• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Observing with our senses). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which sense would you use to notice a dog barking? (sight (eyes) / hearing (ears) / smell (nose) / touch (skin)) → hearing (ears)Prompt: Which part of your body would notice it?
2. Which of these would you notice using touch (skin)? (whether water is warm or cold / a flower's scent / rain tapping on the window / the colour of a leaf) → whether water is warm or coldPrompt: Imagine doing each one. Which body part would you use?
3. Sam looks at the sky each morning and writes down if it is sunny, cloudy or rainy. What is Sam doing? (guessing / measuring mass / building a model / observing and recording) → observing and recordingPrompt: Sam is looking and then writing down what he sees.

• Show a simple experiment with one thing changed and ask what makes it a fair test.
• Share the objective: Choosing a measuring tool. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which tool would you use to measure how tall a sunflower has grown?
• Step 1: A ruler or tape measure measures length (how long, wide or tall).
• Step 2: So the answer is: a ruler or tape measure
• Answer: a ruler or tape measure
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which tool would you use to measure how heavy a pet hamster is? (a ruler or tape measure / weighing scales / a stopwatch or timer / a measuring jug or cylinder) → weighing scalesPrompt: Is it a length, a temperature, a mass, a time or an amount of liquid?
2. What could you measure with a stopwatch or timer? (how warm the classroom is / how heavy an apple is / how long a candle burns / how much milk is in a glass) → how long a candle burnsPrompt: What does this tool measure: length, temperature, mass, time or volume?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Kofi wants to find out which ball bounces highest. Which tool helps most? (weighing scales / a thermometer / a measuring jug / a metre stick (long ruler)) → a metre stick (long ruler)Prompt: Bounce height is a length.
2. Which tool would you use to measure how tall a sunflower has grown? (a ruler or tape measure / weighing scales / a thermometer / a measuring jug or cylinder) → a ruler or tape measurePrompt: Is it a length, a temperature, a mass, a time or an amount of liquid?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.