Learning to Weigh Things

Posted by Elece Hollis Aug 5, 2008

Hello Teachers,

How much does Johnny weigh? Would he not be interested in finding what his weight would be on the moon? Would he be fascinated by the difference in his weight and that of a bird, an elephant, or a banana? Most children would be.

Kids love to weigh things and this project will give them simple practice. The article, How to Weigh Things, will also inform of basic facts about weight measurement and compare it to the metric system.

Students will use a bathroom scale, a fish scale, a grocery produce scale, and a postage scale to weigh items on a list. Chart and compare the findings. A balance scale will also come in handy in the classroom.

Hold a discussion of the pros and cons of metric measure as opposed to English measure used in the United States. What metric measures of weight are familiar to your students? Compare weights of food packaging to make students more aware of the many uses of weighing in everyday life.

~Elece~