How Can Containers Keep Stuff From Warming Up or Cooling Down? 

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Synopsis

This unit on thermal energy engages students in a design challenge to create a cup that keeps drinks cold longer. They identify the features that make some cups better at keeping drinks cold, and they construct their own models to explain how those features prevent the transfer of thermal energy.

In this unit for 6th grade, students build an understanding of energy transfer within and between materials based on a particle model, and they work on the practices of modeling, conducting investigations, constructing explanations, arguing from evidence, and designing solutions.

This unit is one many units available for free download at openscied.org.

ABOUT OPENSCIED

The OpenSciEd initiative was launched to address a critical need in science education: the need for high quality science instructional materials that are standards-aligned and practical for broad implementation. A national consortium of curriculum developers and researchers, led by BSCS Science Learning, is currently creating a three-year middle school science program to be distributed for free. The Next Generation Science Storylines Project is jointly leading the development of the OpenSciEd instructional materials with BSCS.

The program’s classroom materials and associated teacher professional learning materials are: designed to align with the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), based on research on student learning and teacher practice, developed in collaboration with teachers and field-tested in hundreds of classrooms in ten states across the United States, open-source and locally adaptable, and continuously improved based on feedback from teachers and field testing.