At the Market
Written by Jane Buxton
Illustrations by Liz McIntosh
The Story
Mario and Nina go
to the market with
Dad to buy fruit
and vegetables.
Maths Ideas
Unit 14
• The gram is the basic standard unit of measuring mass (weight),
but for younger children the kilogram (1000 grams) is a more
meaningful standard unit to begin with.
• Estimation of weight is based on
- the known weight of a familiar object (a pack of butter is
half a kilogram, a litre of milk is about one kilogram)
- a feeling for a known measure, such as 1 kilogram
- several units of the known measure
- a fraction of the known measure
- several units and a fraction of the known measure
(three and a half kilograms)
Introduction
• Show the children a balance scale and a variety of objects.
Which object do you think would be the heaviest?
How much do you think each object weighs?
Give clues by letting children hold 1, 2, 3 or 4 kilogram weights.
Record the children’s estimations on a chart. Then weigh the objects
using kilogram weights. Compare with the children’s estimations.
• Bring a set of bathroom scales and ask children to find their weight in
kilograms. Children can say how much they think they weigh.
I think I might weigh 25 kilos.
Then they weigh themselves and compare their estimate with their actual
weight. (This could be done as an individual activity throughout the day.)
• Introduce the book At the Market. Look at the cover.
Where are Dad and the children going?
Look at the title page.
What are the children going to buy?
Look through the illustrations together, noticing the different fruits Mario
and Nina bought. They were guessing how many to put on the scales to
get the amount they wanted.
Were they good at guessing?
Did they get the same amount, too many or not enough?
Look at pages 14 and 15 to see what happened to the oranges.
Reread the story together.
© Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd 2011
Follow-up Activity
12
3
Experiment with Scales
Give children an opportunity to experiment with scales, kilogram weights
and a variety of objects. Children first estimate the weight of an object,
then see if they have to add more weights or take some away.
Online Activities
Story activity: At the Market
Mario and Nina go to the market to buy fruit. The child can go through
the story, guessing how many pieces of fruit it takes to make 1 kilogram
each time. The child then uses the scales onscreen to experiment until
they get the right amount.
Activity 1: What Weighs the Same?
Children use balance scales to find out how many pieces of fruit weigh
the same as another fruit.
Guess how many apples weigh the same as two bananas.
Then the child can experiment using different pieces of fruit.
Other Activities
What Weighs the Same?
Children use balance scales and a variety of objects to find out how
many things weigh the same as a number of other objects.
What Weighs One Kilogram?
Children compare a range of things against a 1 kilogram weight. If a
book weighs less than 1 kilogram, see if two books would weigh closer
to 1 kilogram.
Weighing on Bathroom Scales
Children can weigh larger things (to the nearest kg) on a set of bathroom
scales. (They may need help to read the scale, unless the scales are
electronic.) Children make a chart that shows things that are about the
same weight.
© Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd 2011
Measurement
Maths Language
weigh
scales
kilogram
estimate
guess
balance
too many
not enough
the same