• 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 sight (eyes)? (whether water is warm or cold / a dog barking / smoke from a bonfire / the size of a puddle) → the size of a puddlePrompt: 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 / observing and recording / building a model) → 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 hot a cup of tea is? (weighing scales / a stopwatch or timer / a thermometer / a measuring jug or cylinder) → a thermometerPrompt: 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 much water a plant is given / how warm the classroom is / how much juice is in a carton / how long a toy car takes to roll down a ramp) → how long a toy car takes to roll down a rampPrompt: 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 ruler or tape measure? (how much juice is in a carton / how long a candle burns / how cold the water in a pond is / how far a paper plane flew) → how far a paper plane flewPrompt: What does this tool measure: length, temperature, mass, time or volume?
2. Which tool would you use to measure the mass of a bag of flour? (weighing scales / a ruler or tape measure / a measuring jug or cylinder / a stopwatch or timer) → weighing scalesPrompt: 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.