Mr Frosty’s hands– investigating insulators
Dear Children,
My name is Mr Frosty. I am planning to go on holiday to the
South Pole. I have packed a different hat and two scarves but I
need to take some spare hands with me as these bits always seem
to melt! I have sent some spare ice hands along to your
classroom for you to see if you can find a way to keep them from
melting.
I have also sent some materials which I could wrap my hands in.
Could you find out which material would be the best one for me
to wrap the hands in to prevent them from melting on my
journey?
Thanks very much for your help with this.
Yours sincerely
Mr Frosty
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Mr Frosty’s hands– investigating insulators
Name ..................................................................................... Date: ...............................
Which material should Mr Frosty use to wrap his hands in?
My prediction: list the materials in order from melts quickest to melts slowest
Melts quickest
Melts slowest
My reason for this is:
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Results:
Melts quickest
Melts slowest
My explanation for this is:
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
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Mr Frosty’s hands– investigating insulators
Name ..................................................................................... Date: ...............................
Mr Frosty’s ice hand measurement sheet.
Record your measurements of the ice hand at each time interval (e.g. every 5
minutes). You could use a piece of string by wrapping it around Mr
Frosty’s hand to measure the circumference, marking or cutting the
string at the correct point and then measuring the length of the string
with a ruler.
Time
Observations
Measurements
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
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Mr Frosty’s hands – investigating insulators
How to write a good conclusion in Year 2
Steps to success!
Step 1
Answer the question
I found out
............................................................................................................................................
Step 2
•
Look at your results: ...................................................................................
Order your results:
• The pattern in my results ..............................................................................
Have you got an “er” sentence?
• Higher, further, slower, cooler, smaller, quicker, faster................................
Step 3
Explain what you found out
 I know this because ...........................................................................................
Or
 This happened because.....................................................................................
Or
 Based on what I know .....................................................................................
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Mr Frosty’s hands – investigating insulators
Teaching notes
The investigation involves children comparing materials based on their ability to insulate
Mr Frosty’s hands. Insulation works by a material preventing the transfer of heat, in
this case preventing warm air from reaching the ice, whilst trapping the cold air thus
preventing the ice from melting. Children will learn that insulators can be used to keep
warm things warm and cold things cold. Many children will predict that the fur or
“fluffy” materials will make the ice melt quicker because it will make it “warmer”. They
are relating their ideas to the fact that we wear coats and jumpers to keep us warm. In
fact, the opposite is true: the “fluffy” materials will be acting as insulators, whether that
is trapping heat from our bodies to keep us warm or, in the case of the ice hands,
trapping the cold air and preventing the warmer air of the classroom from reaching the
ice and melting it.
Learning outcomes
Working Scientifically:
 Use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
 Gather and record data to help in answering questions.
POS Materials:
Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood,
metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses.
The task
Discuss: Explain to the children that Mr Frosty has a problem as his hands keep melting
so he has to make new ones! He thought about wearing gloves but some of his friends
thought this was a bad idea. Ask the children to discuss whether or not they agree
that it is a bad idea or do they think this is a good one. Children should be encouraged
to suggest reasons for their arguments e.g. “I agree with his friends because we wear
gloves and they make us hot and snow melts when it’s hot.”
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Mr Frosty’s hands – investigating insulators
Apply: Following on from the discussion, share with the children Mr Frosty’s letter.
Show the children a selection of materials e.g. hessian sack, fur, bubble wrap, cotton
wool, cotton, tin foil, paper, etc. In groups, allow children time to discuss these
materials and their appropriateness for the task in hand. Some children may point out
that materials may not be suitable due to the fact they cannot be “wrapped” easily.
The children can use samples of the materials/write the names, in the order that they
believe the materials will successfully prevent the ice from melting.
Starting the investigation:
Resources:
 Ice hands
 A range of materials cut to the same size
 Trays/containers to place the ice hands in
 Cameras/videos for recording (optional).
The investigation can be carried out as a whole class or in small groups, with each
group investigating a material and collating the data as a whole class.
Ice hands can be prepared by filling marigold gloves with water and freezing them,
before peeling off the glove ready to use. Be careful when handling straight from the
freezer!
1. Allow each group to choose a material (or more if needed).
2. Give each group an ice hand and ask them to wrap it in the material.
3. Decide on a time period for recording for example every 5 minutes.
4. Children can start their stopwatch.
5. After the time slot has expired, children can carefully un-wrap the ice hand and
draw/write observations of what they have seen. If cameras are being used, photos
can be taken, ready to be used in sequencing later on. Children should be
encouraged to be accurate with their observations: “Is there a lot of water?” “How
many fingers are left?” “How easy was the ice hand to unwrap?” “Has the material
absorbed a lot of water?” etc.
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Mr Frosty’s hands – investigating insulators
6. Once the children have finished their recordings, the ice hands can be wrapped up
again and the process repeated until a suitable cut-off point is decided by the
teacher. Times could vary depending on the temperature of the room being used!
Recording observations:
Lower ability children could take photos or draw what they see happening as the
investigation evolves. Their ideas could be scribed by an adult, or recorded by video or
audio recorders.
More able children could measure the circumference of the ice hand with string (links to
Mathematics) and monitor how quickly the ice hands melt. The children at each time
interval can wrap the string round the ice hand and cut this off as a point of
measurement. Children will need the teacher to model how to do this whilst ensuring
children are starting and stopping at the same point. The string can be measured with
a ruler and recorded formally or the string itself can be stuck onto card and used as the
recording.
At the end of the investigation, as a class or in groups depending on the organisation,
children can order the materials based on their success of insulating the ice hands. This
will form a good area for discussion as children can be pointed back to the original
discussion slide at the start of the investigation and asked if they would like to change
their minds or explain why they were right.
Assessment opportunities
The investigation provides opportunities for assessment in different areas, depending on
the year group being targeted. Children could be asked to:
 Plan how the steps of the investigation would be carried out
 Spot variables, including those that need to stay the same
 Measure water loss over a period of time and relate that to how much ice has
melted as a form of recording.
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