jen_journal+6

March 12, 2009 Today in the linguistically diverse and inclusive combined second grade class the students participated in a sink-or-float activity. The students wrote down their predictions on whether or not certain objects would sink or float based on what they already knew about floating objects. This pre-assessment was later used when the students did the experiment, and saw which objects actually did sink. The teacher created a poster-sized chart at the front of the room, modeled how to record the data and then tested the first object, the rest of the objects were tested by the students. The students later created a list of objects that they would like to test for further floating properties. The students had most of the answers correct based on their prior knowledge that they had been building in the classroom. However, there was some confusion about objects that looked heavier than they were or looked like a different material than they were in actuality (i.e. a plastic yo-yo that was painted to look metallic). I would use this lesson because it is authentic and gets the students involved in a hands-on manner. However, I would pass the objects around so that the students can make their predictions based on a greater wealth of knowledge. I do feel the lesson was effective because the students made comments such as “oh, that’s why it floats, because it’s…” So the students are learning about properties of things that float and sink, and were able to explain why in limited terms.

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