Suggested sequence: 65 minutes, split across sessions as needed. Use this introduction within your wider learning plan. Print sheets to record learner work; this page does not save learner responses.
Lesson plan
Materials
Six equal-sized foil sheets for three paired trials; shallow water tray; identical oversized counters; ruler; towel; paper and pencil. An adult prepares the tray and checks counters. Use room-temperature water.
Safety
Use a shallow tabletop tray, keep the floor dry and keep water away from electricity. No outdoor-water test is needed. Empty the tray after the activity. Real boating requires its own adult supervision and appropriate fitted safety equipment; this model activity does not establish boating competence.
Teaching Sequence
| Find out first | 5 minutes | Ask whether equal quantities of foil must carry equal loads in every shape. Ask whether floating always means stable. |
|---|---|---|
| Read the story | 10 minutes | Read pages 1–20, pausing at the balance and cargo comparisons. |
| Teach explicitly | 10 minutes | Use a hand-drawn force diagram. Explain that a boat floating at rest has buoyant force equal to its weight. Distinguish tipping from sinking. |
| Investigate and practise | 30 minutes | Test two boat designs with identical counters. Repeat three trials, using fresh matched foil models when damage changes the shape. |
| Review and extend | 10 minutes | Graph the supported load counts, explain variation and recommend a design. Later test cargo position separately. |
Timing is a suggested introductory sequence, not a legally required duration. Split it across sessions as needed.
Story teaching stops
Open a page below, then use Lesson & Guide in the book to return here.
Page 03 — Equal materials and a controlled comparison
Page 07 — Balanced forces at rest
Page 10 — Recording the load test
Educator guide
Primary Subject
Science
Secondary Connections
Counting, repeated measurements, simple graphs and explanatory writing
Curriculum Connection
Alberta Grade 5 science highlights include forces in water and buoyancy, alongside controlled experiments. This guide develops a model-boat comparison and selected explanations. Publisher objectives below do not represent the whole official force topic.
Scope
Introduced: buoyancy, weight, displacement and stability. Developed and assessed: choosing one design variable, controlling a test and supporting a conclusion with repeated observations. Still needed: further force and motion investigations and other science topics.
Prerequisites
Count equal loads accurately; distinguish a change from a constant; compare two shapes. Floating at rest involves balanced upward and downward forces. A model can float and still be unstable.
Publisher Learning Objectives
1. Describe the upward buoyant force and downward weight on a floating boat at rest.
2. Compare two boat shapes using equal foil quantities, identical loads and repeated trials.
3. Explain a design recommendation using results and a limitation.
Vocabulary
Buoyancy: the upward force a fluid exerts. Weight: gravitational force on an object. Displacement: water moved aside by a boat. Stability: resistance to tipping in the tested situation. Controlled comparison: a test with one deliberate change and other relevant conditions kept alike.
Educator discussion questions and answer guidance
1. What did you keep the same?
Answer guidance: Equal foil quantity, load pieces, water conditions, loading procedure and endpoint. Accept an honest admission that another variable was hard to control.
2. What did you change?
Answer guidance: The recorded hull shape. Cargo position should be a separate investigation.
3. What would make you more confident?
Answer guidance: Repeated trials, better matched folds, a stated endpoint and attention to alternative explanations.
Illustrative reasoning, not fabricated results: “If our broad design carries more counters in all three trials, we have evidence favouring that design under these conditions. Uneven folds or a different rim height could also affect the comparison.” A different outcome is valid evidence when the method and observations are reported accurately.
Adaptations And Extension
Let the adult make the matched hulls and have the learner predict, count and explain. Extend by investigating cargo placement while keeping hull shape unchanged. Add density later using an appropriate Grade 5 explanation.
Next Lesson
Explore other forces in water and additional force topics. Add further lessons rather than treating one successful boat as complete science coverage.
Canadian Home Education Use
Canada has provincial and territorial home-education frameworks rather than one national required subject list. These pilots retain the report’s Alberta-first planning approach. Families elsewhere can reuse the stories while matching the guides to their own approved or parent-selected plan and local requirements. In Alberta, parents choose resources consistent with the Home Education Regulation and are responsible for planning and evaluating the program. Use these dated work samples within that wider plan.
Curriculum And Home Education References
Government of Alberta. Current science curriculum highlights. https://www.alberta.ca/curriculum-science
Government of Alberta. Home education. https://www.alberta.ca/home-education
Connection checked October 2 2026. Exact official outcome identifiers must be verified for the chosen pathway before any claim of complete alignment.
Activity sheets
Main Activity
Compare two model hulls
Materials
Six equal-sized foil sheets for three paired trials; shallow water tray; identical oversized counters; ruler; towel; paper and pencil. An adult prepares the tray and checks counters. Use room-temperature water.
Safety
Use a shallow tabletop tray, keep the floor dry and keep water away from electricity. No outdoor-water test is needed. Empty the tray after the activity. Real boating requires its own adult supervision and appropriate fitted safety equipment; this model activity does not establish boating competence.
Method
1. Make one narrow and one broad model from equal foil sheets. Keep rim height as similar as feasible and record dimensions. The shape change is the investigation variable.
2. Float the first model. Add identical counters one at a time, placing each near the centre. Record the last count carried before water enters or the model tips. Choose and record the same endpoint for both designs.
3. Repeat for the second model in the same tray conditions. Complete three paired trials. Use new matched models if the foil becomes damaged.
4. Graph each trial separately. Compare the pattern, note variation and explain why material quality, folding or cargo placement could affect the result.
Learner recording sheet
Name: ________________________ Date: ______________
Our prediction and reason
The variable we change
Conditions we keep the same
Our shared endpoint
Narrow and broad model dimensions / sketches
| Trial | Narrow model count | Broad model count | Endpoint and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 2 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| 3 | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Draw a graph of the supported counter counts for each design and trial
Our recommendation and evidence
One limitation or question for another test
Assessment & progress
Evidence
Save dated design sketches with measurements, three paired trial records, a graph and a short evidence-based recommendation. Record assistance and any change in the test method.
Success Criteria
Assess control of relevant variables, faithful records, a readable comparison and an explanation consistent with the data. Success is not awarded solely to the boat carrying the most counters.
Parent Progress Record
Portfolio record: learner name or initials; date; province or territory; chosen home-education pathway; parent-selected outcome; curriculum version if used; task evidence; assistance given; assessment judgement; next teaching step. Topic connections in these pilots are not exact official outcome-code mappings. Parents using provincial outcomes should add the verified identifiers from the chosen current program before recording full coverage.
Learner / date
Province or territory / home-education pathway
Selected outcome and curriculum version
Evidence retained
Assistance provided
Judgement: Developing / Secure for this task / Applying
Next teaching step