Modeling Density Freebie: A Great Way to Introduce Particle Level Thinking & Drawing into your Classroom!

In this activity, students are walked through the meanings of mass, volume and density. They develop an understanding of how we can model density using particle level diagrams. With boxes representing volume and circles representing mass, students are tasked with drawing items that have the same mass and different densities, etc.

I used to teach density using only the equation. However, when students starting drawing it, they understood it so much more. One thing I like to do with this activity is go around and approve students' drawings after they explain it to me. If they get "approved" they then walk around with me and approve their peers' drawings until finally every student's model is approved.