Mass and capacity - Measure mass 2 - Planning

Year 3 students delve into the concept of measuring mass in their Summer term, focusing on understanding and working with both kilograms and grams. The lesson aims to equip children with the ability to measure the mass of objects and express these measurements as a combination of kilograms and grams. They will also learn to interpret scales, recognise intervals, and determine the position of the indicator on the scales. The lesson begins with a review of previous learning, including counting in multiples, which aids in reading scales with varying intervals. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes 'kilograms', 'grams', 'scales', 'weigh', 'mass', and 'intervals', with resources such as worksheets and a presentation to support the teaching.

During the lesson, children are encouraged to engage in partner discussions to differentiate between objects measured in grams and those in kilograms, enhancing their grasp of which unit is appropriate for different items. They are presented with scales showing weights and are tasked with completing sentences that indicate the mass of various objects, taking care to correctly use mixed measurements. Further activities involve reading scales to fill in missing information and practical exercises where students use scales to measure objects themselves. The lesson also includes reasoning challenges, such as deducing the weight of objects based on given statements and calculating the value of shapes on balance scales. To consolidate learning, children are asked reflective questions to ensure they understand how to read from scales, combine kilograms and grams, and apply these skills in everyday situations. The lesson plan caters to different levels of proficiency, from basic whole and half-kilogram measurements to interpreting scales with varied intervals for greater depth understanding.