Narrow, Wide, and Very Wide Boats Staying Up Right

November. 29, 2019

Title Boats and Buoyancy: Staying Up Right Grade Level 2

Subject Science Time Frame 2:20 – 3:30

Developed by Alison Wild

Stage 1: Desired Results

GLEs: 2-1: Students will investigate, with guidance, the nature of things, demonstrating an understanding of the
procedures followed
2-2: Students will recognize patterns and order in objects and events studied; and, with guidance, record
procedures and observations, using pictures and words; and make predictions and generalizations, based
on observation
2-4: Students will demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the application of
science in responsible ways
2-7: Construct objects that will float on and move through water, and evaluate various designs for
watercraft
SLEs: 2-7: 2: Students will alter or add to a floating object so that it will sink, and alter or add to a nonfloating
object so that it will float
2-7: 4: Students will modify a watercraft to increase the load it will carry
Learning Students will:
Objectives  Recognize that the width of a watercraft can influence the load capacity and the ease of tipping

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Summative N/A Formative I will observe students as they fill out their ‘Boats
Assessment Assessment and Buoyancy’ workbook. Through class
discussion, I will assess student understanding.

Stage 3: Learning Experience

Prior to Students have constructed various Resources to  SMART board
Lesson: watercraft using different materials and Bring/Tech:  Pre-made boats (narrow, wide, and very
have practiced a variety of techniques to wide), washers, and a bucket of water
make an object float or sink. Students have
been introduced to the parts of a sailboat.
Time: Content/Description Notes
2:20 – 2:30 Introduction
10 minutes I will get some students to help me hand out the ‘Boats and Buoyancy’ workbooks to their
classmates. Once all books are handed out I will ask that everybody takes a seat.

‘Catamaran’ Page
Reflecting on yesterday’s lesson I will begin by asking students to highlight the main
difference between the two boats we tested using the ‘Parts of a Sailboat’ terminology.
 Answer: the first boat had 1 hull and the second boat (catamaran style) had 2 hulls

We will go over and complete, the ‘What did I learn?’ section of the Catamaran page. I will
ask students to reflect on yesterday’s lesson and tell me what we learned during the
experiment.
Ideas may include, but are not limited to:
 2 hulls were more stable than 1 hull. Some boats don’t need a keel to be stable
 stable boats hold a heavier load than unstable boats
I will walk around the classroom to make sure students are on track and completing the
correct sections
2:30 – 3:20 Body
50 minutes ‘Staying Up Right’ Page
I will begin by selecting a name randomly from my popsicle stick jar. This student will help
rank the three different boats based on the ease of tipping. The student will identify which
one was easy, hard, and hardest to tip.

Order should be:

 narrow boat = easy
 wide boat = hard
 very wide boat = hardest

I will have a water bucket in the middle of the classroom on a towel and I will ask that
students surround the bucket in a way that everybody can see. The student I picked from the
popsicle sticks, will push sideways on the mast of the boat.

After we have discussed as a class, the order or ‘ease,’ students will go back to their table
and draw a picture of each boat and fill in the ease of tipping portion (easy, hard, hardest).
I will fill out these parts with them on the SMART board worksheet.

I will encourage students to think of these Styrofoam boats as real-life boats, with the
narrow boat being the canoe, the wide boat being a row boat, and a very wide boat being a
catamaran! I will write these boat examples on the smart board at the top of the picture
boxes.

Once students have filled in the proper order, I will ask that they meet me back at the water
bucket. It is now time to count the number of washers that cause each boat to tip. I will put
the washers on each boat one by one and I will get the class to count along with me. I will
have my ‘Boats and Buoyancy; workbook with me so that I can record the numbers as we
go so that students don’t need to keep going back and forth.

Once we have tested all three boats and identified how many washers caused each boat to
sink, students will return to their desks. I will fill out on the SMART board the number of
washers for each boat and students will copy it down.

As students are copying down the filled-in portions off of the SMART board, I will walk
around and make sure students are on track and are completing the correct sections.
3:20 - 3:30 Conclusion
10 minutes To conclude this activity, we will have a class discussion which will help us answer the
bottom three questions!

I will ask the class:

1) Which boat is most stable?
 The very wide boat
2) Which boat is least stable?
 The narrow boat
3) Is a row boat more stable than a canoe?
 Yes, because a row boat is wider

I will write these responses on the SMART board. Once students have filled in the answers
in their workbook and I have checked for completion and correctness, they can put their
workbook back into the allocated shelf.

Students will then grab their agendas and get ready for home time.