Melting ice experiments in kindergarten! After a shared reading activity, we how these students experimented with melting ice! FREE FILE TOO!

Incorporate Reading, Writing, and Inquiry to Get More Teaching in Your Day

I get it. A kindergarten classroom is BUSY. The expectations feel higher, the clock feels faster, and somehow we’re supposed to fit everything in. But what if you could blend reading, writing, and inquiry together in one lesson? (PSST… and actually have fun doing it!) Let me show you how!

Recently, I was working with students in a lovely kindergarten classroom, and my goal was ambitious. I wanted to fit in a shared reading lesson, a writing lesson, and a hands-on science exploration. Oh and I only had about 45 minutes. Deep breath. Guess what? It worked. And it was surprisingly simple.

Even better? This lesson relied on simple supplies, the best materials you already have on hand, and clear step-by-step instructions that kept everything moving smoothly.

Here was the plan:

1. Conduct a shared reading activity where students used word attack strategies to guess a hidden word. We briefly discussed those strategies as we worked our way through the text.
2. Build a snowman out of ice (instant engagement).
3. Gather for an interactive writing lesson to explore and record the steps we took to build the snowman.
4. Finish with a science investigation, exploring the effects of different solutions on ice.

Reading. Writing. Science. Inquiry. All wrapped up in one joyful, meaningful lesson using simple supplies and intentional teaching moves. This is the kind of teaching that makes the day fly by… and sticks with kids long after cleanup time.

Shared Reading 

I love using the Let’s Find Out Magazine for shared reading.  

Before the lesson, I went through the text and covered a few key words with a Post-it note. Since this book follows a predictable text pattern and the final words on each line rhyme, that very first mystery word was a cinch!

The final page of the text switches up the pattern, so those covered words were a bit trickier. And honestly? That’s where the real learning happens.

If you’re not familiar with this activity, here’s how it works: students try to guess the word that’s been covered. For this particular word, I heard guesses like “Goodbye,” “See you,” and even “Oh no!” We paused to talk about the strategies good readers use when they come to a word they don’t know looking closely at the picture, thinking about what would make sense in the story, and listening to the sentence structure.

And of course, when they finally uncovered the word and saw that it really was “Goodbye,” the room absolutely erupted in squeals of delight. Those moments of joyful discovery are the best and they stick!

For the second word, students offered guesses like year, time, and winter. When I slowly peeled back the sticky note and revealed the “y,” they erupted with cheers “YEAR!!!”

I asked them how they knew so quickly, and their answer made my teacher heart so happy. They told me they “got their mouth ready for the first sound.” That moment was such a powerful reminder that even our youngest readers are actively using phonics strategies and thinking like real readers.

During shared reading, I explicitly teach word attack strategies. These strategies are introduced and practiced together while we’re all working with the same shared text, which gives students a safe space to try them out and talk through their thinking.

Then, when students come to my small group, I simply remind them of the word attack strategies we’ve already learned and encourage them to use them whenever they come to a word they don’t know. It’s so exciting to see those strategies transfer… suddenly they’re not stuck anymore, they’re problem-solving like real readers!

The Snowman

Before the lesson, I filled balloons with water and placed them in my deep-freeze at home. For each set of partners, I prepared one larger balloon and one smaller balloon, which worked perfectly for building our icy snowmen and set the stage for some serious excitement once the balloons came out!.

When we finished the shared reading, it was time to build our snowman and the excitement was REAL.

Students carefully cut and peeled the balloon away from the ice. Then they used salt (sodium chloride) to melt the two ice balls together, watching closely as science did its thing right before their eyes.

Now… do you see this sad, slumpy snowman?  Let me tell you what went wrong.

When I tested this activity a week ahead of time, I filled two balloons with water and placed them directly on a freezer shelf. Once frozen, they had a nice, semi-flat surface and stacked perfectly. Teacher win.

But when I made the class set, I filled the balloons with water, put them in a bag, and then placed the bag in the freezer. Big mistake. They froze into the lumpiest, wonkiest shapes like old pillows. GAH!

HINT: Freeze the balloons on a flat surface (not in a bag) and give them a full 48 hours to freeze solid. Your snowmen and your sanity… will thank you.

No worries… we made a nice bed for our snowmen to sit on.  Paper towels to the rescue. (Pretend you meant to do that!)

Once the head was on and the ice and reformed.  This takes a few minutes… so…

Interactive Writing

I love interactive writing! So while we were waiting for Mr. Snowman to get his head on straight, we squeezed in a quick mini-lesson.

I drew three little boxes on the board and asked students to help me remember the steps we took to build our snowman. As they talked it through, I sketched a simple picture in each box to match the steps. Instant engagement.

Next, we worked together to create our first sentence. We decided on:
“First, we opened the balloon.”

We repeated the sentence several times using different voices… monster, mouse, opera singer… you name it! Then we counted the words in the sentence together. This playful repetition keeps students focused while reinforcing sentence structure, sequencing, and oral language in such a fun, low-pressure way.

I drew a line for each word and invited a few friends to share the pen.

Once we were done with our shared writing, the students completed their own writing.

Give That Man a FACE!

We were finally ready to decorate our snowman and this might have been everyone’s favorite part!

I used different materials… a hole punch to create little black dots from construction paper for the eyes and mouth, and then gave each student a piece of orange construction paper so they could cut out a carrot-shaped nose. Simple materials, big excitement! Watching their snowmen come to life was absolutely priceless.

I cut up one washcloth to make a class set of scarfs.

TA DA! He has no idea what is about to happen!

A few snowmen participated in the next part of our lessons.

Melting Ice Experiments

Next, I decided it was time to move our little snowmen over to the sink and start a simple science experiment.

We talked about how the salt melted the ice just enough to help fuse the two ice balls together. I explained that liquid water freezes at 32 degrees, but when salt is added, the freezing point of water changes. Saltwater needs to be colder to freeze, which is why the ice started to melt. Big science words… made kindergarten-friendly!

To keep the exploration going, I brought a few other liquids with me so we could compare and observe what happened when different substances were added to the ice… it’s melt time. Cue the curiosity, predictions, and lots of “Ooooh!” moments.

We tested salt water, vinegar, and alcohol (I was asked if it was the alcohol that adults drink… um… no… it was rubbing alcohol… great question!)

Melting Ice Observations

Then we observed!

As a result of the experiment, the alcohol has a lowered freezing point, so the ice melt fastest.

Hindsight is 20/20

All in all, this ice experiment went really well… however, here are a few things I learned that you might want to try when you do it in your own classroom:

1.  Put the ice in a solid bowl or plastic container.  Can you guess what happened to the paper bowl when I put the alcohol in it?  Not… good!  My ice science experiment quickly turned into my melting bowl experiment…lol!
2. For faster results, you may want to submerge the snowmen in their liquid.

Give These Ice Melting Experiments a Try!

You can download the ice melting experiments recording pages by entering your email in the box below. The files will be sent directly to your inbox, so you’ll be ready to try this hands-on science activity with confidence  and sturdier bowls.

This article originally appeared on Scholastic’s Top Teacher Blog.

Looking for other snowmen ideas?

• Snowman at Night (Free Lesson Too!)
• The Snowy Day Activities and Lesson Plans for Kindergarten & First Grade (Free File)