About Weight Scale Game
A dial scale is a circular number line, and children who read a straight ruler comfortably often find it disorienting. The pointer sits between marked values, the intervals may not be single units, and the whole thing wraps around. This game builds the habit of working out what one interval represents before reading the pointer.
What this game teaches
- Reading a circular dial scale
- Working out the value of one interval on a given scale
- Reading values that fall between marked points
- Kilograms and grams and the relationship between them
- Estimating a weight before reading it precisely
How to play
- A weighing scale appears with the pointer at some value.
- Read the dial carefully.
- Choose the matching weight from the options.
- Ten questions complete a level, across twenty levels.
Before you start
A child should be able to count in twos, fives and tens, since the intervals on the later scales are rarely single units.
For teachers
Ask 'what is each small mark worth?' before any reading. Children who answer that question correctly read the dial correctly, and children who do not will guess plausibly and be wrong by a consistent amount - which is a useful thing to spot.
For parents
Kitchen and bathroom scales give the same practice with real consequences. Weighing ingredients together makes the unit meaningful.
Related games
- Liquid Measure — Class 3-6
- Length Measurement — Class 2-5
- Cross Addition Puzzle — Class 3-6