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Science Experiment Mini-Lesson Plan
EDUC 324 Teaching Elementary and Middle School Science
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Science Experiment Mini-Lesson Plan Part
One – Design the Experiment
Title of Experiment: Melt it!
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Virginia Science Standard of Learning: Scientific and Engineering Practices K.1 The student will
demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices by a) asking questions
and defining problems ask questions based on observations identify a problem based on
need make predictions based on observations b) planning and carrying out investigations
make observations to collect data identify characteristics and properties of objects through
observations measure the relative length and weight of common objects record information
from investigations.
Core Science Area: Chemistry
Experimental Question: Does salt or sugar make a difference is ice melting?
Experimental Design: The students will have the opportunity to see how long ice melts. They
will see if there is another alternative to speed up this experiment by using salt and sugar. They
will time the initial ice melt in two separate groups. One group will have sugar added to their
ice cube to see if it melts any faster and the other group will have salt. They will create a
hypothesis to see if it melts any faster.
Variables:
Independent Variable(s): Salt or sugar will be given to each group.
Dependent Variable(s): If the ice has any change to it.
Controlled Variable(s): The ice is being melted without any change to it.
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Hypothesis: The salt will make the ice melt faster rather than the sugar or with noting on it at
all.
Materials:
•Ice Cubes
•Salt
•Sugar
•Cups
•Paper
•Timer
•Worksheet
•Pen
•1 tsp.
Procedures:
1. The students will be split into two groups.
2. They will first watch an ice cube being melted, they will be timing it.
3. They will write down the time on their sheets given to them.
4. Once completed, they will write down if they think that the salt or sugar given to
that group will make it faster or slower.
5. They will apply the salt or sugar to the top of the ice cube and observe.
6. They will time the ice cube as well.
7. Once done, they will write down the time on their sheet.
8. They must include if their hypothesis was correct or not.
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9. The two groups will get back together and talk about their hypothesis and what
they were observing.
Part Two – Conduct the Experiment Log
of Observations:
•How long will the ice melt?
•Will the salt or sugar make it go faster, or both?
•I believe the salt will make it go faster.
•The temperature is 71°
•Starting with just the ice: I think that it will take about 3 minutes and 45 seconds for it to
melt.
•The ice is melting very slowly. It seems that it may be a bit longer than 3 minutes and 45
seconds. (2:35)
•It seems like it has stopped melting. (6:57)
•Its slowly getting smaller. (8:44)
•We have hit the 10-minute mark.
•Still melting (13:27)
•The water seems to clump up around the ice cube and I believe that is why it may be
taking so long.
•We have hit the 20-minute mark.
•Still melting (23:50)
•Officially stoppled melting at 28:07
•I have just put one tsp of salt on to the ice cube.
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•I think that it will take about 20 minutes for the salt ice cube to melt.
•It looks like the ice is somewhat “compacting” with the salt.
•It looks like the salt may be making the ice melt faster.
•The salt is eating away at the ice from the top.
•I feel that the salt may still melt before the regular ice cube.
•The salt melted at 26.10
•I think the sugar will take longer than the salt, therefore about 25 minutes.
•I have just put one tsp of sugar on the ice.
•The sugar looks like it is melting the ice a little faster as well.
•The sugar seems to be melting pretty fast (6:50).
•The sugar seemed to slow down a bit.
•The sugar ate at the top of the ice cube too but not as bad as the salt did.
•The sugars time may be around the regular ice cube.
•It seems that the sugar has slowed once again.
•It looks like the sugar is going to take longer than the regular ice cube.
•It looks like the sugar is dissolving along with the ice.
•The sugar melted at 29.30
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Photographs:
Ice cube:
Salt:
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Ice cube (28.07) Salt ice cube (26.10) Sugar ice cube (29.30)
Ice
Conclusion: Based on my observations, I was correct that the salt would melt the ice faster.
Initially when the sugar ice cube began to melt, I thought that it may be faster than the salt but
as time went on it ended up being longer than the regular ice cube. I also noticed that the salt
Sugar:
Results:
Time
30min
25min
20min
15min
10min
5min
0 min
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was eating away at the ice cube from the top which is something that I did not even think
about when writing my hypothesis. Along with that, the sugar did the same thing but not as
much as the salt. Overall, the salt melted faster than the ice cube but the sugar melted slower
than the ice cube!
Part Three – Application to Your Classroom
Scientific Method Worksheet: This is a worksheet that I have created in word!
Diverse Learners:
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•Giftedness: If there are any students who are doing well above their peers, I will
make sure to have extra worksheets that may be a little bit more difficult for
them to complete to see how well they do. If there are a lot of kids, I will make
sure to have another science experiment that is a bit more difficult for them to
do, I will make sure that it is supervised as well as keeping an eye on how well
they complete everything.
•English Language Learners (ELL): Any students who may not speak English or is
learning, I will include a separate worksheet in their language as well as one in
English. This is if they wanted to compare it between their language and English.
I would also make sure they are next to or close to the teacher just in case they
have any questions or if they need a little extra help!
•Developmental Delay: Any students who may struggle with keeping up or
understanding the information would be in separate groups but instead I would
have a student who does a great job understanding material and can follow
directions clearly to sit next to them. They will help the child in any way as well
as the teacher or aid will keep an eye on them too.
•Sensory Disability: Any students who have a sensory disability does not have to
physically touch or involve themselves directly into the activity. If the students
are supposed to be watching the ice cube melt, they should not be touching it at
that time anyways. They will at the end of the experiment get a chance to, but
any of those students do not have to touch anything. There will be a teacher or
aid to help if need be!
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•Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: These students will sit near the teacher
to make sure they are staying on topic and keeping up with the sheet given to
them. We will constantly ask questions in the group and to make sure they are
involved and asking questions as well.
•Struggling Readers: The group that these students may be in, the teacher or aid
will be reading the directions and questions allowed. This will help them to
understand what we are talking about as well as the questions.
Safety Plan: Being organized and prepared might help you avoid a lot of potential risks. To
prepare for hands-on activities, it is important to familiarize yourself with the methods and
materials used. Examine the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) before using any chemicals that
you bought from a K–12 science supply provider. This outlines the risks associated with using
the chemical as well as advice on how to properly store and dispose of it. Throughout their
elementary school years, students will continue to understand the value of science safety,
which they will then apply to other subjects, the science lab in middle and high school, and life
in general.
Part Four – Reflection
1. What did you like about this activity?
I liked actually questioning if salt or sugar would actually melt the ice
cube faster.
2. If you had to complete this same activity again, what would you change?
I did not realize how long the ice would take to actually melt so I
would try to use smaller ice cubes.
3. What did you learn about yourself during this assignment?
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I had a lot of fun creating the worksheet as well as seeing the difference in the ice
cubes.
4. If you completed this activity in your classroom, what do you think your students
would say about this experiment?
I think most of the students would be engaged with the assignment but I think
others would find it boring.
5. If you were the professor of this course, what changes would you make to this
assignment?
I think that I would have included an example rather than the extra brackets only
because it was overwhelming initially when beginning to complete this assignment.
