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Conduction, Convection, and Radiation Lesson Plan - A Complete Science Lesson Using the 5E Method of Instruction

By the end of this lesson about conduction, convection, and radiation, students will be able to investigate methods of thermal energy transfers, including conduction, convection, and radiation. Each of our lessons is designed using the 5E method of instruction to ensure maximum comprehension by the students. This well-thought out unit does the heavy lifting, giving teachers easy-to-implement, highly engaging lesson plans.

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This blog will walk you through each of the steps and activities of the Conduction, Convection, and Radiation 5E Lesson Plan.

ENGAGEMENT

Objective Introduction

At the beginning of the lesson, the class will do a Think-Pair-Share to discuss the objective.

Class Activity

Ask the students to give examples of when and where they have seen heat transferred. (beach, pot, body of water, etc.)

Student Activity

  1. Before showing the video, ask students to look for three terms in the video that describe how heat or thermal energy is transferred.
  2. Write the words on the whiteboard or point them out on the word wall. Hopefully, they can come up with conduction, convection, and radiation.
  3. Tell them they will be studying how heat is transferred and they will be able to give specific examples of conduction, convection, and radiation.

    You can also set up a demonstration related to heat transfer and discuss it as a class. Ex. Heat some colored water on a hot plate (conduction). Add some macaroni (convection). Feel the heat radiate from the beaker (radiation).
Text reading; “Investigate methods of thermal energy transfers including conduction, convection, and radiation."

The teacher will then help to clear up any misconceptions their students may have about conduction, convection, and radiation. A common but major misconception, for example, is that students don’t realize there are different types of thermal energy transfers.

Estimated Class Time for the Engagement: 20-30 minutes

EXPLORATION

With nine stations in total, you can introduce conduction, convection, and radiation to your middle school students in a variety of ways! Four of these stations are considered input stations where students will learn new information about conduction, convection, and radiation; and four of the stations are output stations where students will be demonstrating their mastery of the lesson's material. A bonus station offers challenges for your early finishers and independent learners. You can read more about how I set up the station labs here.

Watch It!

At this station, students will be watching a short video explaining conduction, convection, and radiation. Students will then answer questions related to the video and record their answers on their lab station sheet. For example: What is heat? After watching the examples in the video of radiation, list two other examples that you come up with on your own. Explain what convection is and provide an example.

Read It!

This station will provide students with a one-page reading about sunscreen and radiation. There are four follow-up questions that the students will answer to demonstrate their comprehension of the reading material.

Explore It!

Students will be working in pairs to better understand conduction, convection, and radiation. In this station, students interact with the three different types of heat transfer. Students will follow the steps and record their observations on their lab sheet.

Research It!

The research station will allow students to explore an interactive web page that helps them to understand conduction, convection, and radiation. Students will be instructed to complete a few tasks and record answers on their lab sheets.

Organize It!

Students at this station will match the sets of cards. Cards will describe the types of heat transfer. Students will need to identify whether the heat transfer is either conduction, convection, or radiation. Once students have completed their organization, the teacher will check their understanding.

Illustrate It!

Your visual students will love this station. Students are to draw pictures that demonstrate their knowledge of conduction, convection, and radiation.

Illustrate It! Station Instructions. Each member of the group will draw a quick sketch on the lab sheet that shows they understand the concept being taught. Use the colored pencils and markers that are provided. The directions for the sketch are provided on the task card at the table. Use the colored pencils to draw 3 different pictures that illustrate the concept of convection, conduction, and radiation. Be sure to include labels for each of your images and a brief summary of what each term means.

Write It!

Students who can answer open-ended questions about the lab truly understand the concepts that are being taught. At this station, the students will be answering three task cards: Explain the difference between conduction, convection, and radiation. Explain what is happening in this diagram. Also, describe what heat transfer process is taking place. Explain why it’s much colder at the bottom of a pool than at the top. Also, describe what heat transfer process(es) are taking place.

Assess It!

The Assess It station is where students will go to prove mastery over the concepts they learned in the lab. The questions are set up in a standardized format with multiple choice answers. Some questions include: Which statement is true about heat transfer? Which situation best represents conduction? Which situation best represents convection? What is heat transfer principle is happening in the image on the card?

A screenshot of two multiple-choice Assess it! questions. The first asks students to identify a situation which best represents convection. The second asks students to complete five sentences using vocabulary words from the Read It section.

Challenge It! - Bonus Station

Early finishers and advanced students will love the extension activities in this station. Four activity choices offer them ways to expand their learning through mini-games and mini-projects.

Estimated Class Time for the Exploration: One or two 45-minute class periods

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EXPLANATION

The explanation activities will become much more engaging for your class once they’ve completed the exploration station lab. During the explanation piece of the lesson, the teacher will be clearing up any misconceptions their students may have about conduction, convection, and radiation with a variety of materials. These materials include on-level and modified versions of the interactive presentation (may be used individually or projected), anchor charts, and paper or digital interactive notebook activities. If you have students that need modified notes, the 5E lessons come equipped to help give every student access to the lesson.

A PowerPoint slide. Its text reads; "Quick Action: INB. Read the description on the left column. Choose the word that best matches the description. Click on your answer choice and drag it off to the side. If you are correct you will reveal a checkmark. If you are incorrect, it will reveal an X and you should try again.". To this text's right is a spreadtable containing various sensations and listing conduction, convection, and radiation next to each example.
A photo of the paper INB, cut out and glued into a notebook. This INB is triangular, folded oddly, and contains information about the three forms of radiation.

Interactive notebook samples: Above-left is a digital INB activity slide; above-right is an example of the paper INB activities.

The students will also be interacting with their journals while taking notes from the PowerPoint. If you have students that need modified notes, the 5E lessons come equipped to help give every student access to the lesson.

Estimated Class Time for the Exploration: Two or three 45-minute class periods

ELABORATION

The elaboration section of the 5E method of instruction gives students choices that allow them to prove they’ve mastered the concepts behind the lesson. When students are given a choice, they’re much more enthusiastic and invested in the project than they are when their teachers choose their projects for them. There are a total of nine choices to demonstrate understanding of conduction, convection, and radiation. A separate set of choices that offer more teacher support are also available for students that need them. Rubrics guide students to doing their best work and assist in grading.

The top section of the Student Choice Project options. The displayed options read "Create a Game" and "Make a puzzle". Each goes into more detail about how the project will help students learn.

Estimated Class Time for the Elaboration: Two or three 45-minute class periods (can also be used as an at-home project)

EVALUATION

The final piece of the 5E model is to evaluate your students' comprehension. Included in every 5E lesson is a homework assignment, assessment, and modified assessment. Research has shown that homework needs to be meaningful and applicable to real-world activities in order to be effective. When possible, I like to give open-ended assessments to truly gauge the student’s comprehension.

Estimated Class Time for the Elaboration: One 45-minute class period

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