Biology/Chemistry
What
Objects Sink and What Objects Float
|
Michael Young |
Jane A. Neil
School |
|
8500 S.
Michigan |
|
|
CHICAGO IL
60619 |
|
|
(773) 535-3000 |
Objective(s):
The
objective of this mini-teach is to explore the problem of why certain
objects
sink and why certain objects float with Severe and Profound
Non-categorical
Special Education students.
Materials:
For
an individual up to a group of five students you will need an aquarium
or a
large bowl of water to test objects, such as: small rocks, plastic
boats,
apples, nails, wood, eggs, or crayons.
Strategy:
Have
the student or students try to predict what will happen if they pour
the cup of
rocks or sand and gravel into the aquarium or bowl which is filled with
water.
Next have the student or students pour the rocks or sand and gravel
into the
aquarium or bowl and observe what happens. (Note: some of the students
may need
help such as hand over hand assistance, or gestures.) Next have your
student or
students try to predict what will happen when a plastic boat a rubber
ball or a
block of wood is placed into the aquarium or bowl filled with water.
Your
student or students should now place the plastic boat, rubber ball or
block of
wood into the aquarium and observe what happens.
Performance
Assessment:
The
performance assessments that I use for students with such severe
disabilities
are teacher observation, their ability to follow directions, their
enthusiasm
and their willingness to learn. Students should try to the best of
their
abilities to perform this experiment to see which objects sink and
which
objects float.
Conclusions:
References:
Complete
Book of Science
Grades
1- 2
American
Education Publishing
Ashland,
O.H. 44805
Discovering
Density
Great
Explorations in Math and Science
(GEMS),
Lawrence Hall of Science,
University
of California at Berkely, 1988, 91, 93