• 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 how soft a feather is? (sight (eyes) / hearing (ears) / smell (nose) / touch (skin)) → touch (skin)Prompt: Which part of your body would notice it?
2. Which of these would you notice using smell (nose)? (the shape of a cloud / the colour of a leaf / smoke from a bonfire / a dog barking) → smoke from a bonfirePrompt: 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? (measuring mass / guessing / 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 the mass of a bag of flour? (a stopwatch or timer / a ruler or tape measure / weighing scales / a thermometer) → weighing scalesPrompt: Is it a length, a temperature, a mass, a time or an amount of liquid?
2. What could you measure with a measuring jug or cylinder? (how long a toy car takes to roll down a ramp / the mass of a bag of flour / how much rainwater was collected / how cold the water in a pond is) → how much rainwater was collectedPrompt: 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 8 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. What could you measure with a thermometer? (how long it takes to run 50 metres / how heavy an apple is / how warm the classroom is / how much rainwater was collected) → how warm the classroom isPrompt: What does this tool measure: length, temperature, mass, time or volume?
2. Which tool would you use to measure how much milk is in a glass? (a thermometer / a measuring jug or cylinder / weighing scales / a ruler or tape measure) → a measuring jug or cylinderPrompt: 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.