First graders discuss and predict if a given object sinks or floats. They record their predictions on a data sheet. Pupils test the objects and organize them into floating/sinking groups. Students observe the floating and sinking of a...

Steal cubes sink, but steal ships float. Lesson explores the density of solids as well as the density of water in determining what will sink and what will float. A hands-on group activity helps pupils see that weight and volume are...

Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.

Students explore sinking and floating.  In this buoyancy instructional activity, students conduct an investigation dealing with regular and diet soda. Students drop various soda cans into water and then discuss why some float...

First graders drop items into water, and discuss why some things float and others sink.

Second graders explore floating and sinking and make predictions about whether certain objects are likely to sink or float. They read the story Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. Pupils loacate rhyming words and discuss the events of...

We don't think of liquids as floating typically, but a quick look at any oil spill tells a different story. Lesson explores various densities of liquids and why this fact is important. After observing the density variation, scholars...

Students perform experiments to see if items will sink or float. In this sink or float lesson, students work in groups to make predictions, and record the results. After the experiments are complete students make a book of the results.

Students observe and classify objects that float or sink.

An engating lesson plan relates mass and volume to better understand density. Young scientists explore and experiment with floating and sinking as well as density cubes. Then, they solve how to make a sinking item float.

Students analyze density. In this density lesson, students experiment with floating an egg. Students discover that salt added to water changes the density of the water allowing an egg to float.

Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...

Second graders discuss why some objects float while others sink. They examine various objects and predict whether or not they will sink or float. Students discover the properties needed for objects to float.

Don't be dense—use a robust resource. The second installment of a five-part Floaters and Sinkers unit has learners determine the densities of several objects. As part of the activity, they learn the displacement method for finding...

Students use their background knowledge of how scientists work to discuss and predict if a given object will sink or float. They record their predictions on a data sheet. Students test the objects and organize them into floating or...

Clay's as good a material as any to build a boat, right? An introductory lesson sets the stage for two activities associated with buoyancy. The first involves building boats out of clay, while the second uses these boats to measure the...

Third graders recognize that different materials have different properties which can be observed such as texture and bouyancy, and compare and contrast, through observation, ability of some objects to float because of action of...

Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting instructional activity, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test...

Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...

Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...

Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.    

Flotsam by David Wiesner and The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen, begin a reading adventure pack focusing on oceans. With story listening and thoughtful discussion, scholars complete several...

Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...