For the last two weeks I have been visiting classrooms and working with teachers to provide a lesson using the Smart Board and an IRT. What is an IRT you ask? It is a digital, infrared thermometer. It is a hand held device that can take Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature readings in just a few seconds. The lesson varies depending on the ability of the students and the grade level. The basic set up goes something like this:
We begin the discussion with the introduction of the IRT, how it works and how it compares to other types of thermometers. We then create a table on the Smart Board to record the data we are about to collect. We choose objects from around the room to take readings from items like the furnace, projector, lights, people, windows, etc. I always try to bring in additional items such as a tray of ice and a cold can of pop. Students take turns with the IRT collecting data for Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures. Depending on the amount of time alloted for the lesson and what the teacher would like to focus on, we also use an interactive thermometer on the Smart Board. Students practice converting a digital reading to show the temperature on a scale. The students have to move the "mercury/alcohol" level up to show the temperature we just collected using the IRT.
Students are encouraged to use critical thinking skills and hypothesize for what temperatures will be for each object. We ask for answers to questions such as: "If we take into consideration that the outside temperature is 60 F and the inside is 73 F, what do you think the temperature will be on the inside of the window?", or "If our average internal body temperature is 98.6 F what do you think the temperature of the outside of our hand would be? What factors would effect the temperature?" When we use the ice and cold pop we talk about what the freezing point is. I let the students see the ice tray. It is usually partially melted by now. They start guessing what the actual temperature will be and explain why. I have heard some great reasons! We take the readings and record them into our data table. The next object we measure is the cold can of pop. Students get to feel how cold the pop is and have to determine if it will be warmer or colder then the melting ice and by how many degrees. It is a lot of fun to hear and see how their minds work!
We have the students come up with the average internal body temperature and explain how they came up with their hypothesis. We also have the students predict what the reading will be in Celsius once they know what the Fahrenheit temperature is. The lesson can be adapted for multiple grade levels by varying the amount of information provided, how much we focus on Celsius temperatures and what the discussion questions are. A great extension activity is to use the data we recorded to make a graph.
Students seem to really have fun with this lesson! It helps their understanding of thermometer use and understanding temperatures along with providing practice in data collection and critical thinking skills. It is an easy way to integrate technology into a lesson. The IRT is small and easily portable. I have borrowed the IRT from a colleague of mine outside the district. As long as she does not need it back, I am happy to work with any teacher to provide this lesson to a class!
If you are interested in purchasing an IRT, check out the link below. The IRT pictured is very similar to the one I am using. They vary in price depending on how accurate they are and seem to start around $40. I know there are several other companies who sell them. This is just one example!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96451
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