Things That Float and Things That Don’t

Yes, the book does foster the development of the processes of creating hypotheses and making guesses, observation, classifying, recording data and following procedures to conduct experiments in order to answer scientific questions. There are even several parts in the book where readers are explicitly encouraged to perform these processes.

Author: David A. Adler
Illustrator: Anna Raff
Year Published: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2862-5

Summary

This book is about how density determines if objects will float or not and is told using direct and concise language. Readers are encouraged to perform a series of fun at-home experiments having to do with density and floating.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: High
Authority: Medium
Accuracy: High
Liteary Artistry: High
Appearance: Medium

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Yes and no. The book is full of its own questions and answers them right after. Students could still possibly ask their own questions that expand on the ideas presented in the book. For example, while the book asks a question about a certain material’s ability to float and answers it after; students could ask themselves about other materials.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

I would have to say not so much. All of the questions raised in the book are immediately answered on the same page. Readers just have to get to the end of the page to find out the answer to the question or the conclusion that is expected to be made. There are of course inexplicit cues readers could take in order to use these ideas in the book to think about more information to explore. When used as a read aloud however, a teacher could stop at the questions before reading on and have students think about the answer themselves. When performing the experiments suggested in here, students would be thinking for themselves as they interact with different objects.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

Yes, the content is appropriate to the lesson.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

Yes, the content is based on sound scientific principles while remaining true to the young audience in mind. Science ideas are conveyed without explanations that are too intense for the target grade. Some complex principles such as floating in water versus floating on water, are simply stated, which doesn’t really explain the principle in its entirety but it is still accurate information. There is a sentence that says “Pebbles don’t float.” I feel like that statement is not complete enough because floating has to do with how the density of the object compares to the density of the liquid. We should be weary about sentences like these that do not have enough information. A better sentence would include what kind of liquid the pebble is in and the densities of both the pebble and the liquid. That being said, in relation to the picture on the page, it is not necessarily an inaccurate statement. Something that made me nervous was the use of the word weight rather than focusing on mass because d=m/v, but the book only talked about weight.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

The text is all factual, staying true to its nonfiction genre. There is no fiction to d

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

The illustrations are simple cartoons, keeping in line with the simplicity of the book as a whole. I did not find any inaccuracies. The illustrations could possibly be more detailed for clarity when showing things like ice versus water because they kind of appear the same. This does not make the picture inaccurate though.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

Yes, the book could be used as a read aloud for the younger grades starting around third grade and could be independently read by students in fourth or fifth grade. There are some tricky concepts, such as pounds per cubic foot, and some tough vocabulary words like density and displacement. These concepts and vocabulary words are well supported with explanations, context clues, and pictures.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

There is no multicultural component. The humans in the illustrations are both what appears to be white. That being said, there are no visible cultural stereotypes in the illustrations.

Is the book free from gender bias?

Yes. The book has two little unnamed characters in the pictures who are only shown in the pictures to aid the text. They are not actually part of the text or story line. There is one boy and one girl and they both partake in the scientific activities. I do notice that when the children are in the background of the pictures, they can be found doing things that might be in line with gender stereotyping, such as the boy running or lifting heavy things, while the girl is sitting down not making a mess.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

The book does do a great job of relating these scientific principles to our everyday lives and experiences. There is a part where readers are encouraged to make a list, which shows that scientists also use writing skills. There is also a connection to math when exploring density.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

Yes! While the actual words are very straight-forward, the illustrations are very telling of an exciting science experience. Whenever the kids in the pictures are doing science experiments, it looks like they are playing and having fun. The book talks about science answers being right at your fingertips by requiring common household objects, which can be a good lesson to children about the importance of science in everyday life. There is not really technology in the book.

Science Topics

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

Maximum Suggested Grade Level