Temperature - Cold, Cool, Warm, and Hot.

Today we are going to learn about temperature. 

Temperature is how warm or cool something  feels. 
When we talk about the temperature outside, we are talking about how warm or cool the air is.

Click HERE to help Ms. Brown read about temperature.

In Kindergarten we are learning to compare temperature. When we go outside, is it hot, warm, cool or cold? 
We explain it this way:

Hot - bare arms - you might be sweaty.
Warm - you don't need a coat or sweater.
Cool - you need a hoody, a sweater, or a spring/ fall jacket
Cold - freezing! you need a winter coat. 
Really Cold -  below freezing!

You might remember Franklin dressing for the cold weather in Franklin Gets Dressed!

(Parents! You can do these activities throughout the week, or all in one day - I wouldn't do them all in one sitting though. Information and attention span overload!)

It is important to understand if something is hot or cold. Coffee, hot water from a tap, a burner on the stove are all VERY hot, and we shouldn't touch them. 

Try it! Labels
You could make some labels for some hot or cold things around your house. We usually say that HOT things are red (like fire) and cold things are blue (like cool water). You could write the words hot and cool/ cold  on paper and put them around the house. (the fridge would be cold, a door to outside might be cold).

 

  Thermometer
We can use a thermometer to measure the temperature. 
When the temperature is cool, the liquid inside the thermometer stays near the bottom. When the temperature gets warmer, the liquid in the thermometer expands and goes up. 

Try it! 
Measuring temperature with or without a thermometer. 

Fill 3or 4 containers (bowls, cups, etc.) with water. One with warm and/ or hot water, one with room temperature water, and one with water with ice cubes. Parents - don't put them in order!

Feel the water. Put a label with cold, cool and warm in front of the bowls. 

Now put the containers in order from coldest to warmest. 

If you have a thermometer, you could take the exact temperature of the water. Your parents will have to show you how their thermometer works. There are many different kinds of thermometers. 
The following temperatures are relative and approximate!
Hot - 26c +
Warm - 18-25c
Cool - 10-17c
Cold - 0-9c
Really Cold - Below 0c

Try it! Liquid > Solid > Liquid
You can try changing some things from solid to liquid. You could watch an ice cube melt. You can blast it with a hair dryer (i.e. heat). (Parents should do this!) You could also try it with coconut oil, if you have some. Some things are solid at room temperature (coconut oil). Some things are solid when they are cool (jello!). Some things are only solid when they freeze, and are liquid at room temperature (water or ice cream). Some things stay solid all the time (a rock). You usually have to warm things up to make them liquid, and then cool them down to make them solid.

Try it! Temperature Tracking
Track the temperature outside for a week. You can do this with or without a thermometer. You could even use the weather app on a phone :). Standing outside is the best way!
Take the temperature first thing in the morning (or step outside and feel the temperature). Is it HOT, WARM, COOL or COLD? Then take the temperature in the afternoon. Does it feel the same both times? Is it WARMER or COOLER in the afternoon? Why do you think it might feel different? I've made a recording sheet if you would like to print it - or just draw your own. 
Did today feel warmer or cooler than yesterday?


Try it! Hotter and Colder.
Play the Hotter and Colder game. 
Parent - Think of an object in the room. Tell your child that they have to find the "hot" object, and the only clue that you are going to give them is hotter or cooler. When they get closer to it they are "hotter". When they are farther way from the object they are "cooler". Remind them that the "hot" object is only pretend hot :) We have played this in class last year, and perhaps this year, so the SKs will definitely know it.