Learning+Experience+10

Session 1
Learning Targets:
 * I can reason about why an object might sink. //(shape, weight, material it is made of)//
 * I can make an object sink.

Materials:
 * clear containers of water
 * objects that sink
 * oil-based clay
 * aluminum foil
 * a tube or closed container full of water, containing several objects that sink


 * 1) Begin by talking about what makes good floaters. Make a list of what shapes and materials float well.
 * 2) Add to you list: shapes and materials that didn't float well.
 * 3) Ask What do you know about objects that sink? What is the same about objects that sink? If you had to pick something that would sink, what would you pick? How could you make a floater into something that would sink?
 * 4) Show them the tube with objects that sink in it. Ask: What do the objects look like as they sink? How are they different in how they move? Why do you think they move the way they do?
 * 5) Make a list of words to describe the way the objects move: shakes, falls straight, wiggles, flutters, zigzags, etc.
 * 6) Tell students that today they are going to make their own sinkers out of clay and aluminum foil. First they are going to experiment with some sinkers and see what happens to them in the water. Then they are going to get clay and foil to make their own sinkers.
 * 7) Send students in groups to explore sinkers and floaters. Tell them to drop each object into the water and see what happens. They can drop them from higher or lower or with more or less strength. Tell them to think hard about what words to use for how the objects move in the water.
 * 8) Students get foil and clay to make their own sinkers. Tell them to think about the shapes of other objects that sink. Ask: what happens if you shape the clay like another sinker you saw? What if you shape the foil the same way? How does it move?
 * 9) Challenge them: Can you make a piece of clay drop very slowly in the water? Can you make a flat piece of aluminum foil sink? Can you fold or squish the aluminum foil so it drops faster?
 * 10) Students use science notebook pages to record their descriptions and pictures of their favorites. Have them save their most interesting sinker to share with the class in session 2.