Rationale

This unit entitled Temperature Change is designed for 1st grade. The unit will integrate
many academic disciplines while teaching students about temperature change with specifics
such as heating, cooling, and reversible and irreversible changes.
Students will do a variety of activities to enhance their learning. First the students
explore an introduction to the concept of temperature change. Then student will experience
through literature information on heating and cooling and create experiences that show these
processes. Next students will learn to identify reversible and irreversible changes due to
temperature changes. Finally students will perform different inquiries integrating the ideas
of heating and cooling.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards, students will observe
and describe what happens when substances are heated or cooled and be able to distinguish
between changes that are reversible and not reversible (3.2.1.A4). The students will be
producing works of art, speaking and listening during discussions, applying process
knowledge that enables them to become independent leaders through inquiry and design,
and study the changes in temperature.
When the unit is complete, the students will be able to describe what happens when
heating and cooling occurs, and reversible and irreversible changes. This content is key in a
students ability to understanding, explore, and explain the temperature changes in the world
around them.