Ice & Snow
Know that water can be solid (ice and snow) or liquid, that snow is made of tiny frozen ice crystals, that icebergs are huge chunks of ice floating in the ocean with most of their bulk hidden underwater, and that ice floats because it is lighter than liquid water
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Ice & Snow means knowing ice and snow are solid water, ice floats, and most of an iceberg is hidden underwater. We will practise once together, then check a fresh example.”
Bring to the table
- Ice cube in a clear cup of water
- Paper to sketch iceberg (tip above, bulk below)
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Snow and ice are solid water. Ice floats on liquid water. Most of an iceberg is hidden underwater.
Optional challenge. For Ice & Snow, time how long a small cube takes to melt in warm vs cool water.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: solid/liquid; float; iceberg sketch; support used. This session samples ice facts, not mastery of cryosphere science.
Share and support
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Teaching approaches
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2 approaches
Ice & Snow means knowing ice and snow are solid water, ice floats, and most of an iceberg is hidden underwater. We will practise once together, then check a fresh example.
Spend about 12 minutes comparing ice and liquid water, watching ice float, then checking one fresh idea.
Explain solid water and why floating ice is mostly submerged using equal-volume comparison.
Explain solid water and why floating ice is mostly submerged using equal-volume comparison.
Family records and proof options
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Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Practice this concept
Start practiceIce & Snow practice
Sort solid and liquid water and explain why ice floats.
Free · no login · no ads · Practice answers and completion are not saved. Parent observation remains the lesson record.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
NASA Climate Kids · Practice link — not the full lesson
Weather and Climate
Before you open · source notes
Weather and Climate supports Ice & Snow. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.
Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public NASA Climate Kids page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
NASA Climate Kids. “Weather and Climate.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Explain that ice and snow are frozen water (solid) and that water can change between solid and liquid
- Describe an iceberg as a huge piece of ice floating in the ocean with most of it hidden below the surface
- State that ice floats because frozen water is lighter than liquid water
“Does your child know that icebergs are like floating ice mountains with most of the ice hidden under the water — and that the polar regions are covered in ice because it's so cold the water stays frozen?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Polar Regions
- Age range
- Ages 5–7