Students investigate, “How can we keep things hot or cold when the world around them is trying to change them?” Beginning with a tasting-free Cold Cup Mystery Tour, teams plan fair tests, measure temperature change, model particle collisions, compare cup materials and structures, and explore safe chemical processes that absorb or release thermal energy. Two-thirds of the way through the unit, teams present a revised cup model and explain how evidence changed their thinking, then apply their learning to a self-selected insulation problem and create an original solution. Students use testing, critique, and Progress Tracker reflections to refine their work before presenting their final prototypes, labeled diagrams, design changes, and temperature evidence at the Cool Cup Convention.

Students will investigate how material type, mass, and single- versus double-wall structures affect temperature change by planning fair tests that vary one feature at a time. They will use temperature data and particle models to explain thermal energy transfer and examine how teacher-approved chemical hot or cold packs absorb or release energy. After presenting and revising an insulated cup system using evidence, teams will apply their learning to creatively design, test, and improve a solution for another real-world insulation problem. Students will track findings, setbacks, and academic and social-emotional goals in the Progress Tracker, then clearly present their final prototypes, data, and design decisions at the Cool Cup Convention.

Students will create fair-test plans, temperature tables and graphs, particle models, and a teacher-approved device that safely releases or absorbs thermal energy through a chemical process. About two-thirds through the unit, teams will present a revised cup system with a prototype, labeled diagram, and data explaining how evidence changed their thinking. Teams will then choose a new insulation problem, such as protective clothing or a temperature-controlled container, and creatively design, test, and improve a solution. At the Cool Cup Convention, teams will present their final cup prototype, investigation poster, and new insulation design to teachers and grade-level peers.

Begin with a tasting-free Cold Cup Mystery Tour using equal amounts of cold water in single-wall cups, double-wall cups, and cups with lids or straws. Teams examine each structure, measure temperature changes over time, and sketch where energy transfers as they consider, “How can we keep things hot or cold when the world around them is trying to change them?” At the final station, introduce several real-world insulation challenges and invite teams to predict creative devices they might design, test, and present later. Students record an initial discovery, question, academic goal, and social or emotional goal in their Progress Tracker.

Host a Cool Cup Convention where teams connect their revised cup prototype to a creative solution for another insulation problem, such as protective clothing, a lunch container, or an animal shelter. Teams display both designs, temperature data, labeled diagrams, test results, and revisions showing how materials, layers, and trapped air reduce thermal energy transfer. Invited teachers and grade-level peers ask questions and leave “evidence noticed” and “question to consider” cards. Teams present how evidence from cup investigations informed their final design, then complete a Progress Tracker reflection on academic learning and social-emotional growth.