PhotoDisc, Inc.
Time recommended: 10 minutes
Proceed with Calendar Time activities as usual.
Vocabulary (spoken only)
| weight | similar | base |
| mass | balance scale | balance/balanced |
| heavy/heavier/heaviest | arm | kilogram |
| light/lighter/lightest | pan |
Observe how your student compares the weight, or mass, of two objects. Comment later in Day 16: Learning Log.
Does the child
Put two objects, such as a book and a pair of safety scissors, in front of the student. Use the following script.
Today, you will learn about weight, or mass.
The words weight and mass mean how heavy something is.
Hold the book in your left hand and the scissors in your right hand.
Which do you think weighs more, or which do you think is heavier?
Which one is heavier? Which one is lighter?
If the student says that the pencil is heavier, ask why the pencil is thought to be heavier.
If the answer does not indicate clear understanding of lighter and heavier, have the student continue to compare objects of distinctly different weights, such as a telephone and a plastic cup.
Continue until the student can readily determine a lighter or heavier object or until the child shows signs of fatigue. If your student continues to experience difficulty, revisit the activity later.
When the student can easily determine the lighter or heavier of two objects with distinctly different weights, ask for the same comparison with slightly different weights.
Hold this pen in your left hand and this pencil in your right hand.
Which object is heavier?
It is hard to tell, isn't it?
When we hold objects that are similar in weight, sometimes it is hard to tell which one is heavier and which one is lighter.
How else could we weigh objects, other than by holding them? (Accept any reasonable answer.)
We can weigh objects on a balance scale.
We are going to make a balance scale. Then we can weigh objects when it is difficult to tell which one is heavier and which one is lighter.
Making a Balance Scale
A balance scale is needed for some activities today. Help the student construct a scale similar to one of those in the following illustrations. See Materials Required for suggested materials.
As you are making the scale, discuss what it can be used for and its different features. Your student's involvement will lead to learning about weight and balance.
When the balance scale is ready, place five of your ten small objects in the left scale container and five in the right. The scale should be balanced, as those shown in the illustrations. Balance occurs when opposite sides are the same.
If the balance pan on one end is higher than the other, then the higher end is lighter. Explain this to the student as you place items on the scale.
Continue with the following directions.
When the arms of the scale are straight across, the scale is balanced.
Move 1 of the 5 objects from the left scale pan to the right scale pan.
What happened to the right scale pan?
Why did it move downward?
Could we say that the right scale pan is heavier? Why (or why not)?
Continue until no objects remain in the left container.
My Heavier and Lighter Booklet
Step 1: Fold a piece of unlined paper in half from top to bottom. Turn it sideways, and print the word lighter at the top of the left side and the word heavier at the top of the right side, as shown below.
Ask the student to draw illustrations of the heavier and lighter objects on the correct sides of the folded paper.
Step 3: Repeat this procedure on four more pieces of paper.
When the student has completed five heavier and lighter comparison pages, place one page on top of the other.
Step 4: Fold a piece of construction paper in half to be the front and back cover pages.
Encourage the student to talk about the booklet with family and friends. Then place the booklet in the Student Folder.
Consider giving the student a pat on the back, a star, a stamp, or a sticker when the activity has been completed with care and effort.
1. What's Your Weight?
Step 1: Weigh the student on a bathroom scale, and have the student read the numbers in kilograms.
I weigh ____ kilograms.
Step 3: Explain that the term kilogram is a special unit of weight, or mass. This special unit is used to measure people and objects, such as vegetables for sale.
Step 4: Fold in half the sheet of paper from Step 2.
Step 5: Below the sentence that states the student's weight, print Lighter Than I Am and Heavier Than I Am.
Step 6: Have the student weigh other people or items and record the names or items under the correct heading, Lighter Than I Am or Heavier Than I Am.
Step 1: Collect a variety of objects and place them in a box. The items gathered on Day 10 may be used here.
Step 2: Ask the student to pick three objects from the box.
Step 3: Have the student compare two of the objects at a time and decide which one is the heavier and which one is the lighter.
Step 4: Ask the student to arrange the three objects in order from heavy to heaviest.
Step 5: Construct three word cards. Have the student print the word heavy on one card, the word heavier on another card, and the word heaviest on the third card.
Step 6: Place the correct word card in front of each item.
Turn to Mathematics Assignment Booklet 1B, and follow the directions to do Day 16: Assignment 1.
Next, follow the directions to complete Day 16: Assignment 2.
Then complete Day 16: Learning Log. Under Student's Thoughts, print a sentence or two telling what the student thinks about this day's mathematic's learning, for example, about being able to identify heavier and lighter objects.
