Connect students directly to the concept in a personal way. Capture students' attention by initiating a group problem-solving activity before delivery of instruction. Begin with a situation that is familiar to students and builds on what they already know. Construct a learning experience that allows diverse and personal student responses. Facilitate the work of cooperative teams of students.
Elevator experiment.
Objective: To allow students to experience a situation where densities are compared and where knowledge of densities is useful.
Activity: To build an elevator using liquids. Students are to use various liquids, e.g., water, concentrated sugar solution, mineral oil, ethel alcohol in graduated cylinders (soup cans would work equally well) so that the elevator cage (a wooden block) will sink in one liquid and rise in another. Students work in groups of four.
