Look at the seesaw in the playground. When does it sit perfectly level? What has to be true about the two sides?
Look at the three balance pictures. When do the pans sit level, and when do they tip?
We read = as is the same as. When the pans sit level, both sides hold the same amount, so we may write =. When the pans tip, the sides are not the same, so we do not write =.
Now look at this last one carefully. Can we write equals?
One of you will load both pans on the board to match a maths line (a number sentence like 3 + 2 = 5). Before the pans settle, everyone calls out: level or tips?
Level or tips?
In your maths copy, write 3 + 2 = 5 and read it aloud as "the same as".
Now you take turns at the board. Each time, find the missing number so both pans sit level.
Make the pans level
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