Buoyancy- Grade 2 Science

Class time [40 minutes]

GENERAL OUTCOMES

Students will:
23 Construct, with guidance, an object that achieves a given purpose, using materials that are
provided.
Note: Construction tasks will involve building objects that float and are stable in water.
Problem Solving through Technology

SPECIFIC OUTCOMES
Students will:

2. Alter or add to a floating object so that it will sink, and alter or add to a non floating
object so that it will float.

OTHER OUTCOMES
finding ways of making and doing things to meet a given need, using available materials
asking questions, proposing ideas, observing, experimenting, and interpreting the evidence that
is gathered
3. Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits:
curiosity
confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct study
inventiveness
perseverance: staying with an investigation over a sustained period of time
appreciation of the value of experience and careful observation
a willingness to work with others and to consider their ideas
a sense of responsibility for actions taken
respect for living things and environments, and commitment for their care.

CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Art. Component 10:D. Knowledge gained from study or experimentation can be recorded
visually.
Language Arts 3.2 Select and Process. Evaluate Sources: recognize when information answers
the questions asked.

NUMERACY/LITERACY; ENGAGED/ETHICAL/ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDENT

Identify and solve complex problems

Think critically
Demonstrate good communication skills and the ability to work cooperatively with others
 KAGAN STRATEGIES/INSTRUCTIONAL INTELLIGENCES

Think, pair, share

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES/LEARNING STYLES

Tactile/ kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Verbal

Visual
Auditory

BLOOMS TAXONOMY GUIDING QUESTIONS

How does the shape of the playdough affect whether it floats or sinks in the water?
Besides the shape of an object, what else helps to determine whether or not something floats?
What else might float on the water and what might make it buoyant?

MATERIALS/MANIPULATIVES

Playdough
Basins (for water)
Jugs (for filling basins)
Buoyancy Workbooklet

TEACHER ACTIVITIES
Anticipatory Set (Hook)
At each corner of the classroom the teacher will have set up basins of water. The teacher will
have pod groups gather around each basin. Each pod will be given a ball of playdough and
instructed to drop it in the water. The playdough will not float. The teacher will then ask each
pod to find a way to make the playdough float. Each student will take a pencil and paper to the
buoyancy station. Draw a picture of the playdough in a shape that sinks. Draw a picture of the
playdough in a shape that floats. NOTE: When introducing to the students dont give too much
instruction. Just tell them to get the playdough to float in the water.
[ 10 min]

Practice/Development

Topic B: Buoyancy and Boats

Overview
Students explore what sinks and what floats, and what makes an effective watercraft. Through
building and testing a variety of floating objects, students learn the importance of selecting
 appropriate materials and the importance of workmanship in shaping, positioning, fitting and
waterproofing their constructions, so they will do the intended job. Along the way, students learn
about balance and stability and about different methods that can be used in propelling a
watercraft. The concept of density is informally developed in this topic.

http://youtu.be/nMlXU97E-uQ
Buoyancy explained in a video for kids

Think, Pair, Share

Workbooks: using stills from the video, have the students answer questions about the video.
Have pairs of students go over their answers together. The teacher will walk around the
classroom observing the students and asking questions about their work.
After 3 to 5 minutes the teacher will get the students attention. At this point the teacher will
address any difficulties the students have with the questions by inviting other students to explain
the problem areas to their peers.

Send students back to water tubs with instructions to draw a picture of the shape of the play
dough when it floats and a picture of the shape of playdough when it sinks.

[20 min]

Check for Understanding

The teacher will walk around the classroom observing the students and asking questions
about their work, if the teacher hears something being asked multiple times, go to the front of
the class and address the issues many have had and explain it more clearly. The teacher will
address any difficulties the students have with the questions by inviting other students to explain
the problem areas to their peers.
Closure/Reflection
In the workbook have the students express what they had learned/ did for the assignment,
give the students the options to A: write a story (using characters to represent the experience)
about what they had done B: Draw a picture of what they had done or C: write a journal on that
page on what they had done. By giving them a choice you are letting them express it in ways
they want to and excel at.

[10 min]

MODIFICATIONS and EXTENSIONS

Modification: (For students who might be distracted by the fun part of the activity) Explain to
students that they are not to play in the water, and if they use the water inappropriately they will
be the recorder in the group
Extension: (For students finished their workbook quickly) Ask students, when done the
workbook to imagine a shape for a boat that might float. On the back of the workbook or a
 blank sheet of paper, have them draw their idea and list what materials they would need to build
their boat.

EVALUATION and ASSESSMENT

The worksheets given out asking questions on the video this will check the students
understanding of the video, subject matter and activity given. The worksheet will be the
evidence of understanding for their assessment.
The teacher will ask individual groups questions while they work on the worksheets. Any
questions that are shared by three or more students will be brought up for class discussion to
brainstorm solutions. The teacher will be using these questions and discussion to check for
understanding of the concepts.
Students will be asked to self-assess at the end of class using a rubric they will hand in at the
end of class.
When class is about done, students fill out a faces sheet to show how they understand.

NOTES AND REVISIONS