Buoyancy- Grade 2 Science

Group Lesson Plan #1 Presented February 4, 2016

Class time [40 minutes]
Krystin Carroll, Sabrina Tooth, Brianne Mathieson, Liz Lobert
GENERAL OUTCOMES
General Learner Expectations: 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.
SPECIFIC OUTCOMES
Students will:
2. Alter or add to a floating object so that it will sink, and alter or add to a nonfloating object so
that it will float.
PROCESS OUTCOMES
Problem Solving through Technology
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
OTHER OUTCOMES
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
Visual
Auditory
Verbal
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 Workbook
Self-Assessment Face Rubric
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. 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 rubric to show how they understand.

I know this

NOTES AND REVISIONS

I need
help

I do not know