Look for: agreement on the components of the system mod…

1.A.1 Develop an initial model to describe a phenomenon in which a substance changes temperature and identify structural parts of the system that slow down or speed up the temperature change (function).

agreement on the components of the system models (such as the walls, lids, straws, water inside, air inside between the water and the lid, and ice),

agreement that the structural components (parts of the cups) have some similarities (made of plastic) and differences (thin versus thick), and

disagreement about how the drink inside warms up (processes or mechanisms such as heat or light going into the cup and air or cold leaving the cup). These disagreements will motivate the need for further investigations.

Use students’ initial models for a pre-assessment to determine what initial ideas students have about the cup system.

This home learning opportunity will help students broaden their thinking to related phenomena beyond the initial two cups. Prompt students to think about other cups they use regularly at home and school, as well as related objects and systems at home that function in a similar way as the tested cups. This broadening to related phenomena will give students an opportunity to leverage their everyday, out-of-school experiences to augment their classroom learning. This should make the anchoring phenomenon more personally meaningful to each student.