Video: Build a boat that floats

﻿Hi, team, and welcome to your lesson with me, Mrs. Garrard. Today, we are going to build a boat that floats. And to do that, the first thing we need to do is think about, what does float mean? What does sink mean? Then we'll gather our resources. We'll create our boat, and then we'll test our boat on some water to see if it floats. So for this lesson, you will need your listening ears and your looking eyes. You're going to need some paper. I'm going to fold paper to make my boat. It's a little bit tricky so you'll have to look and listen carefully. Then you'll need some water, maybe in a bowl or in a sink, so that you can test your boat to see if it floats. So let's think about first, what does float mean? Float means when something stays on the surface of the water. In the pictures, you can see some things that are floating on water. The first picture is of some green lily pads. They've got some pink flowers and they are floating on the surface of a pond. In the next picture, you can see some children swimming. They are using arm bands to help them to float on the top of the water. There's also a cork in some water in a glass. You can see really clearly how it floats on the top of the water. And the next two pictures are of a canoe and a stick, both floating on the top of the water. So now we know what float means. Let's think about sink. Sink is the opposite of float and if something sinks, it means it goes under the surface of the water. In the pictures, you can see a shipwreck that has sunk to the bottom of the sea. It's gone under the surface of the sea. There's a glass with some pebbles in and they have sunk to the bottom of the glass. You can see the surface of the water and the stones and the pebbles are underneath it. And the last picture is of an anchor and the anchor is under the surface of the sea. So let's pause our video now and you can go to gather your resources. Remember, you'll need some paper to fold to make your boat and some water. You might need a bowl or you could use the sink. Pause the video now and come back when you're ready. Great, now that you're back with me, that must mean you're ready to start creating your boat. So what we're going to do, is watch carefully and listen to my instructions. I'm going to be folding some paper. If you find it a little bit tricky to keep up with me, you could pause the video, and you might need to ask your adult to help you. Let's have a go and see how we get along. So I have my rectangle of paper and I'm folding it half so that the two short sides touch. I'm using my thumb to crease along the edge. Then I've put the folded edge at the top and I'm folding my paper again in half so that the short edges touch. I smooth the paper down to make a firm crease. I'm going to open it up again and then take the edges into the middle to make like a triangle point shape. One, and then the other one. And you see I've made a triangle at the top. Now at the bottom there is a rectangle shape. We're going to need to fold that rectangle shape up, first on one side and then turn the paper and do it again on the other side. Now, the next thing to do is to fold the corners at the bottom into the middle. And you see it makes a triangle shape. You have to do that for all four corners, first one side, flip it over, and then the other side. There we go. Now, the next thing to do is pull it sideways. It's a bit tricky. You have to pull the shape sideways so it makes a diamond shape. You might need some help with that. Then you're going to fold the bottom up to make a triangle, turn it over and do the same on the other side, so that you have a triangle shape. Now, we need to pull it out and pull the top bits down. Then we need to make sure that our creases are sharp so that our boat stays upright, just trying to make sure that it stays upright. There we go, smoothing down the creases. There's our boat shape. Now, I wonder if it will float. What do you think? Oh, it's a bit wobbly, but look! It is floating. It's staying on the surface of the water. I'm pushing it with my fingers. You could try blowing it to see if you could move your boat by blowing it. I wonder if you will be able to add some cargo to your boat. That's a challenge. I wonder if you could add cargo to your boat and see if your boat will still float if it has cargo in. I wonder what will happen. Have a try and see if you can find out. Team, that's the end of our lesson today. Have a lovely rest of your week and I'll see you again soon. Bye!

Lesson summary: Build a boat that floats

In today's lesson, we will construct a boat and then test it in some water to see if it floats. The key areas that this lesson links to are expressive arts and design and understanding the world.

Understanding the World

Build a boat that floats

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Lesson summary: Build a boat that floats

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