I choose to present a lesson to 3 eight graders that were helping us get our new school together. The lesson was on density. The students are to pour 20ml of Karo syrup, shampoo, dish soap, water, and cooking oil into a graduated cylinder, and determine which one has the highest density. In the past I've mixed the substances myself and let the kids see the results. After I read the resources, and witnessed other inquiry based lessons, I realize that was a mistake.
I took the lesson a little further. This time, I had the students determine the densities of each substance before they were mixed, and try to hypothesize what would happen when they were all mixed together. One good thing about this is that it allowed students to use math skills along with science. I also tied the lesson into real world events. I asked the students was it possible for oil in the Gulf to be suspended under the surface of the water? Once they poured all the liquids in the cylinder and saw that oil floated on water because it had a lower density, they were able to answer the question.
Wow, what a cool experiment to tie into our real life drama of the oil spill. If I was in your class my heart and soul would be into this one -to just better understand what is going on in the gulf. I love the ocean. Awesome job, and it was a great idea to have them do the set up with a bit more inquiry and Math.
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