Bath Time Science

Kids are curious.

I want to nurture that curiosity. I want my kids and students to wonder about the world around them, ask questions, and explore answers.

So when my 6 year old daughter was having her bath the other night, we had a great opportunity to nurture curiosity. She was playing with her floaty bath toys and noticed that one of them had sunk to the bottom of the tub.

L: Look Daddy! My octopus sank.

At this point, I believe I have 2 options in how to respond.


1) Explain

Me: Yes, it sank because it is filled with water. The water makes it heavier and it displaces a greater volume of water so it sinks. Here, give me the toy and I will show you.

This approach is OK. She learns something (although my explanation might be a little much for a 6 year old) and I nurture her curiosity by responding to her observation and offering an explanation. I even offer to show her a demonstration by taking the toy and showing her how it floats or sinks.


2) Not Explain

Me: Yes, why do you think the octopus sank?

This is much better. I still nurture her curiosity by engaging her in conversation. But I turn it back on her. She needs to be the one to provide an explanation. Her explanation will be:

• based on her own observations
• in her own 6 year old language
• her own (not mine)

L: I think it sinks because it is filled with water.

Now she has a hypothesis. And again, I am faced with some choices in how to respond.


1) Confirm

Me: Yes! That's right! Good for you! High five!

This approach is OK. I confirm her understanding. Her self-esteem is through the roof. And there are lots of high fives and splashing.


2) Demonstrate

Me: Hmmm. Let's try emptying the water out of the toy and see if you are right. If it floats without water in it then we know it sinks because of the water.

This is much better. I don't just tell her she is correct. I provide a way for us to test her hypothesis. We can perform an experiment to see if she is correct. And she can verify her hypothesis through observation and collecting "data".


3) Not Confirm or Demonstrate

Me: Hmmm. What do you think you could do to see if you are right?

This is so much better than much better! I still nurture her curiosity. I still lead her to think of a way to test her hypothesis. But I turn it back on her. She needs to be the one to design the experiment. Her experiment will be:

• based on her own hypothesis
• based on her own creative/critical thinking
• her own (not mine)

L: I could empty the water out and see if it floats?

Me: OK, why don't you try that.

L: It floats! It floats!


I am not always good at making the best choice for inquiry in the spur of the moment. In my classroom, this has been a huge learning experience for me and an ongoing struggle.

But I am proud to say that during Bath Time Science, I made all the right choices.

Barbie Bungee as Science Inquiry

I first discovered Barbie Bungee from Fawn Nguyen's blog Finding Ways. And again on the NCTM Illuminations website. It is designed to be a math investigation into linear relationships and proportional reasoning.

At Frank Hurt Secondary, we have a professional cohort that uses a Tuning Protocol to constructively critique and improve projects and activities. I brought to the group a physics lab inquiry activity I had developed about elastic forces that I was not happy with and wanted to tweak. Through the course of that discussion, a colleague reminded me of Barbie Bungee. But in the context of science inquiry rather than math.

I had the privilege of sharing this idea with an amazing group of grade 4 teachers in the Surrey School District. The new BC Science Curriculum for grade 4 has this Big Idea - Energy can be transformed. Barbie Bungee presents a unique, engaging activity to explore energy transformations. Gravitational energy transforms into kinetic energy as Barbie falls. Then the elastic bands begin to stretch and kinetic (and gravitational) energies are transformed into elastic energy as Barbie slows down. Then it is all reversed as she shoots back up. Students can draw simple energy pie charts to track the energy transformations.

Grade 4 teachers exploring Barbie Bungee energy transformations

The wonderful thing about this for grade 4 is the cross-curricular connections. Barbie Bungee has become a science activity but we don't lose the math. The scientific data that students collect will be used to explore linear relationships. We can connect to the new ADST (Applied Design, Skills and Technology) curriculum as students test and improve their bungee design. And we can extend to design something else using elastic energy like a rubber band car.

Small Changes for Inquiry

My personal definition of inquiry goes something like this:

Exploring scientific concepts using scientific skills and processes.

In the language of the new BC science curriculum this means students are exploring Content by doing Curricular Competencies in order to understand the Big Ideas.

As I work with other teachers in the district I am finding there is a fair bit of confusion and anxiety about inquiry. How do we create lesson plans that are more inquiry-focused that allow students to do science? It can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately we do not need to throw out our existing lessons and start from scratch. Small changes can often infuse our old lessons with new inquiry life.

I recently spent a morning with grade 4/5 teachers at Adams Road Elementary planning some inquiry-based lessons. The new grade 5 curriculum contains the following Big Idea:

Earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle and can be used as natural resources.

The Adams Road teachers had a fantastic activity about the rock cycle. Students build models of different types of rocks (sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous) using food. A sandwich is a very effective model of sedimentary rock. And it's tasty.

Whenever I am re-designing a task as an inquiry lesson I simply ask "What am I currently doing that the students could be doing instead?" The student recipe sheets for this activity stated which type of rock each recipe was supposed to model. Identifying the rock type is something the teacher is doing that students could be doing. What if we removed the type of rock from the recipe?

This simple change transforms the activity from a fun and engaging follow-the-steps activity into an inquiry activity that requires students to think deeply. They must identify properties of the model and match them to properties of rocks. They must decide which type of rock the model represents. They have to explain their thinking and defend their reasoning. And it's still fun and engaging. And tasty.

We erased 3 words. Small change. Big impact.


Thanks to the Adams Road Elementary grade 4/5 teachers for letting me share this story.

Catalyst 2016 - Tuning Protocol

Click the link below to access the PowerPoint presentation and other files from the workshop.

Catalyst 2016 - Tuning Protocol

Giants and Mermaids and Fairies! Oh My!

I have been following the hashtag #tmwyk and browsing Christopher Danielson's amazing blog and website Talking Math With Your Kids. It's got me looking for opportunities to talk math with my own 6 year old and 3 year old daughters.

At dinner a few nights ago, my oldest daughter offers this bit of wisdom:

S (6 years old):  Daddy, if there was a giant here, his little finger would be as big as you. 

Me:  Wow, that's big! How big do you think his foot would be? 

S:  As big as the table! 

Me:  Can I ask you another question? 

S:  (with big wide eyes in anticipation... or suspicion) OK.

Me:  If there was a fairy here, how big would her little finger be? 

S:  (after some thought) As big as my finger nail. 

L (3 years old):  Ask me one, Daddy! 

Me:  OK, How long is a mermaid's tale? 

L:  (thinking, thinking... grabs a fork) This long! 

At this point I'm a little confused. L loves mermaids and has a good idea what they look like and how big they are. I'm not sure why she has chosen a small fork to represent her tail.

Then some magic happens! She pulls her milk cup over and explains:

L:  If this (cup) is the mermaid, then this (fork) would be her tail.

She has created her own scale model using her place setting. And S (never to be outdone) has her own frame of reference:

S:  If the mermaid was 6 years old, her tail would be as long as my legs.

I thought that was a good place to stop. I was wrong.

L (my wife, ___ years old):  How come I don't get a question? 

Me:  If there was a dragon...