Write each student's name on a plastic bowl and place it on a tray. Pass the trays and bowls out to each student. Show the students your crushed-ice snowman model and show them how you packed the ice for the body and head with your hands, then added the eyes, nose, mouth, arms and scarf. Add three cups of crushed ice to each child's tray and let them begin making their snowmen. Discuss whether the snow is hot or cold, smooth or rough.
Pass out the felt eyes, noses, mouths and scarves and the twig arms to each student. Point out where you put these items on your snowman, then ask them to decorate their snowmen. Give help to your students when needed. Ask the students to place their snowmen into the bowls with their names on them when they are done.
Ask the students, "What do you predict will happen to the snowman if we put it outside in the sun?" Write their predictions on the board, e.g. "Nothing will happen," or "The snowman will melt." Demonstrate to your class how to carefully carry their snowmen in their bowls, then take the class outside. Place your bowl in a quiet place in the sun and ask your students to place their bowls carefully in the same area. Tell your students that the class will come back outside in an hour to observe what is happening to the snowmen.
Take your class inside and demonstrate for them how to fold a page of their science journal sideways into three equal sections. Write "Snowman Experiment" on the board and tell your students to write this title at the top of their journal page. Write the time on the board that you took the snowmen outside. Tell your students to write this time in the first folded section of the journal page and draw a picture of how their snowmen looked using their crayons.
Observe the snowmen every hour and observe the changes. (Change to 30-minute visits if the snowmen look like they will melt in less than two hours.) Ask the students to write down the time and draw a picture of the changes in their snowmen after each observation. Ask your students to bring the snowmen inside when they have melted completely. Have them write down the time and draw their final picture in the journal.
Read the earlier predictions on the board and let your students decide which prediction was correct. Write the word "Results" on the board and explain to the students what it means, then have them write the word and the correct prediction at the bottom of their science journal entries.