Materials
- bathroom scale
- chart paper
- balance scales
- two small gift bags
- feathers
- rocks
- sticks
- grass
- wood chips
- sand
What to do
1. Ask the children to guess how much they weigh. Write each child's name and guess on a piece of chart paper.
2. Show the children the bathroom scale and explain how it works. Weigh each child and record each child's actual weight on the chart next to her guess. Talk about the difference in guessed and actual weights.
3. Use the bathroom scale to weigh other things in the room. Be creative! Experiment!
4. Show the children the balance scale and explain that it doesn't show how much something weighs but shows which of two objects weighs more.
5. Show the children the feathers and rocks. Ask them to guess which one weighs more. Ask them to fill one small gift bag with feathers and the other bag with rocks.
6. Place the bag of feathers on one side of the balance scale and the bag of rocks on the other side. Talk about the result.
7. On a large piece of paper write, "Which is heavier?" Under the heading, write, "Rocks are heavier than feathers."
8. Weigh other objects the same way, such as sticks and grass, wood chips and sand, and grass and sand. Remember to record each result on the paper.
9. Let the children experiment with the materials during center time.
-Virginia Jean Herrod, Columbia, SC
