This unit is designed to cover the Australian National Curriculum’s Physical Science Area for Year 3.
The unit takes place over eight lessons, during which students will learn about heat energy and how it’s created. They will also learn how heat energy travels through solids, liquids and gases through a series of presentations, demonstrations and hands on activities.
Identify sources of heat energy and examine how temperature changes when heat energy is transferred from one object to another
Examine how people use data to develop scientific explanations
Consider how people use scientific explanations to meet a need or solve a problem
Pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations
Follow procedures to make and record observations, including making formal measurements using familiar scaled instruments and using digital tools as appropriate
Use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment
Construct and use representations, including tables, simple column graphs and visual or physical models, to organise data and information, show simple relationships and identify patterns
Compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusions
Write and create texts to communicate findings and ideas for identified purposes and audiences, using scientific vocabulary and digital tools as appropriate
Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another
Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions
With guidance, identify questions in familiar contexts that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on prior knowledge
With guidance, plan and conduct scientific investigations to find answers to questions, considering the safe use of appropriate materials and equipment
Consider the elements of fair tests and use formal measurements and digital technologies as appropriate, to make and record observations accurately
Use a range of methods including tables and simple column graphs to represent data and to identify patterns and trends
Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings
Reflect on investigations, including whether a test was fair or not
Represent and communicate observations, ideas and findings using formal and informal representations
Questions, plans and conducts scientific investigations, collects and summarises data and communicates using scientific representations
Selects and uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity
Describes the characteristics and effects of common forms of energy, such as light and heat
Describes how contact and non-contact forces affect an object’s motion
Compares features and characteristics of living and non-living things
Describes how agricultural processes are used to grow plants and raise animals for food, clothing and shelter
Investigates regular changes caused by interactions between the Earth and the Sun, and changes to the Earth’s surface
Describes how adding or removing heat causes a change of state
Investigates the suitability of natural and processed materials for a range of purposes
Defines problems, describes and follows algorithms to develop solutions
Describes how digital systems represent and transmit data
Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another; a change in the temperature of an object is related to the gain or loss of heat by the object
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effects of their actions
With guidance, identify questions in familiar contexts that can be investigated scientifically and predict what might happen based on prior knowledge
Safely use appropriate materials, tools, equipment and technologies
Use formal measurements in the collection and recording of observations
Suggest ways to plan and conduct investigations to find answers to questions including consideration of the elements of fair tests
Use a range of methods including tables and column graphs to represent data and to identify patterns and trends
Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings
Reflect on an investigation, including whether a test was fair or not
Represent and communicate observations, ideas and findings to show patterns and relationships using formal and informal scientific language
The key concepts in this unit include:
Lesson 1
What is warm?
Imagine what it is like to be hot and cold
Lesson 2
Hot & Cold
Imagine what it is like to be hot and cold
Lesson 3
Properties of Matter
Measure temperature.
Lesson 4
Making Heat
Understand where heat energy comes from.
Lesson 5
Moving Heat
Understand why heat moves.
Lesson 6
Convection
Understand what drives convection currents.
Lesson 7
Radiation
Understand how heat travels through radiation.
Lesson 8
Heating Up Assessment
In this lesson students will undertake a quiz on all the things they have learnt in this unit.
In this presentation, students build on their experiences of being hot and cold to scaffold a deeper understanding of heat energy Coverin...
Designed in a science theme, this set of WALT, WILF & TIB charts have been created specifically to support classroom science units of work....
In this presentation, students begin to think about heat as energy, and ‘cold’ as a lack of that heat energy, rather than something of it’s...
In this presentation, students learn how and why we measure heat the way we do, and the different scales that are used to measure temperatur...
In this presentation, students learn that heat can be generated through frication, chemical reactions (including burning) electricity, as we...
In this presentation, students learn about the concept of thermal equilibrium, and why heat moves from areas of high energy to areas of low...
In this presentation, students learn how heat energy travels in a fluid (liquid or gas) through convection currents. Covering the key com...
In this presentation, students learn how heat energy is able to travel without diffusion, as it does through a vacuum, through radiation....
In this activity, students sort familiar items to indicate whether they’re used for heating or for cooling Get students thinking about ho...
This title page is a great way to kick off the Heating Up physical science unit for Year 3.
In this activity, students shade drawings to indicate the flow of heat energy from areas of high heat energy to areas of low heat energy...
In this activity, students sequence a variety of known temperatures on a thermometer, so as to understand how a thermometer works, and how t...
In this activity, students match a source of heat energy with it’s source. Helping students understand that electrical heat, or combustio...
A teacher sheet explaining the preparation and methodology of the experiment students do as part of Lesson 4. This activity helps illust...
A teacher sheet explaining the preparation and methodology of the experiment students do as part of WS5 This activity helps illustrate th...
In this activity, students test the conduction and insulation properties of a number of materials This activity helps illustrate the func...
A teacher sheet explaining the preparation and methodology of the experiment students do as part of Worksheet 6 in Lesson 6 This teacher...
In this activity, Students record their observations of a convection demonstration done by the teacher. This activity does a fantastic jo...
In this activity, students demonstrate their knowledge of how heat travels by labeling and describing the conduction, convection and radiati...
In this activity, Students record their observations of a convection demonstration done by the teacher. This activity does a fantastic jo...
