1 Best of three
ADULT-LED
Find the heaviest object.
Planned learning intention
To compare objects by feel to find which is heavier, and to use language such as 'greater', 'smaller', 'heavier' or 'lighter'
To work as part of a group by voting and contributing to and influencing group opinion
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
Three objects of differing weight, such as a ball of wool, a bag of pebbles and a potato; a voting disc for each child made from card with their name or photo on it; weighing balances
Activity content
* Suggest that the children handle the three items, decide which is the heaviest and put a voting disc next to it.
* Count up the votes for each object and then help the children use the balances to find out which is the heaviest.
* Have a second vote after the weighing so that the children can change their vote if necessary.
* Extend the activity by asking children to vote for the lightest or by changing one of the objects.
Things to say
* Which object do you think is the heaviest?
* How did you decide what to vote for?
* Hold the pebbles and the potato. Which feels heavier to you?
* What happens when you pick up something heavy?
Stepping Stones
* Children with little experience may use size words such as 'big' and 'little' to describe heavy and light. They may vote for the object they like best.
* Children with some experience may be able to talk about heavy objects, but be unsure of the meaning of 'light'. They may be able to compare the weight of two objects by feel, but not be able to put three objects in order of weight. They will experiment with a bucket balance to see how they can weight it down.
* Children with more experience will be able to order three objects that vary greatly in weight by feeling them. They may be able to use a balance to compare the weight of two objects, and know that when the bucket is up/down the object is lighter/heavier.
Extension ideas
* Provide pairs of objects that are very different in weight, such as a potato and a plastic ball, a plastic carrot and a real carrot, a stone and a cotton wool ball. Make sure that the heavier object is not always the larger one. Discuss the differences in weight. Ask the children to sort the objects into heavy and light. Extend the activity by choosing a heavy object, and asking the children to find another object that is heavier.
* Encourage the children to compare a heavy and a light object by balancing each of them in a bucket balance against a set of wooden cubes or conkers or large beads and to count how many objects balance either item.
* Fill small plastic pots with, for example, sand, cotton wool and beans and seal them. Challenge the children to hold pairs of the pots and guess which is the heavier and which the lighter. Then encourage the children to find out if they guessed correctly by placing the pots on the weighing balance. Record how many of their guesses were right and wrong.
2 Push and pull
CHILD-INITIATED
Explore how to move heavy buckets on a system of pulleys.
Resources
The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch by Ronda and David Armitage (Scholastic Hippo, 4.99); wheelbarrows and spades; small and large buckets; trolleys and handcarts; bags; a small axle pulley and line (from a builder's merchants) or a washing line and pulley
Play suggestions
* Encourage the children to transport a pile of sand or compost from one area to another by filling buckets of various sizes and deciding whether or not they are too heavy to carry.
* Set up a washing line pulley system to transport heavy buckets or use an axle pulley to transport the heavy buckets.
* Share the story The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch with the children. Provide them with the resources needed to role play transporting the lunch to the lighthouse keeper with the pulley.
Possible learning outcomes
* Can you tell if the bucket is heavy or not?
* Which bucket is the lightest?
* How can we move the heavy bucket without lifting it?
Possible learning outcomes
* Uses language of size such as 'big', 'little', 'large' and 'small'.
* Shows an interest by sustained construction and play activity.
* Operates equipment by means of pushing and pulling movements.
* Shows increasing control in using equipment.
* Orders two items by weight.
* Uses language such as 'heavier' and 'lighter' to compare objects.
3 On the move
CHILD-INITIATED
Prepare an outdoor warehouse area with a range of packages for the children to load and unload and delivery points for the goods.
Resources
Very light, large items (such as large rolls and bags of bubblewrap, polystyrene packaging, feather or foam pillows, inflatable cushions, large empty cartons, giant beach balls); very heavy, small items (such as large stones, bricks, books, bags of nuts and bolts, wooden blocks, sand bags); trucks, trailers, wheelbarrows, wagons and carrier trikes; overalls, clipboards, numbered dockets (raffle tickets); large bucket balances
Play suggestions
* Loading up the vehicles with the transportable goods in the 'warehouse'
and then delivering the goods to a receiving 'depot'.
* Delivering goods from the depot to the warehouse.
* Using large bucket balances to weigh goods before delivering them. For example, making up bags of ping pong balls to balance a small stone.
* Doing a stock check and stacking packages in neat piles so that they can be counted.
* Working in pairs as delivery teams to discover which objects need to be carried by one or two people. Talking to the practitioners about light objects that need two people to lift them because of their size (such as an inflatable plastic armchair) and heavy things that one person can lift, such as an old flat iron.
Things to say
* That's a very big package. How can you manage to carry it all by yourself?
* Why do we have to carry these bricks one at a time?
* Which do you think is heavier, this book or this beach ball?
* Which do you think is lighter, this huge roll of bubblewrap, or this small box of nuts and bolts?
* Why does it take two of you to carry the inflatable plastic armchair? Is it heavy? What about the old iron? How many people will you need to carry that? Why?
Possible learning outcomes
* Seeks out others to share experiences.
* Orders two items by weight.
* Uses language of size such as 'big' and 'little'.
* Fits several objects on to a truck or trolley.
* Uses language such as 'heavier' or 'lighter' to compare quantities.
* Shows increasing control over manipulating objects.
