The balance scales have been really popular in the water tray recently and lots of meaningful learning has taken place, here is a little snapshot of the dialog between a group of children who were “making experiments” by filling the buckets with water on the balance scales.
Z “I pour more in and it goes down into the water. That one has lifted away up.”
R “Mines are balancing with the same water.”
E “It goes down with a lot of water.”
Z “Empty buckets go up, loads goes down when it’s full.”
E “How many inches do I have?”
Children investigating measuring jugs/containers and making predictions as to which will hold the most.
Z “This one will be heavy because it is bigger.”
E “ I think this big one will hold the most. E used a small jug to fill up two containers, medium and large sized. We counted together, first 5 and then 13 jugfuls. “This one has the most water, I was right.”
R Predicts how many little bottles it will take to fill the bucket. “I think 10.” He fills and counts 12 bottlefuls “That’s a lot!”.
Miss W points out the number on the measuring jugs and explain the measurements are in milliliters and they help us count and measure correct amounts when baking etc.
R “ My mum doesn’t use measuring jugs. She just puts lots in and makes spicy things!”
Z “How many hundred did I get up to? How many meters did I get up to?”
The balance scales begin to drain and float.
Z ”Why are they wobbling?”
Miss W explains that the water weighs them down because it makes them heavier.
Z quickly fills scales back up. “Look now it is staying still, full of water.”
O has been standing observing and now joins in filling up measuring jugs. He asks “What number have I got?” each time he fills the jug and waits in suspense as Miss W counts the measurement markers on the jug.
Measurement
I have experimented with everyday items as units of measure to investigate and compare sizes and amounts in my environment, sharing my findings with others. MNU 0-11a
