As part of our Science unit on the properties of liquids and solids, we will be making rafts in class on Tuesday, December 4th.
When the students were introduced to this stem project, I described it in 3 main sections: 1.Brainstorming, 2.Designing and 3.Building/Testing/Evaluating. Students will make a plan to design their raft. This project will be done in class. However, your child may require some materials from home in order to make their raft. Please allow your child to choose materials independently, since they will be getting participation and creativity marks for this assignment. It does not matter whether your child’s raft sinks or floats since this is a learning experience for the whole class. If the raft floats, then the student will get the chance to examine the raft, learn and teach others why it floats. If the raft sinks, then students will learn how the materials used and the shape of the raft play an important role with buoyancy.
Here is a list of materials your child may wish to bring:
-milk carton
-egg carton
-plastic food cartons (eg. mushroom cartons)
-corks
-toothpicks
-straws
-sticks
-aluminum tins (pie plates)
-aluminum foil
-paper bag
-plastic bag (ziploc bag)
-glue
-string
-Styrofoam
-tape
