas before drawing your own.

Stretch

Explain why a gas can be squashed but a liquid almost cannot, using the words 'space between particles'.

Checkpoint

Everyone has a room map with at least five readings and can draw particles in all three states.

Activities for this week

Useful this week