Five Pounds, Six Pounds,
Seven Pounds

Activity Overview

As we develop in our ability to answer more complex questions and engage with more challenging problem-solving, the ability to use comparative language becomes more important for our understanding of how objects and ideas relate to each other. In this activity, in which we build a DIY balance scale, we activate our math brains and abilities to differentiate both size and weight and successfully make comparisons of and organize everyday objects.

What You Need

• A hanger with notched spaces for straps

• Approximately two yards of strong twine, yarn, rope, or paracord

• Two small buckets with handles (alternatively, identical paper cups or tupperware containers that you can punch holes in)

• 10 (or more) items to be weighed

• Paper

• Writing utensils

Steps

1. Have your student collect items around the house that they want to weigh.

2. Engage your student first in a Body Scale activity, in which they hold two items in their hands and make a prediction on which is heavier or lighter. Note: This activity can be done as a stand alone activity for younger students, as it activates multiple sensory and cognitive systems that allow them to better understand their environment.

3. Find a doorknob on a cabinet, closet, or door that can be used as a weighing station. If nothing else works, your student’s strong hands can hold it up!

4. Cut the twine into equal halves.

5. Tie each piece of twine onto the notched areas of the hanger so there is one string on each side. Tie the buckets to the bottom of the twine.

6. Have the students choose what weight comparison they will make first, for example, apples vs. Legos, or a water bottle vs. a salad dressing bottle.

7. Once the student has made their prediction, have them weigh the items and see if their prediction matches the scale. If the items do not fit in the containers, the student can tie the item into the string and measure it that way.

Guiding Questions

• What items would you like to weigh?

• Hold these items in your hands, which do you think is the heavier item? The lighter? What makes you think that?

• What do we notice when we put the items on the scale?

• Was our prediction correct?

• How could we show our findings and results?

• How does an object's size affect its weight? Does bigger always mean heavier?

Extensions

• Keep track of student predictions by using drawing materials - help your student decide how they would like to represent their data.

• Organize the collected items in order by weight, from lightest to heaviest. Add more items to the order by collecting, making predictions and testing the weight of the new objects.

• Do a drawing reflection to build their connection to the experience.

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