A new month is just around the corner, and as usual, this heralds the latest installment in this series of posts designed to explore the Operation Maths topics on a month-by-month basis.
This installment, however, is coinciding with a very turbulent and uncertain time in national and global history, as teachers and families around the country explore how best to continue to support children’s learning.
To contribute to this effort in some small way, we have launched a new series of posts entitled Dear Family. Each of these posts, will focus on a specific maths topic, and provide practical suggestions as to how families can support their child’s learning, as well as links to useful digital resources. We hope that, in some small way, they may prove to be beneficial, both now, and in the future. The first post in the Dear Familyseries focuses on the topic of weight, which all of the classes from third to sixth are likely to encounter in their Operation Maths books this month. Please feel free to share this post with members of your school community, whether Operation Maths users or not.
HINT: To ensure you don’t miss out on any future Maths by Month or Dear Family blog-posts, please subscribe to the Operation Maths blog via email, on the top right hand of this page.
Another way to keep up to date an all new maths-related developments is to like/follow the Edco Primary Maths page on Facebook and/or Twitter
Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:
Operation Maths users can also access a class specific, month-by-month list of relevant links and online resources via the Weblinks document, accessible on www.edcolearning.ie.
Log into your edcolearning account
Click on the At School Book/Pupil’s Book for your class level.
Click on the Edco Resources icon (on book cover image on left-hand side)
Select Weblinks from list of categories and then click to download the document.
Also accessible on www.edcolearning.ie. are the custom-made digital resources to support these topics. These will all be viewable when you click on the Edco Resources icon as directed above.
April Fool! There are 125 sheep and 5 dogs in a flock. How old is the shepherd? Would your students spot straight away that this is unsolvable or will they try to calculate an answer? Take a look at how some of Robert Kaplinsky’s students tried to attack this.
Anthony from Mashup Math also has a selection of April Fool’s Day puzzles available from his blog, which could be shared with students at home.
We’re here to help!
If you have any questions on Operation Maths, Number Facts or anything related to primary maths over the course of the school year, please PM or contact Edco Primary Maths via Facebook and/or Twitter
Dear Family, below is a brief guide to understanding the topic of weight, as well as some practical suggestions as to how you might support your children’s understanding at home. Also below, are a series of links to digital resources that will help both the children, and you, learn more about weight. The digital resources are organised according to approximate class level:
You can also find class specific tips at the back of your child’s Operation Maths At Home book, for infants to second class, and in the Operation Maths Dear Family letters for third to sixth class.
Understanding Weight
The measure of how heavy something is, is often referred to as its weight. But the more correct term for this is mass. Mass is the quantity of matter in an object and doesn’t change but the weight of an object changes according to gravity. In space, a person is weightless; their weight on the moon would be approximately 1/6 of their weight on earth, but their mass would be the same in any of these situations and doesn’t change. That said, weight is the term used most often (even if it is less correct) and as such is the main term used in the Maths Primary School Curriculum in Ireland.
Weight and mass are measured using scales. Like length and capacity, weight/mass has been traditionally measured using two separate systems: imperial units/US customary units (ounces, pounds, stone, etc) and metric measures (grams, kilograms, tonnes etc). In Ireland, the changeover to all metric measures began in the early 1970s and was completed in 2005. Therefore, only metric measures are taught in Irish schools.
In school, the children are enabled to compare, estimate and measure weight. In the infants classes, the children work with non-standard units (e.g. what is the weight of my pencil case in cubes?) and then they are gradually introduced to the standard metric units of weight i.e. kilogram (first class) and gram (third class). Children in the older classes will also be introduced to, and work with, more complex concepts related to weight, such as converting from one unit of measurement to another (eg grams to kilograms)
Do you know how the metric system came into being? It has an interesting history! Watch this video and/or read this article. For more background info on weight you can read this post from Maths is Fun.
Practical Suggestions for all Children
In school, the children are enabled to compare, estimate and measure weight. You can reinforce this at home by asking the children to use their outstretched hands to compare and estimate the heavier/lighter of any two items, from anywhere around the house. Do they realise that size is not always indicative of weight? i.e. a bigger item (e.g. beach ball) may be lighter than a smaller item (e.g. a book).
Draw their attention to weight labels on food packaging, especially kg for kilograms and g for grams. Even children who may not yet know that there are 1,000g in a kg, can examine labels and can use their number knowledge to identify the heavier/lighter item. If the food item does not have a weight label, does it have a label for a different unit of measurement and why is this? (e.g. ml or l for capacity).
Is it good value? Keep a close eye on the weight of various food items when shopping (whether it be in the shops or online): while you’d expect that a 4kg bag of potatoes would be twice the price, or cheaper even, than a 2kg bag of the same potatoes, you would not expect it to be dearer – yet that can sometimes be the case! So involve the children in checking the weight of bags and packages to make sure that you’re getting the best value for your money!
Involve your child in weighing and measuring when cooking and baking. Show them your kitchen/digital scales (if you have any); demonstrate how it works and get the children to try the scales out for themselves. If using recipes, ask the children to calculate how much of each ingredient would be required to make half, double, etc., of the amount/dish.
Do you have any other weighing scales at home? Bathroom scales, luggage scales etc? Allow the children to explore how they work and use them to measure the weight of the bags used by the household: school bags, handbags, rucksacks etc.
Enlist the help of older siblings if available. As they explain and support the younger members of the family, they will also be developing and consolidating their own knowledge and skills, especially communicating mathematically.
Light and heavy: a selection of games from ixl.com. You can do a number of free quizzes each day without having a subscription.
Math Games Choose the Light and Heavy practice games from Junior and Senior Infants
Digital Resources for First and Second Classes
Measure Mass (weight) in kilograms: video from Matholia explaining how to compare the weight of items to 1kg using a balance (you could try this at home using the homemade balance idea in the infant section above).
I know it – First Grade: Scroll down to Measurement and select the heavier/lighter and metric weight activities. There are similar activities in Second Grade
Light and heavy: a selection of games from ixl.com. You can do a number of free quizzes each day without having a subscription.
Math Games Choose the Light and Heavy practice games from first and second class.
Digital Resources for Third to Sixth Classes
Metric Mass (weight): Background information on weight (mass) and grams, kilograms and tonnes as the main metric units. At the end of the page there is a link to a Weighing Activity , explaining how you could do some weighing activities at home.
Khan Academy – Mass and Volume (Third Grade): Watch the videos and then answer the practice questions. Afterwards, for something more challenging, look at the Fourth Grade activities on Estimating Mass and/or Converting Units of Mass. Or even the Fifth Grade activities on Metric Units of Mass. You can also register for a free Khan Academy account to record your progress and explore other topics/grades.
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Homemade balance:
Heavy and Light with Ernie & Bert
Number Jacks:
Happy Numbers Pre-kindergarten:
Splash Learn
Light and heavy:
Math Games
Using a scale to measure kilograms:
Mass: A series of video lessons from White Rose Maths, including, for Year 1, 
Metric Mass (weight):
Odlum’s Baking with Kids: