Lesson Idea | Sink or Float?

Subject: Science
Grades: K-2

Introduction

Students will explore concepts of buoyancy as they conduct a hands-on experiment to determine objects that
sink and float.

Learning Objectives

K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to
define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Materials Needed

- Container of water
- Various objects around the classroom
- iPad (optional)
- Things That Float and Things That Don’t by David A. Adler

Procedure

1. As an introduction to “Sink or Float?”, read aloud the book Things That Float and Things That Don’t by David A.
Adler.
2. Prepare a container of water along with a few objects from around the classroom (paper clip, eraser, an old
marker, block, etc.). As a class, ask students which ones they think will sink and which ones will float. Make a list
on the board. Then conduct the experiment by calling on students to come up to the container of water and
drop the objects in one at a time.
3. Tell students that they are going to collect six objects from around the room. They are going to sort them into
two piles, which ones they predict will sink and which ones they think will float. Using an iPad, have them take
a photo of their two piles so they remember their predictions (they can save this photo to the photos, or post
to a platform such as Seesaw). At this point, students need to raise their hand to make sure you have approved
the objects they have gathered before placing them in the water.
4. Next, have students drop their objects, one at a time, into a container of water. Have them sort their dropped
objects into two more piles, proving which sank and which floated. After all objects have been dropped, have
students take a second picture of their results. This photo too can be either saved or posted to Seesaw.

Evaluation

Review the students’ photos to see how their predictions fared with the results from their experiment. Make sure
their results were accurately presented and that the experiment was done correctly.