Intermediate
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.
What you need:
Real balance and objects

The Kilogram, the Shop's Unit of Weight

This lesson introduces the kilogram as the shop's standard unit of weight. Pupils use a balance scale to compare everyday objects against a one-kilogram bag of sugar and sort them as heavier, lighter or about a kilogram.

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    Balance scales
    Balance scales

    1 - Getting Started ~3 mins

    Illustration for Getting StartedA bag of sugar from the shopping. The label says 1 kg — one kilogram.

    Hands up: heavier or lighter than the sugar bag — your schoolbag? Your lunchbox? Your shoe?

    2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

    Three weighings on the balance, each against the 1 kg sugar bag. The sugar bag side is marked 10 — that mark means one kilogram. A smaller number means lighter than a kilogram; a bigger number means heavier. Watch which pan sinks — that side is heavier. When the pans sit level, the two sides weigh about the same.

    3 - Try It Together ~10 mins

    Today we weigh against the 1 kg sugar bag: a tin of beans, then a welly boot, then a big dictionary, then a schoolbag. Before each pan settles, predict: heavier, lighter, or about a kilogram?

    Heavier or lighter than 1 kg?

    4 - Write Heavier and Lighter in Your Copy ~4 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, draw or write one thing heavier than a kilogram and one thing lighter than a kilogram.

    5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Your turn at the board. The right pan stays as the 1 kg sugar bag. Move the left pan to match each object, then say heavier, lighter, or about a kilogram.

    Objects today: a lunchbox, a water bottle, a bag of flour, a heavy coat.

    After the four, put them in order from lightest to heaviest.

    Against the 1 kg sugar bag

    Pupil practice
    Module 7 · Measures: Length, Weight and Capacity Measures
    Lesson 81 · The Kilogram, the Shop's Unit of Weight
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