A pair of balance scales that will weigh up to 28 pounds.
A set of loose weights. Clock faced scales will not do as the child
must handle the weights in order to understand weight.
Weights needed:
1/4 and 1/2 ounce weights
16 separate 1 ounce weights
4 ounce weight
8 ounce weight
1 pound and 2 pound weight
EXERCISE 1
The scales, 1 pound weight and the 16 one ounce weights are used. The
child is shown the weights and told the names ounce and pound. The teacher
puts the pound weight on one side of the scales. The pan sinks. She asks
the child to place the ounce weights on the other pan, one at a time until
the two sides are level again.
The child does so. He finds that when he has placed all sixteen ounces
on the pan, the pan rises and the two pans are level again. In this way,
the child begins to understand that sixteen ounces equal 1 pound in weight.
A child naturally likes and will need to repeat the exercise many times
on his own. The teacher makes sure the child learns the names ounce and
pound.
EXERCISE 2
Prepackaged dry commodities, for example, 1 lb. rice, 2 lb. beans,
2 oz. of spice, etc., are given to the child. He is shown how to weigh
them. The commodities are not opened.
EXERCISE 3
The child can weigh things in the environment, such as books of different
sizes. He can weigh a container full of flour, then the same container
full of other commodities in turn, e.g., rice, lentils, nuts. He begins
to understand that, bulk for bulk, things have very different weights.
PURPOSE
To understand the weight table and how dry goods are weighed. To learn
the vocabulary.
NOTE:
If the metric system is used in the child's environment, he must use
the metric table and weights.
FURTHER WORK
1. The teacher can suggest that the child guess the weight of an object
before weighing it. This heightens his consciousness.
2. The teacher can explain the rest of the weight table. In some countries,
dry goods can be bought by the stone or hundredweight, for example, potatoes.
Coal, potatoes, and animal foodstuffs are sold by the hundredweight. The
children have the opportunity to see these in some shops. They can understand
that 20 of the bags would weigh a ton.
3. The children begin to weigh the ingredients used in any cooking
recipes used in the classroom.
4. The mothers can be asked to let the children watch as they weigh
certain things in the supermarket. The clock faced or digital scales can
be explained.
5. The children can be shown how prepackaged groceries have the weight
marked on the package.
