The Biggest Iceberg on Earth Is Gone

For almost 40 years, a slab of ice called A23a was the largest iceberg on Earth - and in 2026 it finally drifted into warmer water and broke apart. This one-page activity uses that real event to teach the science of why icebergs float: ice is less dense than seawater, so an iceberg floats - but only about a tenth of it shows, giving us "the tip of the iceberg." A current, kid-grabbing way into relative density.

What's Included

• 1 student page: a short news story plus four cards (What's the Story? multiple choice, a fill-in reasoning chain with word bank, Cause & Effect matching, and a Why Does It Matter? sentence starter)
• 1 teacher key page with every answer, a sample written response, the standards box, a clickable link to the original NASA article, and a science-connection summary
• Letter-size PDF, no prep

How It Helps You Teach

• Anchors TEKS 6.6D relative density in a real 2026 event students may have seen in the news
• Lands the memorable "tip of the iceberg" idea - most of the ice is hidden below because ice is only a little less dense than seawater
• The key's article link lets you show students the source, supporting media literacy

Pair It With

Part of a Density set: Context Clues, Inferences, Science in the News, Sink or Float?, and a Reading in Science with worked density calculations. Check out our library for the rest.

Standards: TEKS 6.6D. Part of the Daily Science series by Workybooks.