Irchester Community Primary School
Area of Learning:
Science – changing state
Date/Week:
Planning Grid
Spring 1
Year Group:
5/6
Unit Learning Outcome: name and describe the main processes associated with changing state.
Prior Learning / Initial Assessment:
Chn completed a circus of activities to assess their knowledge and understanding of condensation, evaporation, freezing, melting, boiling and the links
between these processes.
They were then asked what they would like to know about these processes during this topic.
Key Vocabulary / Resources:
Evaporation, condensation, water, solid, liquid, gas, state, matter, energy, freeze, melt, water cycle, reversible, boiling point, freezing point
10
Key Skills and
We Are Learning To...
WALT: investigate
conditions for freezing
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How long does it take
to make water into
ice?
How do you make ice
–
Why does ice stick
together?
Why does water
expand when it
freezes?
Why does liquid
freeze?
SC:
I can form a question to
investigate
Main Teaching Activity/Assessment for
Learning/Key Questions
Starter: Change of State concept sentences (Look,
Think, Talk). In pairs, chn to use given words to create
accurate sentences in given time.
Differentiation
Main;
Ask children to be a liquid – human model, organised in
twos or threes, flowing around each other.
Explain that as heat is decreased, it makes the particles
move less vigorously and new bonds start to from which
results in freezing.
Groups need to be able to answer the
following questions:
Some chn wanted to know how long it takes for water to
turn into ice. What do children think affects the rate of
melting?
Ask chn to consider how a lolly or ice cube acts in
different conditions. Brainstorm ideas.
Revise use of ‘Post it note’ method of asking a question
and fair test planning.
Plenary –
Tackle more involved questions:
Use planning sheet to ask own question
and plan fair test. (Ensure they are not
all investigating the same thing!)
What is your question?
Which variables will you need to keep
the same?
Which variables will you need to
change? How will you do this?
What will you measure?
How will you measure it?
What equipment will you need?
How will you record the results?
(Appropriate table/chart/graph to be set
up)
Mixed ability groups. (Could have a HA
group with a tougher task, e.g.
investigate the Mpemba effect)
Assessment of Learning
Levelled Success Criteria
Level 2: I respond to
suggestions and make my
own suggestions, with help,
about how to collect data and
answer questions.
Level 3: I respond to
suggestions and put forward
my own ideas about how to
investigate an idea or find
answers to questions.
Level 4: I decide on an
appropriate approach to
answer a question. I select
suitable equipment from that
provided. I select and use
methods that are adequate for
the task.
Level 5: I decide appropriate
approaches to a range of
Irchester Community Primary School
I can also decide which
variables will need to be kept
the same and which one I
will change
I can even decide what I will
measure and how I will
measure it
WALT: make a reasonable
prediction
I can say what I think will
happen
Can you freeze gas?
How do you/can you make a gas a solid?
Gases usually condense to form liquids, then freeze to
a solid. If a gas cools super quickly or at high
pressures, it can turn to a solid without becoming a
liquid first. This is called deposition.
When liquid freezes, how does it form different shapes?
Liquids take the shape of their container and then when
frozen, stay in that shape.
Why does water expand when it freezes?
I can also use the correct
scientific vocabulary
I can even explain my
prediction using my
knowledge and
understanding.
Liquids usually shrink when they freeze because
normally, if you make something hotter, it’s vibrating
more and tends to take up more space. Ice is very
unusual that as it gets colder it expands. This is due to
the strange shape of water. If you’ve ever seen the
picture of a water molecule, it looks like a Mickey
Mouse head with an oxygen molecule where Mickey
Mouse’s face is and then two hydrogen atoms where
his ears are, it’s bent basically. Because of that bend,
the way they tend to link together is actually a very
open structure with big holes in it and that means,
there’s quite a lot of extra empty space in that
structure. And so, ice expands when it freezes.
Planning Grid
**Chn will need to be given time to
set up their investigation after this
lesson and once plans have been
checked but this should only take
ten-fifteen minutes. They will then
need to monitor their investigation
regularly for a few days and observe
over time.
tasks, including selecting
sources of information and
apparatus.
Irchester Community Primary School
Planning Grid