It's Blubber!
Area:Measurement, biology
Purpose:This activity can be adapted for many grade levels. This lesson plan was written for kindergartners. During a thematic unit on life under the sea, we wanted the children to use the inquiry strategy to draw their own conclusions. This helps to promote independent thinking and risk-taking. It is most important during this lesson that the children are drawing their own conclusions with minimal teacher guidance.
Standards:
Materials:
-Ziploc bags (2 per child)
shortening
-ice
-buckets of water
-thermometers
-paper towels
*To make shortening mittens, fill one baggie with shortening. Turn another baggie inside-out and stuff it into the shortening baggie. Seal the two bags together.*
Objectives:TSW read a thermometer. TSW make a prediction. TSW perform an experiment.
Procedures:
1. Each student has one shortening "mitten" and a bowl of ice water. Have students stick their bare hands in the ice water for 10 seconds.
2. Discuss how the water feels. Have them feel one another's hands and discuss how cold the water might be.
3. Help groups of students measure the temperature of the water.
4. Have students dry their hands and then put on the mittens. Have them stick the mittens into the ice water.
5. After about 3 minutes, have them remove the mittens from the water and touch each others hands. Discuss how their hands feel after wearing the mitten. (Note: Their hands should be warm).
6. Have students test the temperature of the water again. Discuss whether the water got warmer. Have students discuss what they think caused their hands to be warm inside the mitten.
7. Introduce the word "blubber". Have students guess where blubber might be found on a whale's body, why the whale would need it, and what kind of water some whale's live in.
Assessment:Observational assessment of student participation in group discussion and experimentation.
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