The Importance Of Learning How To Weigh Objects At A Young Age

“Math may not teach us how to add love or subtract hate, but it gives us every reason to hope that every problem has a solution” – Unknown

It is important for young students to understand, recognise and use the units of weight as it appears in their daily lives.

Learning about weight in Mathematics can be an extremely fun activity as measuring weight requires a lot of practical work. Students need to use their hands or place items on a scale to compare the weight of items.

The Year 2 students may find it difficult to judge weight visually at this age and that is why it is very important to focus on necessary measuring tools. Students’ subjective interpretations of weight (heavy/light) are replaced by the graduation indicated on measuring tools. This is where teachers will start bringing in the use of a scale.

Since we introduced weight this week, the Year 2 teachers thought it would be best to begin measuring weight by using a balance scale, as it makes it easier for the students to understand the concept of weight and visualize the meaning of measurement. To our delight, the students found the lesson extremely interesting and they are excited to share their knowledge with their families at the end of the school day.

“Pure Mathematics is, in its own way, the poetry of logical ideas” – Albert Einstein

Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher