Sue Wyse found that the children in her class assumed all heavier objects would sink and all lighter ones would float (a common misconception). She challenged this idea by exploring a floating orange. When she removed the peel (making it lighter) it sank, which provoked many questions and ideas from the children e.g. is there something special about the peel? Would lemons do the same?

With Covid-19 partial school closures, the children were engaging with this lesson via zoom, interacting in the chat and on a Google Jamboard (the lesson was also recorded for any children who could not attend live). They were given time to try out floating and sinking with their own fruit (or other household materials) and then returned to discuss their findings, deepening their understanding of floating.

Sue has also used a similar structure to deepen ideas about solids and liquids. Moving from a simple sorting, to more challenging materials like ‘oobleck’ which result in deeper consideration of defining properties.

Year 5 (age 9-10), Alexandra Junior School, Stoke on Trent