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Who Sank the Boat?

What Floats in a Moat?

by Lynne Berry

What Floats in a Moat.jpg
Archie and Skinny are on their way to see the Queen and they must cross a moat to get to her castle. Archie, the goat, has grand plans to use a barrel of buttermilk to build a boat, Skinny, the chicken, is not convinced it will work! 
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Resources for What Floats in a Moat?:
Full Book Review (English)
Full Book Review (Spanish)
Brief Book Review (English)
Brief Book Review (Spanish)

Will a goat and a barrel full of buttermilk float in a moat?

      

Math Connections:

Buoyancy.                        Engineering

Problem Solving

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Activities to Do Together:

  • Discuss objects that float and objects that sink. If your child is not sure if an object will float or sink, allow them to experiment

  • Build a small “boat” together to see if it will carry small objects.

 

Extension Questions: 

  1. Why didn’t the goat want to take the drawbridge?

  2. Why do you think the first boat, the S.S. Buttermilk, sank?

  3. Why do you think the second boat, the S.S. Empty, floated?

  4. What was different about the S.S. Ballast that made it float AND sink? How do you know?

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Vocabulary for Building Math Concepts:

mapped, measured