Hi, I’m Tracy and I’m teaching infants again next year.
One of my favourite space facts is that one million earths could fit inside the sun- and the sun is considered an average-sized star!
Inquiry based-learning: Forces/ Floating and sinking (Displacement idea from Irish Marine Institute)
Children love this activity. Trigger: linked to Green School/ MarineFlag/ Children have been learning about sea creatures…
Wonder: All the creatures we are learning about can float. I wonder why some things can float and other things sink? Brainstorm.
Explore the materials provided: e.g. cork, feather, stone, paper clip, coin, cotton wool ball, pencil.
Starter Q/ Prediction: Which of these will float/ sink? Why? Children may think that it is due to the weight of an object….
Conducting the investigation in groups. Does it sink straight away or does it take a little while? Does it float high up in the water? Record using smiley/ sad face. Were you surprised by what floated and what sank?
Apply the learning: Get the students to use plasticine to learn about displacement of water to float (flatten it)/ sink (rolled up in a ball). Also observe what happens to a balloon in water when it’s not blown up (solid mass) and blown up (expanded with air in it)
Children could also design and make their own boat from plasticine or any other material. (yoghurt cartons/ butter cartons, etc)