Water Works is a teacher resource designed for teachers of high-ability or gifted learners in grades K–1. It's part of the Project Clarion Science Unit, developed by the College of William and Mary’s Center for Gifted Education.
This 12-lesson unit focuses on a series of questions related to water, such as “What are sources of water on the Earth?” and “Which things sink and float?” These questions provide the springboard from to launch students into hands-on, inquiry-based investigations. Other skills that are emphasized include critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and the development of science process skills.
Within each lesson, the teacher is provided with a clear outline explaining how to implement and extend the lesson as well as all needed open-ended reproducibles for student use. The unit ends with students experimenting with what sinks and floats and learning how to build a better floater or sinker. Also included within this text is a glossary, a table that aligns the investigations to the National Science Education Standards, a lesson-plan blueprint for the teacher, a list of additional resources, and pre- and post- assessments for the unit.
If you're looking for engaging, hands-on investigations for the primary grades, this is a wonderful resource. Although geared toward gifted or high-ability learners, the activities could be adapted to be used with the entire class.