Do Cranberries Sink or Float?
Standards
Kindergarten-2nd M.K.G.B.5
3rd-5th grade: SCI.CC3.3-5, SCI.SEP1.A.3-5, SCI.SEP3.3-5, SCI.SEP4.3-5
Cranberry Learning has a great cranberry introductory lesson. Introduce young learners to what a cranberry is and then ask them if they think they sink or float. There is a simple worksheet that the students or a class can use to keep track of guesses. After dropping a fresh cranberry into a clear container, the class with see that they float!
Now, it is time to discover why cranberries float. You can do this by cutting open a cranberry along the center with the stem part on the top. Once cut, the students will discover that the cranberry has hallow chambers. Keep this experience hands on and let the students stamp the cranberries on the Cranberry Learning worksheet.
A fun fact is that cranberry growers and researchers have been stamping cranberries for over 100 years. They do this to monitor traits and keep track of yields.
After discovering that Cranberries float you can gather other objects and find out if they sink or float. If you’re doing a fall themed lesson, consider acorns, mini pumpkins, gourds, crab apples or other fall objects from nature. If you’re at home look in your refrigerator or cupboards for small food objects grapes, marshmallows, cherry tomatoes and more. In your classroom you could use erasers, tacks, magnets, rubber balls, clips or other classroom objects. Have the students use Cranberry Learning’s chart to keep track of their predictions and what they discovered.
