Hi everyone,
My name is Ciara and I have been teaching senior infants for the last 2 years and will be again next year. My favourite space fact is that 1 million Earths could fit inside the sun.
An inquiry based activity that I would like to try with my senior infant class is exploring the question of how do boats float?
I would start with a story as a trigger. We would then move on to wondering about the topic of floating and sinking and how boats stay afloat.
The children would then complete an investigation activity into creating a design for a boat that would hold the most passengers. In groups the children would be given playdough and dried peas. The children could try different shapes of a boat and designs until they are happy with their design. They would be trying to make a boat shaped design that would hold the most number of passengers (peas).
For a conclusion we would show the class the designs, discuss what worked best and what they would do differently. We would discuss the concept of upthrust.
An extension activity could be to put a peeled and unpeeled orange in water and see whether it floats / sinks.