Lesson 2: Heat and Temperature

Reminder
Fill out your weather log each day as outlined in Lesson 1.

Tell your child to pretend that he has been asked to plan an outdoor party. The party should happen at the warmest time of the day because people may get wet (in warm weather) or people must stay warm (in cool weather). Decide which scenario is appropriate for the time of year. Ask how he could figure out the warmest time of day.

For this experiment your child will record the temperature four times a day over five days. Explain that when conducting an experiment, you start with a question (problem), think about everything you already know about your experiment, and make a hypothesis (a good guess about what will happen). Next, list the materials you need. For this experiment, your child will need a thermometer, the "Daily Temperature Experiment" data sheet, and a pencil. He will conduct the experiment and record the data.

At the end of the experiment, he must figure out which time of day was the warmest. Ask him how he can figure this out based on his data. One way to do this might be to circle the warmest temperature each day in red and then look for a pattern of warm temperatures. After your child has collected his data, ask him the following questions:

Tell your child that when he wakes up in the morning, he may hear the temperature on the radio or on TV. How does that help him know what to wear? Explain to him that as he becomes familiar with temperatures, he will be able to know what to wear. Give your child the sheet called "What Should I Wear?" Ask him to read the temperatures on each thermometer and draw and color the appropriate clothing. If he prefers, he could cut the clothing from construction paper and glue it on the child. Next, ask him to draw what the environment might look like on a day with that temperature.

Help your child look on the Internet for the average temperature for each month of the year in your town (try searching "Average monthly temperature [city, state]"). If you cannot find this information, guess the monthly averages based on what you know about the temperatures in your area. On the "Temperature and Activities" page, ask him to select one month from each season, record its average temperature, and then write down an activity appropriate for that month. Remind him that the weather changes month to month and that the temperature of the environment affects our activities. Some activities can be done only at certain times of the year.