Hot and cold — Physical education, 4–6 years
Temperature tells us how hot or cold something is, and warmth can change what materials do.
Idea: temperature
Temperature tells us whether something is hot, warm, cool or cold. We can compare a bowl from the fridge with a bowl left in the room, but we should never test very hot things with our skin.
Why we notice temperature
People needed to know whether food, water and rooms were safe and comfortable. Feeling warmth helped us choose a coat or wait for a drink to cool, although skin can sometimes be fooled by what it touched before.
Example: two cups
Put one cup of water in the fridge and leave another on the table for an hour. Ask which feels colder only with a safe check, or compare them with an adult’s thermometer: the fridge cup has the lower temperature.
Trap: warm is not always safe
A warm-looking object may still be hot enough to hurt, and a cold object may not be harmless either. It is reasonable to trust our eyes, but temperature cannot be judged safely by colour or appearance alone.
Use: choosing what to wear
Temperature helps us decide whether to wear a coat, a hat or lighter clothes. It also helps adults keep food cold or make sure a bath is comfortable, so everyday choices are safer and easier.
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