Sinking or Floating while Thinking Systemically

Let your children predict sinking or floating based on density systematically

Why don't you try iceberg diagram to let your children explore density? This activity help your children to understand different factors play important role of sinking and floating for each object. Your children will be able to understand connectedness of water and object density.

How to Play

You'll be sketching an iceberg diagram before experimenting with your children. Start using sticky notes to write down factors, draw pattern recognition graph and feedback loop. Afterward, allow your child to identify the problem and come up with the actions and consequences. Tell your children: We're going to decide whether various objects sink or float. In order to solve this problem, we need to brainstorm together as a team. We'll do it like systems thinkers -- Thinking all factors!

Step 1: Use objects more and less dense than water

You and your child should sit down and talk through: Start telling your children, we will experiment whether each object sink or float.

Make sure you have metal, plastic, paper materials. Some of them should be light and some of them should be heavy. Additionally, some of them should be the same size, however, metal and plastic to allow your children to recognize density better.

Fill a sink or bucket more than half full of water.

One strategy: ask your child to drop off objects in the water and observe the consequences based on their actions.

Listen to your children why one object is floating, however, another object is sinking. Start taking some notes about what are the explanations of your children.

Step 2: Drawing the icebergh diagram

It's a solution-based approach time! You can have a back and forth conversations to learn why different kind of objects float or sink.

Ask open-ended questions that allow them to articulate their experience of water. You don't need to use these formal questions, but just ask a lot of 'why' and 'how' questions.

Ask them a question that triggers a picture from swimming or observing. – “Do you remember when you were swimming? Did you float or sink? Why?

Step 3: Pattern recogniton and feedback loop

After a clear understanding of the consequences of objects and factors, have your child draw pattern recognition graph and the feedback loop for themselves based on sinking or floating. Make sure to scaffold your children if they have any help. They should say it sinks because of the metal spoon is denser than water or plastic spoon is not sinking because of less dense than water.

Step 4: Time to debrief

Now it's time to start to debrief.

Ask your children to think about the process. Why some objects are floating and some objects are sinking? Does size, weight, or volume important for objects to sink or float? Ask a lot of why questions to get explanations.