Sunday, November 9, 2014

Sink or Float~ Science Fun

Good morning!
Did you know that this is my first year teaching science in 15 years?
And I want to be honest.   It. Is. HARD.
There's a reason I taught 2 Social Studies instead of my own Science! I love Social Studies. I enjoy Science but I don't really understand it. My brain doesn't think that way!
Thank God I have such a wonderful grade level team. They help as much as they can but it is still HARD!
Anywho~
Recently, we studied the physical properties of matter.
We began our unit by giving groups of students a bag of items. The students studied, discussed, and predicted which items would sink or float. Once we tested all of the items, the students were challenged to make an object float that did not float before. I was surprised by the variety of ways students got their objects to float.

The next day, I gave the students half a stick of clay. They worked with a partner to design and make a boat that could float. Once their boat was ready, they began adding teddy bear counters. The students kept adjusting their design to hold more teddy bears. At the end of this experiment, we debriefed on the strategies that worked. It was amazing fun!


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