Work unit 4

Work unit 4
The light of a lamp: temperatures at different distances
Sequence:
The lesson develops in four parts
1. Presentation of the reading. Alien describes its stellar system.
2. Repeated aloud reading by every child of the text on which the exercises were going to be
performed.
3. Preparation of the experiments.
4. New games.
Software Materials: (a copy for each child and therefore for each computer)
Reading 4 (to subdue to the software in use)
Questionnaire 4 (to subdue to the software in use)
Various materials:
prehensile lamp
rule
thermometers
Sheet with anagrams: a copy for each child
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Process:
Reading of the text and discussion: the purpose of the reading is to introduce the children to
the concept that, if you set yourself at different distances from a source of heat, the measured
temperature depends on the distance.
Working and exercising on Lectra after a reading in aloud voice (Reading 4 and Questionnaire
4).
Preparation and execution of the experiments. We switch on the lamp and we measure the
temperature at different distances from the lamp. The aim of this experiment is to verify the
difference of temperature.
Difficulties:
In the carrying out this experiment we noticed some difficulties,
despite it being experimented many times previously. The sensitivity
of the thermometers resulted scarce, the hands of the children too
"warm" to be able to appreciate variations at distances differing
between 20 and 40 cm. Therefore, we decided to reproduce the
experience moving far away from the lamp. At this point, we had to
cool the thermometer each time and measure the temperature after
an equal and previously fixed period of time.
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Measurements of the temperature at different distances and with lamps of different kind and different power.
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The children collected the data and after they tabulated them. Writing the number
wasn’t so simple; the successive tabulation on the computer resulted easier.
We noticed that the presence of the letter written by Alien resulted extremely important; a
game of comparison between our planet and the one of our imaginary fellow traveller was
inserted and the children found it extremely funny. On account of the letters to Alien the
children started to wonder if they would ever meet this character that, as they said: “was an
invention of Angela who is the right person to invent things: she invented has invented the
captain of the spaceship and now she invents also this E.T.!”
The game revealed itself extremely entertaining also if there was no evidence of the real
existence of this character.
Obstacle: introducing the subject in this way we realized having
strengthened an idea that would have consequences during the
treatment of the seasons (it isn’t true that summer is due to a smaller
distance between the Earth and the Sun!)
Therefore, we decided to prolong the experiment and take a
measurement of the temperature by varying the angle between the
lamp and the plan on which the temperature is measured. The subject
resulted particularly delicate and images and photos supported it in
order to study again, in another moment, what happened.
At this point, we introduced two new games: 1. searching the hidden words. 2. join the dots.
Game 1 was introduced in order not to forget the words already learned. The children had to
find words inside the one written on top.
The game appeared longer than we had foreseen, due to the children’s difficulties in writing
and their desire to find all the written words. Consequently, we proposed the exercise again in
the following lesson as well.
Game 2 is a complication of the previous unit game, its purpose to make the children
recognize the written numbers. Also this game was introduced at the beginning of the
following lesson in order to let the children reason again on the game itself.
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Reading 4
Ciao a tutti!!!
Come state?? Io bene. Stavolta vi vorrei raccontare un po’ di dove si trova Surmo
rispetto alla nostra stella.
Il nostro sistema stellare è costituito da nove pianeti. Surmo è il terzo pianeta a partire
da Nor ed è il pianeta più grande. Ha sei satelliti che gli ruotano attorno. So che il
vostro pianeta, la Terra, ha solo un satellite cioè la Luna. Potete immaginare come sono
luminose le notti quando vediamo tutti i satelliti contemporaneamente illuminati!
Nor è più grande del vostro Sole, almeno così ci dicono i nostri astronomi e da noi è
molto più caldo che da voi.
Hello everybody!!!
How are you? I’m fine. This time I’d like to tell you about the position of Surmo in
comparison to our star.
Our stellar system is compounded of nine planets. Surmo is the third planet beginning from
Nor and it is the bigger planet. It has six satellites that rotate around him. I know that your
planet, the Earth, has only a satellite that is the Moon. You can imagine how bright nights are
when we see all the satellites lightened at the same time!
Nor is bigger than your Sun, or, at least, that is what our astronomers say and here it is really
hotter than on the Earth.
Risky words: sistema stellare (stellar system), satellite (satellite), immaginare (imagine),
pianeta (planet), illuminati (illuminated).
Questionnaire 4
The satellites of Surmo are
• one
• six
• two
In its stellar system Surmo occupies
• the same position as the Earth in comparison to the Sun
• it is the second planet beginning from Nor
• it is the fifth planet beginning from Nor
How many are the planets of the system of Nor?
• Three
• Five
• Nine
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Hidden words
In the word atmosfera (atmosphere) is contained another word. The hidden word indicate
large amount of trees.
Atmosfera (atmosphere)
Foresta (forest), festa (party), sfera (sphere), show (mostra), mesta (sad)
In the word ossigeno (oxygen) there are many words hidden. Which can you find?
Ossigeno (oxygen)
Segno (sign), segni (signs), osso (bone), gesso (chalk), gessi (chalks)
Join the dots
Join the dots from 1 to 10. What have you found?
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