Suggested sequence: 70 minutes, split across sessions as needed. Use this introduction within your wider learning plan. Print sheets to record learner work; this page does not save learner responses.
Lesson plan
Materials
Two identical stable heat-safe plastic containers; equal volumes of comfortably warm adult-prepared water; two suitable non-glass digital thermometers; dry fabric sleeve; timer; tray; towel; paper or graph paper.
Safety
The adult checks water temperature and does all pouring. Use comfortably warm water, never boiling water, flames or a microwave experiment. Keep containers stable, probes suitable for water, cables clear and the workspace dry. Empty containers and clean up after testing.
Teaching Sequence
| Find out first | 5 minutes | Predict which covering will slow cooling and ask whether an insulator can generate heat. |
|---|---|---|
| Read the story | 15 minutes | Read pages 1–20 and compare the predictions, method and conclusions. |
| Teach explicitly | 10 minutes | Use a real teacher-drawn diagram to distinguish three transfer processes. Explain temperature versus thermal energy and heat transfer. |
| Investigate and practise | 25 minutes | Compare the two containers at equal intervals using the method below. Include setup time and initial readings. |
| Review and extend | 15 minutes | Graph both series and discuss a source of uncertainty. Repeat in a later session before making a stronger general claim. |
Timing is a suggested introductory sequence, not a legally required duration. Split it across sessions as needed.
Story teaching stops
Open a page below, then use Lesson & Guide in the book to return here.
Page 03 — Predictions and the test question
Page 10 — Starting temperatures and controls
Educator guide
Primary Subject
Science
Secondary Connections
Measurement, line graphs, variables and explanatory writing
Curriculum Connection
Alberta’s existing Science Grades 7–9 Program of Studies includes Grade 7 Unit C Heat and Temperature. This guide introduces heat transfer and develops an insulation comparison within that unit. The Alberta science page distinguishes this existing program from draft 7–9 content; draft headings are not treated as implemented requirements.
Scope
Introduced: thermal energy, temperature and conduction, convection and radiation. Developed and assessed: a cooling comparison, equal timing, graphs and evidence-based conclusions. Still needed: particle explanations, changes of state, resource use and the rest of the chosen unit outcomes.
Prerequisites
Read suitable thermometers in degrees Celsius; plot time and temperature; distinguish a measured quantity from an explanation. Heat is energy transferred because of a temperature difference. A thermometer measures temperature, not total thermal energy.
Publisher Learning Objectives
1. Distinguish temperature from heat transfer and give an example of a transfer process.
2. Compare cooling with and without insulation while controlling relevant conditions.
3. Interpret a graph and state a limitation without claiming the insulation creates heat.
Vocabulary
Thermal energy: internal energy associated with microscopic particle motion and interactions. Temperature: a measure related to average particle motion. Conduction: transfer through microscopic interactions without bulk flow. Convection: transfer associated with fluid movement. Radiation: transfer by electromagnetic waves. Insulation: material or arrangement that slows heat transfer.
Educator discussion questions and answer guidance
1. What causes energy to transfer?
Answer guidance: A temperature difference drives net heat transfer from the warmer system towards cooler surroundings in this situation.
2. What made the comparison fair?
Answer guidance: Identical containers, equal water volumes, similar initial temperatures, the same room and timing, comparable probe positions and one covering change.
3. What uncertainty remains?
Answer guidance: Thermometer disagreement, unequal starting temperatures, evaporation, changing room conditions and the limited number of trials are reasonable examples.
Illustrative interpretation only: “If the sleeved container shows a smaller temperature drop in repeated trials, that supports slower cooling in this setup. A small difference may be comparable to thermometer disagreement. The sleeve slows transfer; it does not produce thermal energy.” Results must come from the learner’s measurements.
Adaptations And Extension
Provide a prepared graph grid and allow oral explanations. Extend by comparing a second covering in a separate paired test. Use radiation and convection diagrams as models; the cooling test alone does not isolate every transfer mechanism.
Next Lesson
Develop particle models, changes of state and energy-resource applications, and check exact outcomes in the current program before recording full unit coverage.
Canadian Home Education Use
Canada has provincial and territorial home-education frameworks rather than one national required subject list. These pilots retain the report’s Alberta-first planning approach. Families elsewhere can reuse the stories while matching the guides to their own approved or parent-selected plan and local requirements. In Alberta, parents choose resources consistent with the Home Education Regulation and are responsible for planning and evaluating the program. Use these dated work samples within that wider plan.
Curriculum And Home Education References
Government of Alberta. Existing Science Grades 7 8 9 Program of Studies updated 2009 and 2014. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/5360861-updated-2009-2014
Government of Alberta. Current and draft science program distinction. https://www.alberta.ca/curriculum-science
Government of Alberta. Home education. https://www.alberta.ca/home-education
Connection checked October 2 2026. Exact official outcome identifiers must be verified for the chosen pathway before any claim of complete alignment.
Activity sheets
Main Activity
Does a fabric sleeve slow cooling
Materials
Two identical stable heat-safe plastic containers; equal volumes of comfortably warm adult-prepared water; two suitable non-glass digital thermometers; dry fabric sleeve; timer; tray; towel; paper or graph paper.
Safety
The adult checks water temperature and does all pouring. Use comfortably warm water, never boiling water, flames or a microwave experiment. Keep containers stable, probes suitable for water, cables clear and the workspace dry. Empty containers and clean up after testing.
Method
1. Place both containers in the same room on one tray. Fit a dry fabric sleeve around one container, keeping its top opening and thermometer position comparable to the bare one. Record the sleeve material.
2. Add equal water volumes from the same adult-prepared batch. Record both actual starting temperatures. Check the two thermometers together in the same water first and note any disagreement.
3. Record temperature at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 minutes. Do not stir, move or handle one container differently. Record room conditions and any spill or probe movement.
4. Plot time in minutes against temperature in degrees Celsius for both containers. Compare changes from each measured start and identify uncertainty. Repeat the paired test in another session if the readings do not clearly separate.
Learner recording sheet
Name: ________________________ Date: ______________
Our prediction and reason
Sleeve material and water volume
Conditions we keep the same
Thermometer comparison and starting temperatures
Room conditions and setup notes
| Time in minutes | Bare container °C | Sleeved container °C | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 2 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 4 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 6 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 8 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 10 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Draw a graph: time (minutes) on the horizontal axis, temperature (°C) on the vertical axis; label both container series
Our cooling comparison and evidence
One limitation or question for another test
Assessment & progress
Evidence
Keep dated predictions, the method, actual measurements, both plotted series and a short conclusion with one limitation. Record adult help and any changes during the test.
Success Criteria
Look for correctly labelled axes and units, complete records, sensible control of variables and a conclusion consistent with the graph. Revisit the explanation if the learner confuses heat with temperature or says insulation creates heat.
Parent Progress Record
Portfolio record: learner name or initials; date; province or territory; chosen home-education pathway; parent-selected outcome; curriculum version if used; task evidence; assistance given; assessment judgement; next teaching step. Topic connections in these pilots are not exact official outcome-code mappings. Parents using provincial outcomes should add the verified identifiers from the chosen current program before recording full coverage.
Learner / date
Province or territory / home-education pathway
Selected outcome and curriculum version
Evidence retained
Assistance provided
Judgement: Developing / Secure for this task / Applying
Next teaching step