We have had a fun filled fortnight, with so much happening in the prep neighbourhood!
We received another voice message from our friend Grey Beard, asking the children the following:
“How much loot will fit in your boat, will it sink or will it float?”
Before testing the boats, we had a go at experimenting with a series of small ceramic containers (also provided by Grey Beard) with different features. We shared our predictions and explained some of our reasons for why we thought they might sink or float. Surprisingly, some of the heavier containers actually floated, while lighter ones with shallower walls sank. This experience changed some of our predictions before we set about testing our paper boats.
As we had already made some paper boats, and the children grasped the concept of buoyancy, we passed around a bag of 20 cent coins, asking for some predictions as to how many they thought their boats would be able to hold. This information was put into a table and adjusted as others shared their thoughts.
- Evie: Maybe it’ll float because sometimes paper floats and maybe for a long time.
- Edmund: 11 coins will make it sink – I think over 4 is too much for a boat to carry.
- Alexa: Maybe between 2-4 will make it sink.
We started with the biggest prediction, 11 coins, and tested its strength… the boat did sink! Many of the group altered their predictions as we discussed what features could help strengthen the boat. As a group we decided to reposition the coins so that they were more evenly distributed across the surface of the ship. On the second attempt, the boat stayed afloat. Cheers and exclamations of, ‘I knew it!’ echoed through the classroom.
- Tigerlily: The boat needs to be secure.
- Conrad: The walls are thinner on that part so I think it’ll sink.
- Quinn: The walls need to be thicker.
The children have given us some additional features they would like to add to their boats before we test them again: sticky tape, thick crayon, textas, and baking paper. We look forward to adjusting and altering our boats to get them ready for some hands-on learning when we test them again next week!
After the experimentation with our boats, Redbeard sent us a request for our heights because he wanted to get us material to make our own pirate uniforms. In pairs, we set about making groups of ten with the Unifix cubes and then used them to find a total using groups of tens and ones. This counting and measurement challenge stemmed from a need to focus attention on place-value when counting large collections.
A big part of the measurement was predicting how many blocks would be needed. To gain experience making and adjusting predictions, we set about investigating the total number of Unifix in our neighbourhood. We had a mix of some very conservative and wildly optimistic guesses, all the way from 129 to 14 million or more. Groups of children then began making sticks of ten Unifix and modified their predictions as the counting unfolded. As of Tuesday morning, we’ve managed to count 1200 blocks, but there is definitely more counting to come.
What do you think we could measure with our Unifix blocks next?