To Weigh or not to Weigh!

I gathered common classroom items and prepared weighing scales in preparation for our lesson . I couldn't be more excited than my kids knowing that this will blow them once again.

Last week, we compared weights by holding things which was more on sersorial. This week, we use the SUPER weighing scale. The concept was introduced by demonstration. I chose objects to compare and asked the kids about their observation. It was like magic that my ESL students are able to say straight sentences about their observation.(e.g. The marker is heavier than the pencil., or The scissors are lighter than the tape dispenser."  Once all of the children grasped the concept, I allowed them to choose objects and weigh things together.
             So here, instead of just comparing objects, we are actually weighing them using non-standard units.

The next activity is more than just a  practice using a balance. I give each group  a variety of objects. They see how many different combinations of objects they can find to balance the objects. I'm using unifix cubes for them to use see how many cubes each object weighed. They also worked in groups to discuss about their estimation on how many cubes we need to balance objects. This is a good opportunity not only in enhancing their estimation skills but also on working together as a team to discuss and decide on what is their estimation. Then we balanced things using an object and unifix cubes. Everybody always had a blast every time they learned if their estimation was right or was way too close.