Analysis

To analyze the 5e activity in regards to the 3 legs of science it was important to know
what the 3 legs of science are. Weinburgh (2003) states The three legs on which science
instruction rests are the content of science, process of science, and the nature of science. Each
leg performs its own function and need not be competitive with the others. Rather, the legs
should work together to provide the balance (p. 29). To look further into my particular
lesson, it is important to look at each leg.
Content
The content of a science lesson tells us what concepts and ideas the student needs to
understand. Weinburgh (2003) explains that when content is delivered solely in the form of
lectures or readings, it is often not learned at all or is learned in a very superficial way (p. 29). I
knew going into this lesson that a lecture would not be conducive to learning. Throughout this
semester I have strived to provide hands-on, minds-on learning in every subject that I have
presented lessons. There is always a way to get students involved.
The unit my students were studying was part of a physical science unit on matter, with
my particular lesson being on what makes an object sink or float. This is a very common lesson
among the primary grades, but I wanted to make sure to deliver mine while keeping the 5es in
mind. Students should be able to come away from this lesson with an idea of why objects sink or
float, what density is, and the ability to compare characteristics of different objects. This content
is age and grade level appropriate. When studying matter, students learned about solids, liquids,
and gases. This particular lesson focused on solids and their characteristics. The idea of density
is a hard one for children, and sometimes adults, to master. My hope for this lesson was that

students would have a broad understanding of density and how it relates to objects sinking or
floating.
I followed both state and LPS standards when writing and presenting this plan. LPS
provided material for this unit, specifically for second graders. Several state standards were met
with this particular lesson. SC2.2.1 says students will observe and describe properties of objects
and their behavior. SC2.2.1.a says students will observe physical properties of objects (freezing
and melting, sinking and floating, color, size, texture, shape, and weight. LPS standards also add
2.2.3 saying the student will be able to describe the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. In this
lesson students were asked to explore a set of objects and make predictions about whether that
object would sink or float. At the end of the lesson, after testing the objects, students discussed
the properties of the objects and compared the objects to each other. Discussing student
predictions and results at the end of the lesson helped students decipher what made objects sink
or float. I introduced the word density to them, though Im not sure I did that successfully. This
will be discussed further.
Process Skills
Weinburgh (2003) discusses process skills, saying In order to draw conclusions about
natural phenomenon, elementary children in the primary grades must be good at the basic skills
of observing, recording, communicating, classifying, measuring, inferring, and predicting (p.
29). Students used almost all of these skills in this lesson. I started by asking the student if the
objects laid out were solids, liquids, or gases. The students correctly classified the objects as
solids. Each student then observed and explored the objects before they were tested. They first
recorded predictions about whether each object would sink or float, and later recorded the actual
result for each object. Students communicated with each other, in whole class discussion for the

most part, about these objects, their characteristics, and why they believed they would sink or
float. Before our discussion on density, students inferred why certain objects sank or floated. I
did not include the skill of measuring anywhere in this lesson, though it might have been a good
idea. I think providing tape measures and scales could have added an interesting dynamic to the
activity, especially because one of the biggest misconceptions is that a heavy item sinks and a
light item floats.
Nature of Science
Children need to understand that science is a human endeavor and that people of all
ages, races, sexes, and nationalities engage in this enterprise. They also need to know that
science is based on evidence not faith or logic (Weinburgh, 2003, p. 29). I think this is a great
activity to demonstrate the nature of science to children. Initially I had a hard time thinking of
why second graders needed to know anything about density. I changed my thinking to why
students need to know about sinking and floating. This idea is all around children, from bath and
pool toys to fishing and boats. I think by discussing what we did in the engage section, students
were able to see how this activity applies to their life. It is important to constantly point out
science. Science really is happening all around us all the time, though people dont often think
about it. By pointing this out to students, they will begin to learn all the things that science is. In
the sink or float activity, logic might tell a person that a pumpkin would sink due to its weight,
however, pumpkins actually float. This goes to what Weinburgh stated. Science is based on
evidence, not logic or faith.