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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Give me a tall ship

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A lesson plan for grades 6–8 Science

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science


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This lesson is the first in a three-part series on ships. The overall lesson series is designed to allow students to extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships.

This series of activities builds on previous simple explorations of floating and sinking and prepares students for more in-depth examinations of density and buoyancy. In addition, students should have some skill at designing and carrying out a simple experiment.

The activities in these lessons integrate historical and current information from several countries (United States, Great Britain, and Sweden) and utilize the true “world wide” nature of the Internet. They also point out the important relationship between engineering and scientific research. While students learn that most ships are constructed very similarly—whether they are schooners or destroyers—they also learn that ships range widely in size and are built from very different materials, with very different tools, and to serve different purposes.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Science (2005)

Grade 6

  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate an understanding of technological design.
    • Objective 2.03: Evaluate technological designs for:
      • Application of scientific principles.
      • Risks and benefits.
      • Constraints of design.
      • Consistent testing protocols.

Grade 7

  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate an understanding of technological design.
    • Objective 2.03: Evaluate technological designs for:
      • Application of scientific principles.
      • Risks and benefits.
      • Constraints of design.
      • Consistent testing protocols.
  • Goal 6: The learner will conduct investigations, use models, simulations, and appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of motion and forces.
    • Objective 6.06: Investigate and analyze the real world interactions of balanced and unbalanced forces:
      • Sports and recreation.
      • Transportation.
      • The human body.

Grade 8

  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate an understanding of technological design.
    • Objective 2.03: Evaluate technological designs for:
      • Application of scientific principles.
      • Risks and benefits.
      • Constraints of design.
      • Consistent testing protocols.
  • Goal 3: The learner will conduct investigations and utilize appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of the hydrosphere.
    • Objective 3.01: Analyze the unique properties of water including:
      • Universal solvent.
      • Cohesion and adhesion.
      • Polarity.
      • Density and buoyancy.
      • Specific heat.