Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

Balloons will go where you want them to. Young pilots first add paper clips to a balloon to make it neutrally buoyant. They then use cardboard to steer the balloon in different directions, taking air pressure into account.

Potentially get all the way across the water. The fourth of five design challenges asks pupils to develop a plan for a paddle-powered boat that will store its energy. Given a limited number of supplies, the class members design, build,...

A good concept map requires high thought processes. This makes it a great tool for teaching and evaluating your pupils. A helpful article describes a great approach for teaching young scholars the art of concept map building and how best...

Keep one's dream of becoming an engineer afloat. Learners apply the engineering design process to build a boat out of aluminum foil. They start with a square boat, then consider whether boats of different shapes would be able to hold...

Students describe four states of matter and their characteristics, explain thermal expansion of matter, interpret state changes in terms of kinetic theory of matter, explain relationship between temperature and volume of a gas, state...

Students explore sinking and floating.  In this buoyancy lesson, students conduct an investigation dealing with regular and diet soda. Students drop various soda cans into water and then discuss why some float and some sink. 

There are underwater rivers that flow on the ocean floor thanks to a difference in density. Scholars learn about the density in both liquids and solids in the second lesson of an 11-part series. They then determine the density of water,...

Learners explore how fish are able to move easily from one depth to another in water.  In this fish lesson students create their own balloon fish. 

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...

Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...

Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...

Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon

Certain things just do not mix, including liquids of varying densities. Learners collect data to determine the densities of several liquids. They then use the density information to predict the type of liquid.

Students practice dealing with different water emergencies such as: "survival floating," and using a life preserver to pull others to safety.

Young scholars work in groups to design, build, and test a submersible prototype. In this engineering lesson, students learn about the importance and design of submersible vessels and apply their knowledge by building one of their own....

Students make and test predictions about sinking and floating, and classify objects according to whether they sink or float.

Students participate in sports activities that relate to motion, velocity and momentum. They produce a PowerPoint presentation after researching the activities.

Students will determine whether various objects sink or float in water. They do not need to explain why objects sink or float. They are rather to be encouraged to observe that the same objects will sink or float every time, i.e., that...

Sixth graders discuss what they know and what they want to know about hot air balloon using a KWL chart. They then use a wide array of materials to design a hot air balloon that will lift successfully in cooperative groups referring to...

Second graders identify and describe properties of matter. They identify three forms of matter- solids, liquids, and gases with 100% accuracy. The student describes the properties of solid objects.

Second graders investigate the properties of solids and discover how to classify them. Using rulers, they measure various solids on display. In groups, they play an identification game where one students names a location, such as the...

Second graders discover that everything is made of matter. they determine the properties of liquids and that like solids, liquids can be grouped or classified according to properties or qualities. they assess that solids have a definite...

Second graders identify three forms of matter- solids, liquids, and gases with 100% accuracy. They observe what happens when they try to put two kinds of matter into the same space and conclude that solids, liquids, and gases occupy space.