Eye Wonder: So, You Want to Be a Firefighter!

Engage / Activator (approx. 15 minutes)
For this section of the lesson each table should have the aluminum foil shaped like a cup, Styrofoam cup, plastic cup, and paper/paper-wax cup all filled with ice, a lab recording sheet (separate PDF) and a thermometer.  

Divide the class up into lab groups.  Groups of 3-4 are recommended but teachers are encouraged to split the class as they feel most comfortable.
Students will be tasked with measuring the temperature of the inside of each container and the temperature against the outside of each container. Students will find the difference between the inside and outside of each container. This is quantitative data. (observations that can be measured numerically)
Students will also use their hands to observe the temperatures in and out of the cups and record it in words. This is qualitative data.
 
On the sheet, the group will need to identify which material transferred the cold the easiest and which transferred the cold the least. 
 
They will answer the question, if these materials protect from hot or cold equally, which one would you want to protect you from heat if you were a firefighter? Explain.  Have students share what materials transferred the cold and which kept it in the best.
 
Direct Instruction (10 minutes):

Students will be able to identify that conductors transfer heat and do not keep it in or out well, and insulators keep it in or out because they do not transfer heat well.

• A conductor is something which allows heat energy (or cold) to flow through it.
• What were some examples you saw? (foil, plastic cup)

• An insulator is what prevents heat from flowing well
• What was the best example of that at your table?

• Heat is also known as thermal energy.  When you are holding a warm cup of hot cocoa or a bowl of warm soup, you feel thermal energy.
• Would you want a bowl or cup that is metal to hold your soup or hot cocoa? Explain.

Some materials feel colder than the air around us when we touch them because they take heat away from us when we touch them.  They move heat well.  Moving heat is known as conduction. Materials that move the heat well are known as conductors (thermal conductors).  Metal is a good conductor, like the doorknob on the door.  Other materials, like wood or Styrofoam do not conduct heat as well.  They don’t usually feel as cold to our touch.  They are insulators. The less a material conducts heat, the better the insulator.   Let’s take a look at how one type of professional needs to know about conductors and insulators for their job safety.
 
Eyewonder Firefighter (start around 4:28- 7:28) This segment of the video shows the firefighters uniform and how the pieces of the uniform protect each part of firefighters’ bodies.  Teacher can use this lead a discussion about whether those materials are insulators or conductors of heat.
 
Teacher Facilitated/Student Led Application (10 minutes)

• The teacher will do the Disciplinary Literacy Strategy called “Give Me Three” which is a modification of “Give Me Five” (The Give Me Five strategy is included as an attachment)
• For “Give Me Five” (or Three) students are provided with an opportunity to individually and publicly reflect on their learning during or at the end of a lesson. It encourages students to be thoughtful reflectors and demonstrates teachers’ respect and value for students sharing personal insights about their learning.
• Would firefighters want to wear conductors or insulators? Why? (Firefighters would wear insulators to prevent the heat from the fire from moving to their bodies.  A conductor would make them hot or burn very quickly)
• What are three clothing items that the firefighters put on to especially protect them? (boots, special socks, pants that are insulators, jacket that is an insulator, suspenders, facemask/pull over hat, hard hat with ear covers, gloves)
• If you were a firefighter and you wanted to check for fire on the other side of the door would you touch the door knob or wooden door? Explain (The wooden door because it conducts heat but not well. It will be warm and maybe hot but not as not as the door knob which would burn. Students may say the doorknob because it conducts heat and they could feel it.  Their reasoning is not incorrect with that ​         answer. The teacher should explain that the answer to keep safe is the door.

Independent Learning - (or class learning if no 1:1 available.)  
This is idea for a 1:1 review:

•  Website for 1:1 or whole class (15 minutes including time to log on): * You (instructor) will need to register ahead of time using manual registration. Registration is free. http://bpes.bp.com/primary-resources/science/ages-7-to-9/materials/thermal-conductors-and-insulators-online-experiment/#article48357
• To get there manually go to: http://bpes.bp.com/ . Click on “Primary Resources”: Science: 7-9: Materials: Thermal Conductors and Insulators online experiment.
• The top one is an animation review of insulators and conductors (approximately 1 minute)
• The next one is an interactive about conductors and insulators.  As a teacher, to view them, click on “launch” for each.
• To give students access, click on “share with students”. You will be given a code for each.  Students will go to http://bpes.bp.com/ and click on “student code” which is at the top of the page. They then enter the code.
• Students will watch a 1-minute animation reviewing conductors and insulators
• Students will engage with the interactive about conductors and insulators (10 minutes)

Formative Assessment (5 minutes): 
Get into your investigation groups from the start of class. Knowing what you know now, look at your activity sheet from the start of class.  Observe the data.  Analyze it.  Take one piece of paper, draw a picture of the material that was the best conductor.  When I say go, hold it up. Be prepared to defend your answer. (give 2 minutes.)
 
Next, take the other piece of white paper and write which material is the best insulator.  Hold it up when I say go.  Be prepared to defend your answer (1 minute to decide and write, 1minute to have a couple groups share out reasoning).
 
Closure (Also a formative assessment piece) (10-15 minutes)

• For this activity, students will either individually or in groups complete a disciplinary literacy activity called MTV (Making Thinking Visible).
• It is a summarizing strategy that is used to share the thinking of small groups with the whole group in order to spur dialogue. It is very open-ended; participants may choose to draw pictures, make lists or webs, or provide examples that demonstrate the thinking of the group members. MTV is useful for bringing a group back together after participants have been working on a specific task in small groups
•  Students will think of either a conductor or insulator that people use. (They cannot use the firefighter example)
• The group brainstorms ways to represent their thinking about what they’ve explored.
• The group creates a poster using chart paper (or the equivalent) that makes their thinking visible. Their illustration should be used like an infographic to convey most of the thinking with minimal words
• Teacher will have each group debrief by taking turns having a representative stand and explain the poster.

• Formative assessment gained by “Give Me Five” (Give Me Three) responses
• Formative assessment gained by observing responses to 1:1 interactive
  • The objective of each formative assessment is described within the lesson.