Lesson Science - Sink or Float with

the Cookie Monster

Introduction (5 minutes)
Explain to the students that they will do an experiment today, and that they will
watch a couple of videos to help them learn new words.
Play the Science Pirates Songs - Hypothesis Song, and write the words "question,"
"hypothesis," "test," and "observation" on the board.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher Modeling (10 minutes)

When the song is over, ask the students if they can explain what the words you
wrote down mean.
Discuss the meaning of the words with the students, and tell them that they are
scientists today, and that they will ask questions, hypothesize, test predictions, and
make observations.
Tell them that their first experiment is to help Cookie Monster do an experiment.

Guided Practice/Interactive Modeling (15 minutes)

Play Sesame Street Science: Sink or Float?. This video is interactive and the viewer
makes the decision about what to do next.
When it is time to choose an object to test and make a hypothesis in the
interactive video, ask the students to vote. Then select what the students want.
When the video is over and you tested all the objects, ask the students what
surprised them during the experiment.
Explain to the students that they will now do their own experiment in small groups.
Show the students the Sink or Float Observation worksheet, and tell them to
simply draw pictures of their objects for the hypothesis and observation sections.

Independent Working Time (15 minutes)

Put the students into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group tubs of water and the
objects to test.

Tell the students that they need to make a hypothesis and predict if the object they
test will sink or float before they put it in the water. Then tell them to put it in and
observe what happens.
Remind the students to take turns putting things in the water.
Hand out the Sink or Float Observation worksheet and tell the students to begin
their experiment.
Extend

Differentiation
Enrichment: To challenge students, have students explain or write on the
worksheet why they made the prediction they made.
Support: Students do not have to fill in an observation worksheet. The teacher can
have a conversation with the student to assess their understanding.

Review

Assessment (5 minutes)
During the experiment, walk around and listen to student conversations and ask
them questions to push deeper understanding.
Look over student worksheets to check their understanding.

Review and Closing (10 minutes)

Bring the students together.
As a class, go over the results of the experiment.
Ask the students if they were surprised by any of the observations they made.
Ask the students to share any questions they still might have and write them down
on chart paper.